WarmGlass.com

if not, what does?

i want to draw on glass and then use that as markings to delineate where to put frit. it's opal glass, otherwise i'd just draw on a piece of paper under the glass.

Yes Charlie, I know the black sharpie marks burn off as I do just that all the time. Haven't used the other colors, but I'll assume they will also.

I have been using a silver sharpie and it does not burn off.

Nancy

Black sharpies don't always burn off, either. (Although they do most of the time.)

My rule is that they burn off when you don't want them to and don't burn off when you want them to.

One thing I have discovered through my new grinding/polishing exp, Sharpies on glass are not permanent. Yes if you let them dry, they'll stick, but if you depend on them for engraving/cutting lines they don't cut the mustard.

On the other hand, the Paint pens DO stand up to extensive water. I'll find out soon whether they stand up to the glory hole.

Greg

I have found that the black sharpies leave a residue on Irid. On all other glass I have had no problem with them buring off. On the other hand, the white pens used to outline that I got when I was doing stain glass turns yellow during firing.

Hi Kids,
A newbie here but guess it's time I post something...

Has anyone tried china markers for kiln work. I just got one but haven't had time to try it yet. The guy at the art store said it will burn away and leave no marks. Also thinks it will hold up to the glass saw but again, haven't had time to try it yet.

To keep your sharpie mark when grinding or sawing try rubbing some vaseline on the mark.

Jack

China markers wash off when I'm sawing before I've completed the cut. It helps if I cover the marker with a chap stick or vaseline, but that's not foolproof.

I always wash it off before I fire.

Alecia

Jack Bowman wrote:To keep your sharpie mark when grinding or sawing try rubbing some vaseline on the mark.

Jack

I use candle wax. It isn't slippery like vaseline or chapstick.

Barbara

charlie wrote:if not, what does?

i want to draw on glass and then use that as markings to delineate where to put frit. it's opal glass, otherwise i'd just draw on a piece of paper under the glass.

You've heard all the answers. Now here's mine.

I have never had a sharpie that wasn't metallic leave a residue on a non irid glass (I dare you to sort out all the double negatives), BUT, I have never trapped it under frit.

There is enough air circulation with using frit that I expect you won't have any problems getting it to burn off cleanly. To be on the safe side though, do a test piece. Mark the bejeezes out of your opal glass, pile on the frit and fire using the same schedule you intend to use for the real deal. See what happens. Don't try it with a metallic sharpie, they are pretty, and work well to mark black or dark glass, but won't burn off cleanly. I'll bet you are happy with the result.

Brad Walker wrote:Black sharpies don't always burn off, either. (Although they do most of the time.)

My rule is that they burn off when you don't want them to and don't burn off when you want them to.

is the residue removable, or is it fused into the glass?

Cynthia wrote:

charlie wrote:if not, what does?

i want to draw on glass and then use that as markings to delineate where to put frit. it's opal glass, otherwise i'd just draw on a piece of paper under the glass.

You've heard all the answers. Now here's mine.

I have never had a sharpie that wasn't metallic leave a residue on a non irid glass (I dare you to sort out all the double negatives), BUT, I have never trapped it under frit.

There is enough air circulation with using frit that I expect you won't have any problems getting it to burn off cleanly. To be on the safe side though, do a test piece. Mark the bejeezes out of your opal glass, pile on the frit and fire using the same schedule you intend to use for the real deal. See what happens. Don't try it with a metallic sharpie, they are pretty, and work well to mark black or dark glass, but won't burn off cleanly. I'll bet you are happy with the result.

thanks all. i guess some tests are in order.

Artline 200 are a finer line and burn clean too! Except if you mark on sandblasted or ground edges as they dont burn off clean all the time!

After gleaning through all the posts, I understand that, definitely, it will, and it won't.

Jack Bowman wrote:To keep your sharpie mark when grinding or sawing try rubbing some vaseline on the mark.

Jack

A stick of chapstick in the studio is another handy way to do this.

The new Silver Sharpie works well against dark glass but it DOES NOT BURN OFF COMPLETELY at full fuse temps.

Tony

in a test yesterday, black, blue and red under and not under frit all burnt off completely.

thanks for all the replies.

I used various colored markers all the time to sketch my designs and lettering onto the glass before I paint. I always use water soluble markers though, as I've had problems with some of the "permanent" markers like the Sharpies. I've also had problems with china markers and metallic markers making a permanent mark after firing. Sticking with water soluble does the trick for me.

Well quite a while ago, I read on this board that Sharpie markers burnt off completely. Of course I had been religiously cleaning them off. Hey, I thought I could really use that black mark to get things centered on the form. Well, I agree with Brad - if you want them to burn off, they will stay, and I had a whole load of stuff with little x's on the bottom of them still visible after firing. And the white paint pen is definitely what I would call a "hi-temperature" pen. Found that out by accident when some white paint along the edge of the glass didn't get cleaned off. 1500 degrees later, the white paint is still there exactly as before. The amazing thing is that even after a fuse firing, I got most of it off with lacquer thinner (just a faint haze left behind). But true to Brad's experience, when I told a student he could use it to draw something on his plate, it burnt off almost entirely leaving only a shadow.