WarmGlass.com

Hi, I'm new here!

I've recently started making jewerly with dichroic glass and I've noticed that after firing, the dichroic layer seems to crack (like gold leaf) and/or shrivel somewhat. It looks kind of nice but I'm also looking for a smooth finish. I make sure the dichro layer faces clear glass, not another layer of dichro. What am I doing wrong?

Some info:

Ramp 1: Rate - 1200F to 500F. Hold for 5 min
Ramp 2: Rate - 1200F to 1250 Hold for 5 min
Ramp 3: Rate - 700F to 1450 Hold for 10min
Stop. Flash vent to 1000F. Cool to room temp with door shut.

The overall finish is good with nicely curved edges.

microdichro wrote:Hi, I'm new here!

I've recently started making jewerly with dichroic glass and I've noticed that after firing, the dichroic layer seems to crack (like gold leaf) and/or shrivel somewhat. It looks kind of nice but I'm also looking for a smooth finish. I make sure the dichro layer faces clear glass, not another layer of dichro. What am I doing wrong?

Some info:

Ramp 1: Rate - 1200F to 500F. Hold for 5 min
Ramp 2: Rate - 1200F to 1250 Hold for 5 min
Ramp 3: Rate - 700F to 1450 Hold for 10min
Stop. Flash vent to 1000F. Cool to room temp with door shut.

The overall finish is good with nicely curved edges.

what brand of dichroic glass are you using? glass coated by cbs is the best dichroic coating...

D

I agree with Dee. Which dichroic are you using? CBS doesn't do what you described.

Vernelle

Thanks for the replies.

I use only CBS dichroic glass so i don't think that's the problem. Any other suggestions?

some CBS colors fire up like foil, and do what you mentioned, like crackling. i have noticed that the premium colors do this, and sometimes green/magenta-blue, which fires magenta. also, silver (not red/silver) fires like foil. other colors seem to not have the problem. as your jewelry heats up and spreads out, the dichroic coating is also spreading, so it can give that crackled look you described. i'm sorry this is happening to your work -- i'm not nuts about it, either.

The affect depends upon which side of the dichro you have facing the bottom layer of fusing glass. If you put it dichro-down (using dichro on clear), you'll get the cracked look. If you put the dichro with the glass side down and the dichro up you should get smooth.

How many layers of glass are you using? Glass likes to be about 3 layers thick and will spread out or ball up to reach that thickness. You can also play with the placement of the dichroic...in the picture the small bits are with the dichroic face down aginst the base glass....the other pieces are a second layer face up. The green cabs have the dichroic floating in the middle.

http://plj.alternateversion.com/images/gallery/mix.JPG

Hope this helps..

Patty

Patty,

I use 2 to three layers in total. By the way I love the ones you showed on your link. How do you cut such accurate circles?

My first dichroic tree split it looked like a branch so no big deal. The little jewlery kiln I use full fuses in the back and contour fuses in the front. The temp. seem to make alot of difference in the amount distortion. I've got "spots" that are best. Different types of glass crinkle more or less it takes alot of experimentation. Good luck. Fused Glass is a great medium.
http://community.webshots.com/user/lynfeu

microdichro wrote:Patty,

I use 2 to three layers in total. By the way I love the ones you showed on your link. How do you cut such accurate circles?

Thank you I cut octagon shapes...let the kiln do most of the work and grind to my hearts content.

Patty

Lyn - beautiful jewelry. I love your etchings.