My copper turned black

Queenbee · Post by **Queenbee** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 10:19 am

Has anyone ever used Mona Lisa brand metal foils in between fused glass?

jolly · Post by **jolly** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 1:39 pm

Lynne, the oxygen theory is a good place to begin your research. However, it is definitely not the whole story. I sounds as if your copper has a coating on it (you said peeled off) which would affect everything. The only time I have managed to get a green or blue is when I am fusing a large piece, 18x30 inches or larger. Anything smaller and I only get burgandy, pink or black. Do you have photos? I play with copper a lot and I would love all the info I can get for my research. Thanks, Jolly

kelly alge · Post by **kelly alge** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 1:43 pm

Queenbee- Are you using sterling silver? Try fine silver (.999) I've had trouble w/ silver stain & brittleness w/sterling, too- although I know others use sterling and don't seem to have the problem.

About the copper, all of my maglesses this year are embossed copper sheet (36 ga)- I've had several different results: Bright burgundy when fired to 1440 for 15 min. Darker burgundy w/ hints of bluish-grey-steely color when fired to 1460 for 12 min., and when I used a drop of Klyr-fire to hold the clear tops on, I've had specks of bright copper remain where the Klyr-fire was, and crackly areas in the burgundy... The 10 or so "suicidal mags" that jumped their tops during firing turned out burgundy where the cap fused over the copper, going to a bluish color toward the edge, and black/grey where the copper was completely exposed to the air. My kiln was closed for the entire firing for all pieces, peep hole plugged, and I fired on thinfire.
Hope this helps someone!

Ron Coleman · Post by **Ron Coleman** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 11:05 pm

Queenbee wrote:Has anyone ever used Mona Lisa brand metal foils in between fused glass?

I fired some of the Mona Lisa variegated red a while back. Full fused between 2 layers of BE clear.

The only thing remaining after firing is a bunch of very tiny bubbles and a pale blue pattern where the leaf was and sone black smudges. Not what I was expecting.

Ron

Jackie Beckman · Post by **Jackie Beckman** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 1:54 am

Queenbee wrote:Hi Jackie. I'm new here but I wondered if you have sandwiched silver? I do some work with silver wire (some very thick like 14 guage) and it tends to create a yellow color. That doesn't surprise me because of the component of yellow glass is silver I think. What i'm having trouble with is the silver that is exposed becomes so brittle and dull. Do yo know how to protect the sheen or get it back? Also, does the copper you sandwich effect the annealing property of the glass? I wonder if the tiles would hold up in a kitchen. I guess it depends on the thickness etc. Thank you for the pics. Ginny (Queenbee)

Hi Ginny - I feel like I really owe ya one for the nasty trick I played on you on the classified forum. (Sorry - couldn't help it) Yes, I've sandwiched silver and it turns out nice. (Not wire, but sheets.) I've used the silver foil sheets from CR Loo and a couple others too, and they all give different results. The thin, thin silver (leaf) is very wispy. The look I've liked best is the silver foil from CR Loo. It stayed nice and bright without any yellowing, but each glass used with it may yield a different result. I used deep cobalt blue Bullseye capped with clear and the foil in between and liked it very much.

The copper tiles were annealed properly, but then again, I alway use a conservative annealing schedule no matter what I make. I've made both 1/4" and 3/8" tiles with copper that both have withstood "kitchen duty" just fine.

Jackie

Queenbee · Post by **Queenbee** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 12:18 pm

Thanks Jackie. Now I feel really bad about the take backs. See Stupid Bowl in classifieds. Gotcha!

Jackie Beckman · Post by **Jackie Beckman** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 12:22 pm

Queenbee wrote:Thanks Jackie. Now I feel really bad about the take backs. See Stupid Bowl in classifieds. Gotcha!

Yes Ginny, I just saw that and was thinking I may have been a little too helpful here!

Judy Schnabel · Post by **Judy Schnabel** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 12:58 pm

Just took this out of the kiln today.

I used the last large piece of copper from Michael's to make this platter.

Tom from Texas, I think, advised to use a Scotch Brite pad on the copper first then spray it with the Borax solution. This is what I did with this piece, plus I sifted Pearl Ex powder on it before firing.

Judy

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/vie ... &members=1

steve_hiskey · Post by **steve_hiskey** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 1:16 am

I had fun with copper last summer by seeing what would react to it. Sprinkle some frit on the copper and you get cool little "tree rings" as the frit reacts.

Pick frits that are 'built' with gold or silver to react with copper.

reds are (many times) built with gold
blues are usually either copper or silver

just another fun thing to play with. You can get some interesting reactions.

Steve

Lynne Chappell · Post by **Lynne Chappell** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 1:56 am

[quote="Judy Schnabel"]Just took this out of the kiln today.

I used the last large piece of copper from Michael's to make this platter.

Tom from Texas, I think, advised to use a Scotch Brite pad on the copper first then spray it with the Borax solution. This is what I did with this piece, plus I sifted Pearl Ex powder on it before firing.

Judy

Your picture looks very much like what happened with my krinkly copper - blue/green on the edges and burgundy in the center. I didn't do anything special with the copper, although it was stuck down with a little Klyr-Fire (but that was underneath the copper).

Has anyone had any trouble with cracking using such big pieces of copper? I was particularly slow in heating it on the slumping cycle. Copper holds so much heat, I'm amazed that they don't break on heatup, or just in use.

Lynne

Tyler Frisby · Post by **Tyler Frisby** » Wed Feb 25, 2004 11:59 pm

Ive found that you can create neat designs in copper by folding it over itself in certain areas to induce the reddish look, a great way to make different shades of the red ! more folds the more extreme the reds .

Tyler