Striking BE 1122 Red

[AVLucky]

I just purchased (mail order) a piece of bullseye red cathedral #1122, not realizing I would have to strike it to get the true color. That wouldn't be a problem, except that I'm planning to use it for a painting project, not fusing. My other concern is that I don't want to fire high enough to lose the texture. If I'm using stainer paints and firing to about 1200 degrees, is that enough to strike the glass?

[lissa]

I can't tell you for sure because I don't know exact temps for that glass, but I have slumped BE orange (which strikes in a full fuse firing) and it didn't strike at 1225 F. Why not email Bullseye and ask them, I bet they can tell you. Or better yet, do a test and then you'll have your answer.

lissa.

[AVLucky]

I have run tests in three different kilns so far. My first tests were in a little hotbox kiln. I fired one piece to 1300, and there was barely any change. I also did a full-fuse firing, and got almost the color I wanted, but not quite red enough. I also tried some pieces in a Speedburn gas-fired flash kiln. Firings at 1210, 1280, and 1325 all produced the same color, which still was too orange. I thought that maybe because both of these kilns fire very quickly, I wasn't getting good results that I might get from a slower firing with a good soak time. So I tried that too, in my usual fusing kiln. A slow ramp and a half-hour soak at 1300 produced diasappointing results--still not red enough. I've heard that the amount of oxygen in the kiln would affect colors sometimes. Does anybody know about that? I am about to give up on this experiment soon, but a couple last-ditch efforts might be worth it if I have some clues about which way to go.