Gaffer 300 Opaline: Have I shot myself in the foot?

jerry flanary · Post by **jerry flanary** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 10:42 am

I am about to cast some lotus flowers with Gaffer 300 Opaline. I have billets. Am I only going to get an opal white out of it? Anyone with experience with this stuff? Here are some links from ocr:

http://www.glasscolor.com/catalog/color ... ting%2Easp

http://www.glasscolor.com/conferencecal ... uestion=83

Thanks!

charlie holden · Post by **charlie holden** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:29 pm

Wouldn't be the first time. The way I read it the frit might cast (actually more like fuse) opaline but the billet is going to cast dense white.

ch

jerry flanary · Post by **jerry flanary** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 10:27 pm

Yeah, Charlie, that's what I read too. I was wondering if anyone had experienced it though... Client purchased color. The whole pallet of choices and, of course, she picks the hardest color.

I am thinking about maybe bringing the billets to 1000 (in a porcelain cup) and then slamming them in a glory hole. I think the whiteness is that the billets have been annealled and had more time to build up crystal structure. So even though the billets are clear they are more mature than the frit. Maybe if I can jack them up from 1000 to 1400-1500 in like three or four minutes and then pour them into a hot mold Maybe I can cut down on the amount of time they would get to strike in a natural kiln kasting scenario... Maybe.
Maybe someone else has cast with these billets and has some notes?