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I have seen many references to not doing certain things on the tin side of float glass. I have also researched on the web how to find the tin side of a piece of glass. I have found, read and tried various instructions on how to locate the tin side using a UV bulb in a darkened roon. For the life of me, I can't tell the difference. I am soon to be attempting to use some high-gold base Reusche paints on float and have been once again warned not to put on tin side. Can anyone explain a fool-proof method of finding tin side? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thx -- Cathy

For starters, you need to make certain that you're using a shortwave uv lamp, not something else. There are several different bulbs that are labelled uv -- you need one that is at 254 nm.

If you have that type bulb, then check the Old Archive for lots on how to use it. Here's one thread: http://www.warmglass.com/cgi-bin/wgarch ... read=59109

And some good background information, including how to make your own "tindicator": http://arthur.sale.tripod.com/id106.htm

Cathy

If you are using a standard, run-of-the-mill UV lamp, it won't work. As Brad said, you need a special short wave UV lamp. They are called germicidal lamps and have a "G" in their model number like FG8T5

See http://216.9.150.207/Merchant2/merchant ... ode=EQUUVL for the type of lamp we are talking about. You can get the lamp with the visible light filter from lapidary suppliers since the lamp is also used to excite the fluorescence in minerals.

Tony

This is not as useful a method as UV, but in a pinch it may help. On occassion, if you look at the edge of the float (but only on sheets cut at the factory), you can see that one side of the edge has a rougher texture than the other. This indicates the non tin side. The roughness is a result of the cutting pressure, and float is always cut on the non tin side. If the sheets have been cut since the factory, all bets are off. The roughness is not always apparant, since the factory may keep their wheels changed often and the cutting pressure optimally adjusted, but I have seen many sheets of float where the difference was obvious.

Quick addendum. Was back in the studio and for fun pulled out six sheets of float that were factory cut. I could easily tell the non tin side on every one by looking at the edge, so method may be more reliable than I previously indicated.

I am interested in buying float glass, but don't know where to go to buy this. Any suggestions?
Thanks. Kay (aka rushsmom)

look in the yellow pages. window glass companies throw out lots that you can get for free for testing, and there's lots of places in any reasonable sized town.

I bought a germicidal UV lamp too. It works great. At first I can not see the clouds.

Someone from this board suggested to take the cover off the flash light. The UV bulb has to be clear of any plastic covering.

Now we can see the tinclouds clearly.


nelson

. . . Now we can see the tinclouds clearly.

We can see tin clouds

Clearly now. Carly never

Thought of this. Never!

Sensei

Tony Serviente wrote:Quick addendum. Was back in the studio and for fun pulled out six sheets of float that were factory cut. I could easily tell the non tin side on every one by looking at the edge, so method may be more reliable than I previously indicated.

Tony

your technique works for me at home because I have factory cases and am careful to open the case air side out and always cut myself on the air side.

Just today I got fooled with a piece of glass that I thought was factory cut but was shop cut and I was wrong. Fortunatly we tested with the UV light and got it right. Do not use this technique unless you really have a full stock sheet.

The UV light I use, made by UVP has a purple filter which makes it easier to see the cloud. It does not require a dark room, only not a bright one.

heres a photo. go to mags 2003 , tin side. http://photos.yahoo.com/wancheseart

Thanks everyone for the input. The basic problem was apparently the UV bulb type I was using, so I'm outfitting myself now.

Cathy

There is a picture of the UV effect at
http://www.fusionheadquarters.com/Pages ... Shor-64454

Gil

Well I have total sympathy. I can't see it either. I have a regular UV light, and one called a "mineral light" which I presume is the one that you can buy from the lapidary suppliers and is supposed to be the right kind. It has a purple filter over it. Do I have to remove some part of this light to get it to work? Or am I just blind?

Since I can't see the tin side, I just put the glass in the kiln, helter skelter, without any overglaze. Some loads with multiple small pieces have some pieces that come out nice and some that devit. Some loads everything comes out beautifully, nice and shiny. Not possible that I could fluke getting them all the same side up. I've decided that the difference is in different manufacturers. Since I'm generally using cut-off scrap (which is why I don't fuss when I have to throw some out), the glass may be from several different sources.

Lynne Chappell wrote:Well I have total sympathy. I can't see it either. I have a regular UV light, and one called a "mineral light" which I presume is the one that you can buy from the lapidary suppliers and is supposed to be the right kind. It has a purple filter over it. Do I have to remove some part of this light to get it to work? Or am I just blind?

Lynne, if it's a "regular" UV light, then it will not cause the tin side to fluoresce. You need to use a short wave UV lamp (which can be identified by their clear quartz tube or the "g" gor germicidal in their model number) to cause the fluorescence. Some of the light units come with a rectangular purple filter to block the visible light emitted from the short wave lamps, but it works without the filter as well.

Tony

Is there a tin side to Coe 96 glasses?

No tin side to Spectrum (Oceanside) or BE or any other art glass. They are not floated on tin in their manufacture.

I'm guessing Brock has looked at clouds from both sides now...