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I have such a basic question I'm almost embarrassed to ask it. I have been complaining for years (mostly to myself in my empty studio) about the pencils I use to mark my glass. I started out using the waxy colored pencils that were sold for stained glass workers and I just kept using them. Today as I for the millionth time had the "lead" fall out I realized that maybe this is not what everyone else uses. I would love to have something that marks the glass without mushing into a flat top after one stroke, doesn't disintregrate and makes a nice clear mark. What do you all use?
Amy

Sharpies. Black for light glass and the silver metalic for dark glass. Black will fire off, so you don't even need to clean it up. The silver needs to be cleaned off. I use acetone to get it off if its been on for a while. If it's still fresh, alcohol works.

Cynthia wrote:Sharpies. Black for light glass and the silver metalic for dark glass. Black will fire off, so you don't even need to clean it up. The silver needs to be cleaned off. I use acetone to get it off if its been on for a while. If it's still fresh, alcohol works.

Cynthia, Will the silver hold up to the water in a torous ring saw
Jim

Cynthia wrote:Sharpies. Black for light glass and the silver metalic for dark glass. Black will fire off, so you don't even need to clean it up. The silver needs to be cleaned off. I use acetone to get it off if its been on for a while. If it's still fresh, alcohol works.

You're kidding me!? A black Sharpie mark really burns off of everything?? Well I never.
Thanks!
Amy

Amy on Salt Spring wrote:

Cynthia wrote:Sharpies. Black for light glass and the silver metalic for dark glass. Black will fire off, so you don't even need to clean it up. The silver needs to be cleaned off. I use acetone to get it off if its been on for a while. If it's still fresh, alcohol works.

You're kidding me!? A black Sharpie mark really burns off of everything?? Well I never.
Thanks!
Amy

Yup. Except when it doesn't. Use water soluble. I clean everything anyway.

For saw and grinder work I use pilot ultra fine paint markers. They're tempermental little buggers to use, but hold up to the grinders and ring saw like they're baked on to the glass. I use soy oil, or wd40 to remove it. For kiln work, I do same as Cynthia, black sharpies. There are other brands of paint markers out there, and I think they're equivalent. I like gold 95% of the time, but keep some silvers around for when I work with yellow glass. Any office supply store will have the paint markers.

Jim,

Sharpies do not hold up to water in a grinder so I doubt the markings would in a saw. You can try covering your markings with chap stick or candle wax. Although I have not tried either yet, I have heard they both will work.

Sharon

Although they burn off most of the time, black sharpie marks do not always burn off. Sometimes (usually when you absolutely don't want them to) they stubbornly remain on the glass. If anyone doubts this, I have several scraps of glass with black sharpie marks still intact I'd be happy to offer as Exhibit A.

Glue doesn't always burn off, either.

I use fine tip erasable markers. To date, they have always burned off cleanly. I never clean them off.

For tile sawing, I use a silver paint pen. Then I sandblast off any leftover marks.

artisand wrote:Jim,

Sharpies do not hold up to water in a grinder so I doubt the markings would in a saw. You can try covering your markings with chap stick or candle wax. Although I have not tried either yet, I have heard they both will work.

Sharon

Can cover markings with vaseline easily and clean up after with alcohol to remove the greasy stuff. Black stuff gone then too.
Yo

Sharpie has new (new to me, but I don't get out much) 'industrial strength' black markers that hold up pretty well in the saw if they have set for a few minutes. Clean off in a snap with alcohol or soap/water/scotch scrubby. The place I get my glass from marks all the sheets with a white paint pen and it is a the toughest thing to scrape/scrub off.

lissa

<<Sharpie has new (new to me, but I don't get out much) 'industrial strength' black markers that hold up pretty well in the saw if they have set for a few minutes.>>


No kidding! I use a regular Sharpie for the grinder work, and it washes away. And it doens't like to mark if the glass is still a little damp from grinder work, which is frustrating. I usually work quickly enough that there's really no time availble to let it set up before I turn on the grinder. I'll try this new one, though.

Trial and error!

Susan

We use the green wax like pencil that pottery supply places sell as a hi fire marker...I think they are three bucks......applied to dry glass it is excellent under the tile saw and grinder. Found nothing faster, better or easier and I looked a lot.

Rick

I tried the chapstick route. So easy, mark with a sharpie take a tube of chapstick (mine sits now on the saw and grinder table) run over the sharpie line with the chapstick, saw and grind as much as you want. No more dissapearing lines. Plus no more chapped glass!

Amy on Salt Spring wrote:

Cynthia wrote:Sharpies. Black for light glass and the silver metalic for dark glass. Black will fire off, so you don't even need to clean it up. The silver needs to be cleaned off. I use acetone to get it off if its been on for a while. If it's still fresh, alcohol works.

You're kidding me!? A black Sharpie mark really burns off of everything?? Well I never.
Thanks!
Amy

Pretty much always. Not irid. Don't mark on the irid coating or it will remain there. Mark only on the back side when marking an iridised glass.

Brock and Brad have had trouble, and I agree that it works until it doesn't work.

I do clean all my glass before firing to remove my oily fingerprints more than anything else, but I don't get too anal about getting the black Sharpie marks off the cut edges. 99% of the time it remains, and so far 100% of the time it's fired off cleanly. But the marks are never sandwiched and I always vent when firing. Possibly that makes a difference..

Give it a go on some test glass in a way that you would normally mark and fire your glass. See what you get and if it will work for you.

I'm in the Brad and Brock camp on this one. I have seen the nasty marks left.

I use ultrafine Sharpies because they are easy to get. I used to use Mars Staedtler Lumocolor markers which are really nice, but you have to buy them at the art supply store as opposed to WalMart or Staples for the Sharpies.

For exposure to water, I let the mark dry for a while. Vaseline or chapstick works when necessary.

lissa wrote: The place I get my glass from marks all the sheets with a white paint pen and it is a the toughest thing to scrape/scrub off.

lissa

Lissa, I use the finely ground residue found around and in the sponge on my grinder. After big projects, I get it by the thimble-full and store it. But be advised, it IS ground glass, so use good saftey precautions like gloves, mask (if you're flying), etc. But when it's dampend and applied with an old spnge or whatever kind of material you have handy including paper towel, it gets that *&#@@ white marker off like magic.
Yo
PS shoud read the current post "....dust" for some important info that pertains here.

Watch out for marking and grinding... Sharpie will not fire out when left on a ground edge. On these edges, when sandwiched, it will feed into the seam during firing. If you DO get sharpie marks onto a ground edge, remove them with acetone and you'll be home free!

Catharine

ive never tried this on glass, but for lots of other purposes, the STABILLO (sp) that you get at the art store is good,,,it comes off with a wet cloth when you are finished with the application, id give that a try
rodney

Catharine Newell wrote:Watch out for marking and grinding... Sharpie will not fire out when left on a ground edge. On these edges, when sandwiched, it will feed into the seam during firing. If you DO get sharpie marks onto a ground edge, remove them with acetone and you'll be home free!

Catharine

This is good to know as I am often tracing around pieces onto other glass so I get markings on the cut edge of the piece I am tracing around. This thread has made me wonder what else I do just out of habit starting from when I knew nothing about glass!
Amy