yellow glass table top

Mark Selleck · Post by **Mark Selleck** » Thu May 22, 2003 12:10 am

I have a customer who would like a small, yellow, glass table top, 3/8" thick. After suggesting I make a piece (finished size, 16"x34"), she has expressed an interest in having a design carved into the underside, thus making the requirement a TRANSPARENT yellow. I've read some discussion regarding silver imparting a yellow stain on clear glass, and I'm wondering about the uniformity, or lack thereof, if silver is applied to float glass. Would it be workable to use two thicknesses of 1/4" mirror, backing paint removed, fused together, to get a yellow-colored 3/8"-1/2" thick piece of glass? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Tim Lewis · Post by **Tim Lewis** » Thu May 22, 2003 9:08 am

So why not use yellow glass? Do a search for Silver Stain and you will get what you need but yellow glass would shorten your time since you won't have to experiment. There seems to be a time to be cheap with glass and a time to spend more for the glass and get the money sooner (unless you want to do this again in the future).

Mark Selleck · Post by **Mark Selleck** » Thu May 22, 2003 9:35 am

My thought is that if the stain will give the yellow I need, it might be better to use that rather than the colored glass, as the carved image would show better. If the carving is done from the stained side, the frosted image would be a definite contrasting frosted design against a yellow background, rather than a frost viewed through a yellow filter. Also, there would definitely be no possibility of problems with bubbles in the image area.

Barbara Muth · Post by **Barbara Muth** » Thu May 22, 2003 9:48 am

Mark, I have found it to be difficult to control the depth of color i get using silver leaf to stain glass. Sometimes it even stains to other colors. I have one small piece of glass where the silver stained yellow, blue, peach and pink! Have you thought about enamels? Aren't there transparent enamels?

Barbara

rosanna gusler · Post by **rosanna gusler** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:05 am

hi mark, if you use float, i suggest staining or using leaf on the non tin side. the silver can react with tin in alot of ways that seem to me to be unpredictable. i think though that those ways have alot to do with reducing conditions. rosanna

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Thu May 22, 2003 12:16 pm

why not use 2 layers of clear 1/8" and 1 layer of transparent yellow 1/8" fused together? seems that would be easiest.

Cynthia · Post by **Cynthia** » Thu May 22, 2003 12:45 pm

I'm with charlie. You could use a thin transparent yellow so there isn't so much material to carve through, but if you have trapped air from fusing, couldn't those cause trouble if you are carving?

How about using or making a flashed glass? You could use the Sunshine paints by Ferro that Bert uses on float to flash his glass with. You could get the float in the thickness you need, apply and fire on a yellow transparent enamel and blast away.

Silver is expensive compared to glass or paint, and less predictable too.

Dani · Post by **Dani** » Thu May 22, 2003 12:53 pm

You can buy powdered silverstain from glass paint suppliers like Reusche. You apply it as paint, fire it, then wipe off the orange residue to reveal the yellow stain beneath. It comes in various degrees of intensity, from pale yellow to orange-y. Having said that, it can also be a bit cantankerous especially on float. I'm not sure what the visual effect would be since it sounds like you will want a smooth silverstain fired on top, then the carving below done after the firing.... you're not blasting through the silverstain, right?

dave laporta · Post by **dave laporta** » Thu May 22, 2003 1:43 pm

another idea is to apply yellow powder to clear, fire, then sandcarve that thin layer of powder away to reveal the frost look you'd get in the clear. -dave

Mark Selleck · Post by **Mark Selleck** » Fri May 23, 2003 2:00 pm

Thanks for all of the input. Using a yellow transparent paint on float might be the easiest way to go, though I'm not sure how the green edges of the float will look with the yellow. The idea of fusing a couple of layers of clear over a thin layer of yellow occurred to me, and, except for the possible problem with bubbles, that would probably give the most aesthetically pleasing finished product. If I did use silver stain, I would be carving through the stained surface. My customer is having a table made that is of cedar, and she wants the glass to be "yellow or pale orange" to blend with the color of the wood. She's sending me a sample of the wood, and I'll know better which way to go at that point. Thanks again for the info.[/b][/i]

Rob Morey · Post by **Rob Morey** » Sun May 25, 2003 3:42 pm

Just one more thought. I seldom use transparent yellow because at some point in the firing process it will change to opalescent. It may not be the first firing or even the second, but eventually it will happen. I normally use BE light or medium amber. It doesn't change on you and it may work better with a natural wood color. What ever you use, please post pictures of the final piece. I would love to see what you end up with.

Rob

Tom Fuhrman · Post by **Tom Fuhrman** » Mon May 26, 2003 3:55 pm

Mark: why don't you laminate a sheet of clear yellow or amber on to 3/8" thick float. By laminating, I mean do it cold, not hot. then you can do it with less chance of bubbles. This could be done by any of the commercial guys that do laminating for windows all the time. then just blast into the yellow to the depth you want or all the way thru the yellow if needed. You could use the clear Starfire float so you wouldn't get that green tint from regular float. Tenn. Tom