decorating martini and wine glasses

[Franzeska]

My neighbor wants to decorate some glasses. I'm guessing he will purchase some inexpensive stemware. I told him to buy glass paints or enamels that can used on any type of glass. Is there anything I should know about firing these, like fire them rim down or up? Any recommended firing schedule?

Thanks.

[Bert Weiss]

No no no. You need vitreous glass enamels or lustres that mature at 1050º F. You place the glasses bottom down. Firing schedules will change with the glass configuration. A glass with a heavy bottom might require a slower heatup schedule than one with thinner glass. The idea is to gloss the colors and not slump the glass. Anneal like float glass. Colors that mature this low often have lead content. For these you must keep the colors well below the rim. Gold lustre on the rim is a traditional example of glass decoration. Lustres do not have lead in them to the best of my knowledge.

You can also use colors that fire on at @ 400ºF, like Pebeo or Ferro Spectravue.

[Valerie Adams]

I did a job recently where I needed to match the client's logo, which had extremely vibrant colors. After lots of experimenting, I ended up using Pebeo Paints. I cured them in the kiln but they mature at 350°so your neighbor can work at home and free up your kiln for your work.

[Franzeska]

Thank you so much! I'm glad I asked.

Franzeska