BE 1101 clear powder problem

[blenderbender]

Howdy folks.... I've had an ongoing issue anytime I've used BE 1101 clear powder as a cap or as grout between other pieces. It always, always, always fires foggy, wispy white kind of. I usually fire to around 1500 when I use it. I've actually shied away from it by using other methods, but today I tried again all for naught. I'm beginning to think my 1101 clear, well, isn't. Has anyone else ever experienced this? Thanks..... Gary

[The Hobbyist]

The powder is trapping tiny bubbles and they are giving it that cloudy white look. Try using larger frit.

Jim

[carol carson]

Are you always using the same jar, or have you tried a few to make sure it's the powder?

[Brad Walker]

Use less powder. Too thick and (as Jim said) you trap air bubbles. You just want it to be a couple of grains of powder thick.

If you want a thicker layer of glass, use coarse frit instead of powder. (I think Jim said that, too.) One layer of frit or you'll get bubbles there also.

[Morganica]

If that's the problem, and you look closely; you should be able to see the bubbles Jim mentions. It does that to me, too, whenever I get the powder layer a little too thick. I think it's a problem for smaller items like pendants, especially. (People have a tendency to bring small objects close, so the bubbles become very obvious).

The powder layer needs to be fairly thin, so that there's not enough there to trap bubbles. On the other hand, if you don't use enough, you get an orange peel effect. That's why I really don't like to use that technique unless I just have to. I think after you have some practice with the technique you won't have as much trouble.

[carol carson]

Wow, I didn't realize you didn't like that technique Cynthia. I use it all the time to cap my drawings. You are right though, I use it just as a thin even dusting.

[blenderbender]

Thanks all.... NOW I REMEMBER!. It's been about 4 years since I've fired anything due to a sell house/move/re-locate/setup shop again, and many things I used to know have become foggy (like the 1101 clear powder) in my aging head. It's good to be back though and I'm certain there are lots of little things I will re-discover in the process..... Gary

[Morganica]

Wow, I didn't realize you didn't like that technique Cynthia. I use it all the time to cap my drawings. You are right though, I use it just as a thin even dusting.

Yep, I know (and you're a wizard at it). I use it infrequently enough that I have trouble getting the right amount on, and for what I'm doing, usually, even a few small bubbles are a problem. Plus, since I do pate de verre where you WANT lots of small bubbles, I'm really sensitive to it.

I think it's much less likely to be a problem when you're sifting across larger, flat panels of glass--it's easier to get an even coat without falloff. I tend to work with curved, dimensional surfaces, especially with small pendants, so I get a bunch of powder on the surface and it slides off the curves. That makes the contrast (and bubbles) really obvious.

Usually, devit on a surface doesn't bother me much, because I coldwork so extensively anyway. I'm presenting a fresh, clean surface to the heat, so I'm not really giving the devit a chance to grow. When I do get devit, though, it's spectacular. Like this cityscene:

Which SHOULD look like this:

That one, not even coldwork would save.