WarmGlass.com

Has anyone used Spectrum's black transparent 1009sf, I was wondering how transparent it is. I am designing a piece that would be back lit and I would like to have some black in it But I want to make sure it wont totally block out the light.
Bob

Hi Bob-

I am hesitant to say anything because I could be completely wrong, but I think that sheet is opaque.

I see it listed as transparent on Spectrum's overall product list, but on the system 96 list, it shows as an opal. (Not to mention that is all I have ever been able to get my hands on here.)

http://www.system96.com/GlassTables/System96Glass.html

Guy

Thanks Guy, I was up on their site and that is what I thought also, it does look like an opal. After thinking about it I will blow some black shards and use them over a clear, this way I will get the black I want and be able to control the transparency.

Black transparent and white transparent are oxymoronic where I come from.

Many black glasses are, technically, transparent. If you blow them out thin enough (or stretch them in a torch) they'll turn dark transparent purple or sometimes brownish. Doesn't mean they're not black in any reasonable thickness--they're so dense they read as black.

Bob, if you're looking for a uniformly smoky color you might try transparent greys. Some of them can give that effect.

Thanks Cynthia, that may be the way to go. I will try making some chards on my torch that way I could throw a little white in it for an effect.
Happy New Year:
Bob

I once painted a stained glass window, where a set of shapes represented spruce trees in the distance. I had a particular black enamel from Standard Ceramic. When I painted and fired on my antique flashed glass, the look was a nice dark green transparent. I ordered another package of it, and the material that arrived was black and opaque. When I inquired, they did tell me it had changed.

I've seen black glass that was derived from purple, red, or green.

Don Burt wrote:Black transparent and white transparent are oxymoronic where I come from.

Don,
For some reason over here it has been the tradition to call clear glass "white" and the white stuff "white opal"
I agree with Cynthia's explanation of transparent black.
Of course when we are looking for the visual effect, both explanations are nonsense.