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Hello,

My question is a three part one: when using enamel, am I suppose to put it directly on to the metal, copper? if this is what one use.?

and after the enamel has melted on to the copper,metal what do you clean it with.?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions, comments, input. in other words is there any type of lux to use & if so what kind?

There are different kinds of enamels. Some are meant to be used on glass, some are meant to be used on metal.

Enameling on metal is challenging. You might want to take a class if that's the kind you want to do. Generally, it's taught as a jewelry or metals class, rather than a glass class.

There also may be classes on enameling on glass. I believe Bert may teach one...LOL...at least he taught me about it. There's a book by Elskus that describes various enameling on glass techniques. I bought my copy from Whitehouse books, who's a sponsor of this board.

Good luck!

Geri

Yes, your right I just might take a class, However, I am interest in knowing what if any type of flux is used on the metal.

Does anyone have any further information on this subject?

I was reading this afternoon about enameling I think it very beautiful work, however I bought a book on Silversmithing and the Art Metal by Murray Bovin.

I guess I will go get another book about the enameling tomorrow.

It has a lot of stuff in it

I will look up the one you mention in the post.

Thanks again.

Thompson Enamels is the source for metal enamels and tools

Ok, this is stretching my brain a bit...took an enameling class in '95. I have notes somewhere...
Anyhow, as I recall, you don't need to flux the base metal. Just anneal and pickle it to get it clean, and avoid touching the surface. Aside from the actual enamel powders you would probably need to get klyr-fire (a liquid binder) as well. You can brush a thin coat of that onto the metal and sift powder onto it. It's not a flux, it just holds the enamel in place until it's fired. You can also mix enamels with distilled water and apply them as a paste(useful for filling cloisonne designs).

and after the enamel has melted on to the copper,metal what do you clean it with.?

Clean which? The metal or the enamel? The oxidation on the metal can be cleaned off by pickling. As for the enamel, do you mean a post-firing cleanup? or just general maintenance? Because unless you're doing cloisonne you probably don't have to mess with the enamel surface after it's fired. For general maintenance cleaning, just treat it like a piece of glass.

whitejoyce wrote:Hello,

My question is a three part one: when using enamel, am I suppose to put it directly on to the metal, copper? if this is what one use.?

and after the enamel has melted on to the copper,metal what do you clean it with.?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions, comments, input. in other words is there any type of lux to use & if so what kind?

Explore, enjoy, don't get lost.

http://www.glass-on-metal.com/main.htm

Ron