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just curious, how many fire fused glass projects on 1/8th inch fiber paper or directly on a kiln- washed shelf are there advantages , disadvantages? I've noticed the pieces fused on fiber paper are generally cleaner and cool better. just wondering what y'all find better. thanks

At just the right fusing temp (I don't have notes in front of me) and by not firing hotter than necessary, I get 2 or 3 firings on a sheet of 1/16 inch fiber paper.

You can get a few more if you sift a dry diatamaceous earth/plaster mix evenly on the paper before firing. By pressing the glass slightly onto the well dusted paper and being careful not to kick up any dust, you can get a very smooth bottom surface and fatal bubbles are less likely.

Firing on a kiln-shelf that is only kiln-washed can produce large bubbles between the glass and the shelf. They are not good bubbles.

I prefer at least thinfire paper to help prevent those big bubbles.

Nearly everything I fuse is with fiber paper. Both methods will give almost the same finish, but I perfer the connivance and quicker turnaround that fiber paper allows.

Tim

Everything I fire is on a freshly kiln washed shelf. I almost never refire a shelf 2 times without redoing the wash.

Kiln wash is a little messy until you develop a method and learn to work with it. I spray it on with an airbrush.

I use thin fire paper exclusively. Haven't washed a shelf in 10 years. For my situation it is much more economical to use paper. Problems I had with wash was the required manhandling of the shelves, and the time to prep. Other issue was that if it was not done properly, the glass stuck and I lost a piece and the shelf was pockmarked too. And then there is the bubble issue...Disadvantage of paper is the clean up. It can't be treated casually. I use a Hepa vaccuum cleaner as well as a respirator. Some may cite the cost of the paper as another disadvantage, but considering the time saved it is cheaper for me.

I've tried all three methods, when you Air brush you get a relly nice finish. Worth a try if your used to thinfire. Patience is a virtue in this method , you actiually gota like airbrushing. It takes a while

We use fiber shelves, mostly, with a couple of instances where a smoother surface is needed, and the shelf is mullite or RS100. Only thing I have to adjust is the firing time. Glass on fiber fires hotter than on ceramic, so firing time/temp is less. So we always have different firing schedules for either board, AND for each kiln. There is a long firing list posted in the studio for each product line. Once you work it out, it's fine, but the challenge is getting to that point. - Barbara

Never used anything but good ol' BE kilnwash. Never had a problem with bubbles. Fire maybe 6-7 times on one wash depending of the temps of the firings and the glass I am using. I guess you can see from these answers that there are no hard and fast rules in kilnworking!!!
Amy