Stained Glass Firing
Stained Glass Painting – Firing Stained Glass Paint
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I have several practice pieces that I have now completed and fired. I have noticed that there are a few spots that accidently got scratched away before firing and also a few flaws that look as though they could be corrected by an additional application of paint and a re-firing.
So my question is, Will a 2nd firing adversly affect the 1st firing or give an unacceptable look to the piece? Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Respectfully,
Cindy L. Whitehead
Hello Cindy,
With glass paint such as Reusche’s tracing black, we’ve never experienced any problems or difficulties in painting some more and firing the glass for second time. (The same cannot always be said for either enamels or silver-stains, which have their own rules.)
All the best,
Stephen
Hi Stephen and David,
I hope things are good for you both.
I have a question and I’m hoping you can help.
I’m repairing a panel in a pub which has some lettering sandblasted into a section of it. The sandblasted areas are quite transparent. Would this be done by fire polishing and if so what would be a likely kiln schedule? The panel has to match another one, so I need to get it as close as possible.
Cheers!
Shane
Hi again!
Just found your post on fire polishing in reply to Ivo, and they were very useful. Any further thoughts would be great especially with the kiln figures …
Thanks,
Shane
Hi Shane,
It’s possible that fire-polishing will do what you want but hard to say for sure without seeing and touching the piece ourselves. Tell me, is it smooth to the touch? That would indicate either a high firing to remove the abrasion, or perhaps some kind of protective finish.
Or … acid-etching. A lot of pub windows were done this way in the days when no one cared too much about the fumes and the dangers of working with the acid itself.
But say it is acid and you don’t want to go down that road. Maybe then your best bet is to sandblast and fire-polish. (Perhaps you could explain to the client that they can have an exact match if they’re prepared to fund acid-etching; otherwise, a close match is what you can produce.)
Regarding firing, you’ll need to run your own tests, because the exact schedule will depend on the hardness of the glass, the sizes, and your own kiln.
Very roughly, the harder the glass, the higher you’ll need to go (maybe 720 centigrade).
The soak might then be between 5 and 10 minutes, though the longer you soak, then sometimes (I believe) the greater the chances of some kind of milkiness appearing.
Descend as quickly as the kiln allows to about 560 centigrade, and wait there for the temperature across the glass to equalize (this depends on your kiln – whether it is side or top firing – and also on the size of the pieces), then descend gradually to about 530 centigrade, where “gradually” is determined by the size of the pieces and the thickness of the glass.
I know there are a lot of variables, but it’s best to bear in mind that people have been firing glass without computers and controllers for hundreds and hundreds of years …
I hope this helps.
All the best,
Stephen
Hi Stephen!
I tried the sandblasting and firing as you suggested and I’ve got a pretty good approximation of the transparency of the original.
I fired to 705 centigrade and think I might have got it better at a higher temperature. However, the glass is at the limit of the size of the kiln, so it’s almost out over the edge of the shelf and I didnt want to go slumping …
And, yes indeed,the glass on the old piece was very smooth to the touch.
Cheers,
Shane
Hi Shane,
That’s great news. I am so glad it worked.
Please always say when we can help with anything, and from now on we’ll be working from here.
All the best,
Stephen