What temp do I fire liquid lusters

[Skye Perry]

I aquired some fire on lusters and was wondering if anyone had any idea what temprature to fire them at . I don't know if it makes a difference what metal type it is or not. My guess is that platnum and gold are fired at slightly different tempratures . Any inlightnment on the subject will be greatly appreciated .

[LewisW]

I worked with them maybe 10-15 years ago. Got them from Glasscraft. I only used them on boro. I fired them at annealing temp, about 1055 F. I found that if i fired them to fast or above annealing that the gold would like to flow and actually run off of the piece.
Ramp up slow, maybe 300 degree F an hour . Hold at annealing for a short time and then ramp down as quickly as is determined by the size of the glass that is being fired.
Lewis C Wilson

[mer]

thanks lewis. i was trying to find an answer online as i am also interested but i couldn't find any good info. that was very concise.

[David Sandidge]

I've had a lot of experience with fire on lusters. Not to debunk your advice Lewis, but I've found that the gold doesn't stike as well at annealing temp. You need to take it up slightly higher if you want it to adhear well. It likes to rub off if you don't. Fire the gold and ruby or cranberry luster to about 1080 and hold for 30 to 45 minutes. The ramp speed for me never really made a difference. All of the lusters will run off of you apply them too thick. The best thing to do is let them dry for at least an hour before fireing. I never liked the platinum look so my use was limited. It does seem to fire better than the gold though. Other colors effects can be change by mixing. I like to add a touch of gold to cranberry and ruby. A little gold in the dark blue luster looks pretty cool also. My wife is real good with all of that stuff as she is the one that did it at Disney for about 10 years. She even keeps a little recipe book for the different mixes she's done. A drop of this and a drop of that. My advice is to just experiment with it yourself. You can also get help from the people at Englehard. They are the manufacturers. I'll look for the number and post it later. I recommend cranberry over ruby. Green is difficult because it tends to come out splochy. You often have to coat and fire twice with all of the colors. Don't overfire the yellows. Stick with annealing tem with them or the come out looking kinda burnt. Mother of pearl is easy. You can add mother of pearl to all of the colors also to give them a little more brilliance. Keep your brushes clean and separate them. I like to label them as to which color was used for which brush. Be sure to clean the glass well first with denatured alcohol and try to avoid dust before fireing. Ventelate well. The fumes are toxic.

Good luck and let me know how it works for you.

[David Sandidge]

Englehard Corp.
1 800 524 2887
www.engelhard.com

[LewisW]

Thanks David,
Lewis

[steven p selchow]

Since I've had numerous experiences with lusters, David has a good recipie for using these. Let the colors dry before firing. Unfortunatly, the best colors are no longer manufactured by englehard. the yellow over ruby was the best color I've ever acheived, but you had to fire the ruby first, and cool down, then apply the yellow over the ruby for a second firing, ruby tended to gel up, and at about $25.00 for a half ounce, it had a very short shelf life. I heard of firing at 1065, but from there to 1080 is reasonable. The colors are limited now, and heard they had to be manufactured in South america due to EPA restrictions. experiment with one color over the other, but not at the same time, seperate firings result in different colors. You cant get the same color firing blue over yelloy as you can yellow over blue..but lusters have their place in boro.

steve

[glassblowingBiker]

this sounds like a cool new thing with tons of new ideas to do with it i love this place thanks Jeff

[Greymatter Glass]

heheheh

hey rashan, i got some of those really cool ruby rods jenny uses for chili ristras, if you wan't some.

[Skye Perry]

Man you guys got my creative juices flowing .This stuff sounds like it can be used for a lot of nice applications . I never really thought of using them until I seen some of the stuff my freind was doing with them on her pottery glazes .Thanks lewis , david , and steve for the insight .It really made me realize the potential for lusters and I will exsperiment with them and see what become's of it .

[Jones Art Glass]

heheheh

hey rashan, i got some of those really cool ruby rods jenny uses for chili ristras, if you wan't some.



Leave me alone and go work some glass young doug... Can't you see grown men kicking down knowledge...?

[steven p selchow]

Just for an example, if you get or saw the latest issue of glassline, that Dragon I did was colored glass and frit, but the wings were black luster fired on. Its a beautiful black, but needs more than one application, that one I did 3 firings. Make sure the clear or colored glass you apply it over is fingerprint clean, or it will show up after firing, and theirs no way to cover it up, even putting more coats over it, so I use latex gloves when brushing it on, and I leave the studio when I fire it, even though I have a vent hole in my kiln which sucks out the vapors, its nasty stuff, but after 500 degrees, the toxic chemicals the colors are suspended in burn off, leaving the color on...use in a well venilated area, I have a 3 inch stove pipe right over my kiln vent hole that sucks up the vapors, it takes longer to get it up to temp because its also removing the heat, I have a turbine vent fan, but after the chemicals burn off, I move the pipe aside and put in my plug in the vent hole, made it out of half inch rod, my vent hole is on top of my kiln...good luck and be safe with these.

steve