Enameling questions - gold foil

  Hello; A further question. Why does gold foil have to be used
underneath red transparent enamel? 

The reason for the gold foil is that there is a chemical reaction
between th e silver and the red enamel which turns it to a different
color. The result usually is a color that no enamelist would want.
You can also have problems with transparent yellows and purples. As
an alternative to gold you can use flux as the first layer and then
the red. Flux in the lead free it is 2020 Flux for Silver and the
Japanese leaded N1 is beautiful. Good Luck Koranna Spurgeon
Enamelist and Enameling Instructor