Firing Enamels

Jewelry Discussion
1

It was mentioned that one could fire enamels with a careful torch.
Can this really be done without burning the glass? And can one
counter enamel this way too?

thanks
Colleen

2

Yes, you can do both. Be sure to use hard solder.

  1. Use hard solder for all soldering and have all soldering
    finished.
  2. Heat from the back side.
  3. Fuse enamels to an orange peel stage until the last layer.
  4. Do not quench hot.
  5. Follow normal ways of applying enamel and of cleaning metal.
  6. To prevent warpage, use hollow forms and/or counterenamel.

Marilyn Smith

3

regarding a post from colleen lewis that mentions you can fire
enamels with a “careful torch” . I am interested in purchasing one
of these torches , at the moment i have a torch but its not very
careful . it often burns me and the other day i caught it smoking a
cigarette near the acetone.

4

Torch firing is interesting and very easy–I took a class in it from
Deb Lozier a couple of years ago.

If you have some scrap copper sheet and some jewelry enamel handy,
give it a try! Just sprinkle some enamel on the copper and heat from
the back side until the enamel melts. Interestingly, the metal need
not even be clean. Black copper oxides on the surface will be
reduced to an attractive red patina, visible through clear or
transparent enamels. It does take a lot of practice to get the
effect you want.

Richard Bynum