Creating Fused Glass Mosaics Using NO Days ThinFuse
Materials:
NO Days ThinFuse Adhesive
fusible Spectrum System 96 glass
System 96 Carolina Frit
tools:
glass cutter, running pliers
spoon, small brush
standard heat gun, embossing tool, or conventional/toaster over
kiln
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| Quick fused glass mosaic made with No Days Thinfuse |
ThinFuse essentially creates a faux tack fuse, allowing you to eliminate extra firings and cut back on the amount of time it takes to finish a multi-step fused glass project. Once the adhesive has been heat set, you can continue to add elements to the piece before firing in a kiln. ThinFuse is a perfect solution for creating easy fused glass mosaics.
Place a clean base layer of fusible glass on top of a portion of ThinFuse adhesive and release liner. There is a slight texture on the side of the roll with the adhesive .
Use a razor or scissors to cut the adhesive around the edges of the glass and return the adhesive roll to the package.
Turn the glass, adhesive and release paper over. Burnish the edges and across the center of the release paper with the back of your fingernail, a fid, or a pen. Rubbing on the release paper against the glass will help the adhesive to stick and not tear when peeling back the release paper.
Beginning with a corner or the edge, peel back the separator paper, leaving the adhesive sheet attached to the glass. Avoid pulling up on the paper as the adhesive can tear. Instead, peel back across the glass .
Place your cut glass design elements on top of the adhesive covered base layer.
To achieve a faux tack fuse, heat set the ThinFuse adhesive with a heat gun, oven or kiln. The adhesive activates at 160 degrees F. If heating with a heat gun, make sure to heat the whole project slowly and evenly to avoid thermal shocking the glass.
Alternatively, you can heat set the adhesive by placing the project in a toaster oven or conventional oven set to 200 degrees F for 10 minutes.
After removing the project from the heat, you will be able to nudge pieces into place if they have moved or are not exactly where you want them. If the pieces set up before you’re finished moving them around, simply reheat and move the pieces into place. Let the project cool and you can add additional elements before firing in the kiln.
For this fused glass mosaic piece, I’m adding Carolina Extra Fine Frit as grout lines.
Spoon some frit onto the fused glass mosaic and begin to spread it into the grout lines. Use a brush to sweep the frit into place and clear off excess frit. While “grouting,” you can add No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive to help hold the frit in place, especially along the edges of the piece.
When you’ve finished grouting and sweeping off excess frit, you’re ready to transport your piece to the kiln to fire.
Keeping in mind that all kilns fire differently and that both the type and placement of glass in the kiln will affect the firing schedule you use, here are some sample firing schedules to get you started. It’s a good idea to keep a journal of your firing schedules for reference so you can change them as needed.
Firing Schedule:
| 250 dph | 600 degrees F | 30 min |
| 250 dph | 1000 degrees F | 30 min |
| 50 dph | 1100 degrees F | 35 min |
| 150 dph | 1250 degrees F | 15 min |
| 500 dph | 1375 degrees F | 7 min |
| AFAP | 960 degrees F | 45 min |
| 100 dph | 700 degrees F | no hold |
| off | ||
For more project ideas and instructional videos, visit http://www.Streuter.com.
For ordering information or help with questions, email info@streuter.com.
Note: The adhesive is not sticky and will not activate until heated to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).
For more information on firing schedules, visit our NO Days Firing Schedule page.
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