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| Debbie's mosaic based on pattern by calyxann.etsy.com |
Recently, Debbie shared some pictures of the glass on glass mosaic she had been working on. Along the way, she had a few questions about different methods of heating the No Days Mosaic Adhesive. Debbie asked, "Can I put the entire piece in the oven? If so at what temp?"
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| Placing all the mirror and dichro dots just so... |
Yes, yes, you can! When I'm working on larger glass substrates, I put the piece in the oven at room temperature, and then set the temperature for 180º-200ºF. While the mosaic heats up, I work on other projects around the studio/house. The adhesive goes clear and looks wet when it melts. After 10-15 minutes, I'll check back with the mosaic and test the pieces a bit using a pair of long tweezers to see if they slide easily.
"No nasty fumes? That's great! I imagine this will be much better than using my embossing gun! Should I set it straight on the oven rack?"
Placing the mosaic straight on the rack is fine. Heating the piece in the oven gets the job done much more quickly and evenly than heating with a heat gun or embossing gun. If you're using a heat gun, you have to slowly heat the whole piece very evenly. If you don't heat a large glass substrate evenly, there's a chance of thermal shocking the glass, which results in a big crack! I have heated a larger piece with a heat gun in a pinch, but it's definitely a patience game. Using the oven (or a kiln) to heat the piece allows you to multi-task. After it's heated evenly in the oven and you remove it, you can continue to heat with your embossing tool to move pieces into place.
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| When the light reflects off of the mirror and dichro, there's tons of sparkle. |
When Debbie finished her project, she shared pictures of it in the sun and in the window with backlighting. "I love it Carrie! When it's hanging in the window it's harder to see the dichro blobs and mirror, so maybe it will hang on a wall at some point. Already thinking about the next one!"
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| When the light is shining behind the piece, the bright, transparent colors in the middle grab the spotlight! |
Below is a video for working with No Days Mosaic Adhesive in glass on glass mosaics:
