No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive - clean up

Hi:

what is the best way to clean a brush after using it to apply No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive?

Thank you,

R

No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive is the BEST fusing adhesive!

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Hello, R ~

When I'm using a brush with No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive, I'll generally have a paper towel next to me while working. I use it occasionally to wick some of the adhesive off of the brush (and little bits of frit when I get build up).

When I'm finished working, I'll just wipe the brush off on the paper towel by "painting" excess adhesive onto the paper towel. Then, I just let it dry. I generally dedicate this brush (actually, I have two dedicated brushes) to working with No Days. It will harden up, but when I use it on the next project, the brush will get saturated again and soften up.

However, if you don't want to dedicate a brush for working with No Days, then you can clean it up when you're done with a bit of oil. Any oil you've got lying around will work. I generally use canola oil, or cutting oil, because they're right there. Place the oil in a cap, small container, jar lid, etc. and paint the brush around in it. After getting it thoroughly saturated, put a bit of dish soap in the palm of your hand and swish the brush around in it. Rinse and then, VOILA! Clean and ready to use on something else!

Alternatively, you can use acetone (or acetone based fingernail polish remover). Just place a bit of the acetone in a jar and soak and clean the bristles in the acetone. But, I prefer the oil and soap method.

Hope this helps! If you have more questions or this didn't fully answer your question, feel free to contact me again!

Good luck!

Carrie

No Days Mosaic Mesh Advice from Leigh Adams

Hi Leigh, I just received my first order of No Days and am loving it! First, I just wanted to say thanks for the work you did here, pioneering this product for mosaic artists! 

Corn accents on No Days Mosaic Mesh, which
will be affixed to the wedi board using thinset.

Second, a question: the No Days Mesh came with an opaque release paper, and the instructions recommended I sketch my design directly onto the mesh. I found I can't achieve the level of detail I want by doing this, and would love to have my image directly behind the mesh to guide my work. Could you recommend a CLEAR, heat-resistant release paper I could use behind the mesh that would not obscure my image? Thanks so much for your time! Cheers! ~Lynn

Leigh Adams, the No Days Mosaic Mesh Queen

I'm so glad to hear you are enjoying the No Days mesh, Lynn! Since it is easiest to work in one foot squares (for installation purposes as well as ease of using the kitchen oven to adhere the tesserae), I create my design on any paper I want and divide it into workable shapes that I can piece together easily and conveniently. Then, instead of using the release paper (save it!), I use waxed paper and put the mesh on top of that. You can see your design and the mesh can be heated and will release. CAUTION! Test your wax paper. Some recent purchases have not been adequately strong, the paper was inferior. Try a test square and keep notes on what works for you And please let me see what you do!

Four 12" squares of mosaic built on No Days Mosaic Mesh

UPDATE: I have found that Reynolds Parchment paper (the side with the writing on it) will also work well as a release liner.

No Days QStik Adhesive = Mosaic Wallpaper

What is No Days Q Stik Mosaic Adhesive?

  One side of the No Days Q Stik Mosaic Adhesive utilizes the advantages of No Days' heat activated adhesive for tile placement, while the back side of the Q Stik film contains an industrial strength, quick stick mounting adhesive for permanent mounting of your mosaic to a wide variety of large or small  interior surfaces, both horizontally and vertically.  It's basically, a customizable mosaic wallpaper. So, how do you use it?

Begin by cutting the Q Stik to size, then cut and place your mosaic tiles on the waxy side of the Q Stik. After all or part of your tiles are in place, use a heat gun or heat embossing tool to activate the heat set adhesive. Grab a pair of tweezers to move the tiles into place before they cool and bond to the Q Stik paper. (If they cool and you can't move them, you can always reheat them to re-position the tiles.)

When the adhesive and tiles have cooled down, the bond will be permanent (unless you decide to heat the tiles up to 160 degrees F / 70 degrees C), and you're ready to install. Peel back the paper the covers the pressure sensitive adhesive and press into place.

Depending upon where you're planning on installing the mosaic, you may need to support the adhesive for awhile before the permanent bond takes over. In the pictures, I've installed the mosaic upside down on an archway to see how well the QStik sticks. It's installed over some glossy paint in a strip roughly 6" x 18".

This was the last project on my to do list before leaving the studio, so I taped it to help keep it in place (just in case the adhesive needs some help sticking while it's curing). When I get back to the studio, I'll finish by grouting and then report back in intervals to let you know how well my mosaic wallpaper is sticking...