Oops! Now what?!? Working with frit and No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive

"Embroidered Dogwood" fused glass plate created with frit,
Glassline paints and No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive.

The creation of this plate is an epic tale. So grab your preferred beverage, sit back and enjoy the ride!

Clear fusible glass base with painted trace lines done with
Glassline paints.

In the beginning, there was a circle of clear glass and some glassline paints to outline the design...I've been working on a series of floral themed platters. Some of them are very realistic looking, but mostly, I lean towards abstract and lots of color. My aim for this particular plate was to make it look geometric with a sense of needlework. After tracing the outlines of my design from a template to the clear glass base and letting the paints dry (10-15 minutes), I was ready to add details and color with various frits.

Building frit design from the center outward over the
dried paints. Frit is held firmly in place with
No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive.

When I'm using frits, the size grain that I use depends upon the outcome I'm going for. When adding fine detail lines, I use fine frit (size F2 in System 96 or size 01 in Bullseye). The fine frit allows me to create highly detailed imagery. It is also easy to sculpt with the No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive. If I have larger areas of my design to fill in, I'll switch to medium or coarse frit sizes and often blend colors, as well as mixing opals with cathedrals. Once I've got my design established, I find a good starting point in the center-ish. This makes it easier to work on your piece without brushing your arms across your design.

Detailed frit designs are added in a circular motion building outward.

I lay down a bit of No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive, then cover it with frits. I sculpt the frits into the shape I want them to be. It's easiest to work from the inside out (in this case).  By starting in one spot and then working next to it, you've got a wall of frit to support each new addition. I decided to experiment with adding some coarse frit accents in areas (to mimic the knotted stitches in embroidery), and then covering them with fine frit. Here, we're viewing the plate from what will be the front side when the plate is finished. It's helpful to have a mirror to work on, then you can see what the front side of the plate looks like as you're working without having to lift the plate overhead.

Checking the progress, looking up at the underside.
If you build on a mirror, you can check your progress as you work.

Although there are no trace lines outside of the flower in the center, I wanted to continue building in a pattern around the edges. Each new color got placed and sculpted until I reached the edge...

The design is nearly finished! And then...

Super close to being finished, and can you believe that it still hasn't occurred to me that I'm working with "enemies"? Wait, what?!?

A picture of the finished frit design before firing in the kiln to
burn off the adhesive and save my design...hopefully.

Yea! It's all finished, and about this time I realize that I've used a piece of 90 COE clear base with 96 COE frits. This is one of those projects that sat in my studio for a few months after being painted before I was able to get to it and add frits. A great lesson in keeping an extremely well organized studio if you plan on firing glass in the kiln. Either stick with one kind of compatible glass, or segregate your pieces from step one! 
So, now I'm left with a beautiful mosaic platter. I could have left it glued together as a flat piece and the No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive would keep it glued together for good. But, that's not the intention I had when creating this plate, so it's time to trouble shoot. And, admittedly, that's one of the great pulls that fused glass holds over me. I love problem solving and understanding the whys behind the process. So, time to experiment...

First attempt to burn off the adhesive...obviously failed.

Getting to know No Days... The picture above shows the results of my poor plate going into the kiln after the first attempt at burning off the adhesive. 

The firing schedule follows:

300ºF per hour	600ºF	1.30
off

NOTE: All following firing schedules will have the above layout, with the first column being degrees per hour (in ºF), the second column is the target temperature in ºF, and the third column is the hold time: hours.minutes).

Obviously the adhesive did not fully burn out. The frit is still stuck firmly to the plate and has not dropped to the kiln shelf. Looks "carmelized." Yum.

Detail of caramelized glass...Frit is still stuck in place!

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Okay...so the adhesive really holds! Let's see what a second burnout attempt looks like...

Second burnout attempt.

I left the kiln vented for the entire firing so I could observe what was happening. [Also, my studio is in the garage next to a window that I can open for ventilation. I always recommend trying to keep your kiln in a space that is not a living space. That way anything that burns out while firing (binders, adhesives, fiber papers, etc.) will not stink up your house.]

At 800ºF, there was visible smoking.

At 920ºF, there is no visible smoke, but I could smell the adhesive burning off and see brown on the kiln shelf.

After 45 minutes at hold temp (1000ºF), I could no longer see any carbon burnout on the piece or kiln shelf. The frit has not dropped from the glass to the shelf.
  

After the firing was complete, the adhesive in the center of the plate had obviously not burned off. The frit on the edges of the plate can be tapped off of the glass. (This makes me want to do another experiment to see how well the frit holds on to the plate after burning off the adhesive...that's for another post...)

[NOTE: The plate is placed directly on a kiln-washed shelf with no fire paper. The clear glass on top of all the frit is preventing the adhesive from burning out in the center. It would be much quicker to burn off the adhesive if the glass base were on the bottom and the frit on top. However, I need to get the adhesive to burn out and release my frit onto the kiln shelf, so I can replace the clear glass with compatible System 96 glass! This means that it's taking longer for me to burn out the adhesive than it would under normal circumstances (frit on top of sheet glass in the kiln).]

Second attempt firing schedule:

300ºF per hour	1000ºF	1.30
off

---

The adhesive has fully burned off after 4.5 hours in the kiln and
three successive low temperature firings.

At this point, I decided to try the second firing schedule again. Why? Well, I don't want to raise my top temperature any further. If I creep up towards 1100ºF, my glass base will start to distort and slump into the frit, and my hope is to salvage that piece to create a different dogwood plate. I figured that another long hold at 1000ºF will help to get that adhesive out from under the glass in the center of the plate. Guess what?!?  After the third burnout attempt, SUCCESS! Full burnout of adhesive. The frit is still stuck to the plate in places, but can be tapped off, mostly.

Third attempt at burnout firing schedule:

300ºF per hour	1000ºF	1.30
off

The frit that has been tapped off of the clear glass and salvaged on the kiln shelf.

The frit design has been saved on my shelf so I can now prep a clear piece of System 96 glass to cap it with!

This is the frit that was still hanging on the clear piece of glass!
Can you believe the adhesive is still working after all of that?!?

I wasn't able to tap off all of the frit. The adhesive has fully burnt out, but the frit is still sticking together. It did come off of the plate when I wiped it clean, but I just trashed the bits that didn't transfer to the shelf. Below, you can see where I added additional frit to the design to fill in the gaps (aiming for the magical 6mm thickness that glass wants to be at a full fuse).

Take two...(or is it four?)...I've added a clear sheet of Spectrum to
cap the frit that was left on my kiln shelf.

I prepped another sheet of glass, this time using the proper glass: Spectrum clear with Glassline paints.

Full fuse number one...success-ish!

After a full fuse, the plate has a few divots (not to be confused with devit = devitrification; because there's none of that), plus I want to add more depth.

Time to add more depth and detail to the top side of this design
with coarse frits and a No Days Powder Wafer.
Plus, clear frit to even out the thickness of the glass.

There are areas where the thickness of the glass wasn't 1/4," so I added some clear frit to fill in the divots. Also, I wanted more of those embroidery "French knot stitches" and added bits of coarse frit for detail. Then, because the middle was still lacking, I decided to add a No Days Powder Wafer. Uh...what's that? It's still a secret! But, watch for details in the next few months. Oh! And you can sign up for Jacqui Bush's Vegas class to get a jump start on the technique, too!

I'm on a roll! Time to get these projects fired and finished!

For the finishing full fuse, I loaded the kiln with two other projects I've been waiting to fire.

The plate on the lower left is ready for it's first firing. It was also built entirely of frit on clear with No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive. 90 COE exclusively... I did not have to fire it several times to facilitate full burnout of the adhesive because the clear piece of glass is on the bottom of the frit. This means the adhesive can escape straight up and out of the piece, unlike the previous pictures of the dogwood plate where the adhesive had to escape beneath the clear glass to the edges before burning off.
Also, notice the addition to my kiln shelf of fire paper. Firing on fire paper ensures that any air between the kiln shelf and the plate has a chance to escape, meaning that I get no big, unexpected bubbles bursting through the top of my plates!

Ahhh! What a feeling! Finally finished, well, except for the slump.

Tada! Full fused again and ready to slump. This particular mold is the Round Rippled Drop Out Mold from Slumpy's. I've been really into using drop-out molds against the kiln shelf to make nice flat-bottomed plates. Flat-bottomed plates make my slumping world go 'round...or something like that ;)

Post-slump firing in a drop out mold from Slumpy's.

Wow! You made it all the way to the bottom and the end of my saga! Hope you were able to follow along without too much confusion. However, if you've got questions, I'd love to hear them and see if I can't answer them, as well :) Leave a comment on the blog and I'll do my best to answer!

Q&A Monday ~ Vertical Mount Mosaic with Mesh

Subject: mosaic product question

I an interested in doing some mosaic work on  concrete wall outside. Is there a product that would work well for this? It needs to be able to withstand winter and hot summer conditions as I am located in KS.

Thank you,

S

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No Days Mosaic Mesh allows you to build your mosaic on a horizontal
surface and then mount your mosaic vertically using thinset or mortar.

 Hi, S ~

The best way to approach the work you want to do would be to build your mosaic on mesh and then mount on the wall using an appropriate thinset / mortar.

Our No Days Mosaic Mesh has a heat set adhesive that holds the tiles to the mesh while you're building the mosaic. When the pieces are set in place, then you use thinset to attach it to the wall.

We have a YouTube channel and there's a quick video on the process here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHExYFozByA&feature=share&list=PL2470E6E3D2CD6545

There's an artist that uses our mesh all the time on installations and she likes to place and then heat set the tiles on the mesh. After the tiles cool down, she butters the back of the mosaic with a thin layer of thinset, which helps to stabilize the mosaic and makes it easy to install. http://nodaysadhesives.blogspot.com/2013/05/merle-art-design-custom-dogwood-bathroom.html

Hope this helps,
Carrie

Mosaic insert on stone bench, made using No Days Mosaic Mesh.

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No Days Instructor and Support Carrie Strope Sohayda

Hi, there! Carrie, here... Not only do I travel the country teaching folks how to use No Days adhesives (and other techniques), but I also answer customer support emails about using No Days. So, if you're having an issue with the adhesives, chances are good that I'll be answering your questions! Since I get so many good questions, I thought it might be a great learning opportunity for people that may be having some of the same issues but haven't thought to email us. Don't worry, I'll keep the emails anonymous! Also, don't forget that we've got a lot of really fabulous videos (I put those together, too...) on our YouTube channel. So for those of you who are visual learners (umm...we're visual artists, right?), you may want to check them out! If you've got questions, feel free to contact us at info@streuter.com.

Tips & Tricks ~ No Days Mosaic Adhesive on a Glass Tabletop

Donna's Poolside Hibiscus Mosaic Tabletop

 Occasionally, we get asked if it's okay to use No Days Mosaic Adhesive on large glass tabletops.  I've never really been sure if it would work or not, due to the fact that you have to heat the glass to 160ºF (71ºC) to get the pieces to adhere properly. When heating large pieces of glass, there's a possibility of thermal shocking and shattering the glass, if it's not heated evenly across the entire surface of the glass.

 However, we received these amazing photos of a hibiscus mosaic tabletop completed by Donna using No Days Mosaic Adhesive film and stained glass on a tempered glass tabletop.

"I made this mosaic hibiscus table using NO Days Mosaic Adhesive Film.  I covered the entire glass table with the film, placed my glass on the top of the film and heated both the top and underside of the table with a heat gun.  It worked great!!!  If I needed to move something, I just reheated that area and moved it. The table was made with tempered glass, I think that’s why it didn’t break.  I have also turned the table completely upside down, and it all held together."

Thanks for sharing, Donna!

We love seeing pictures of pieces made using No Days adhesives. If you've got something you've made that you'd like to share, please email us at: info@streuter.com.

Q&A Monday ~ Cleaning up Liquid Fusing Adhesive

Continuing with the theme of clean up from last week, here's an email from P. wondering how to clean the Liquid Fusing Adhesive from hands and other surfaces...

Subject: Streuter Technologies: Liquid Fusing Adhesive

What can I use to clean up tools and my hands when I get the No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive on them?
Thanks, P

No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive

Hi, P~

The liquid fusing adhesive is sticky stuff! When you're done using it, you can use vegetable oil or petroleum jelly to help get the adhesive off of your hands and tools, then wash with soap and warm water. If there is still a residue, acetone (nail polish remover) will help get rid of it.

Hope that helps:)

Carrie

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No Days Instructor and Support Carrie Strope Sohayda

Hi, there! Carrie, here... Not only do I travel the country teaching folks how to use No Days adhesives (and other techniques), but I also answer customer support emails about using No Days. So, if you're having an issue with the adhesives, chances are good that I'll be answering your questions! Since I get so many good questions, I thought it might be a great learning opportunity for people that may be having some of the same issues but haven't thought to email us. Don't worry, I'll keep the emails anonymous! Also, don't forget that we've got a lot of really fabulous videos (I put those together, too...) on our YouTube channel. So for those of you who are visual learners (umm...we're visual artists, right?), you may want to check them out! If you've got questions, feel free to contact us at info@streuter.com.

NO Days Q Stik Mosaic Adhesive for Interior Mosaic Mounting

 No Days Q Stik Mosaic Adhesive from Streuter Technologies is a heat set adhesive with an easy peel backing that reveals an industrial strength, pressure sensitive adhesive, ideal for permanently mounting mosaic design elements to interior surfaces, from picture frames, mirrors, mirror frames, and furniture, as well as wall spaces.

Streuter’s heat set adhesive offers the convenience of being able to quickly cure tiles in place for immediate grouting, as well as the freedom of being able to remove or reposition tiles easily if you change your mind or the design. The thickness of the heat set adhesive allows it to fully conform even around contours of thick, porous or uneven tiles creating a strong bond. The addition of the pressure sensitive adhesive allows for even more flexibility in using the heat set adhesive, including working on glass surfaces such as mirror without worry of thermal shock, or the ability to vertically mount tile without using  silcone, thinset or mortar.

Adhering Bails to Pendants using an Oven with No Days Bailbond

Heat setting several pieces at once in an oven/toaster oven


It’s easy to use No Days BailBond on several pieces and heat set them all at once using an oven.

Cut a piece of BailBond to fit the size of your bail.

Use a bit of painter’s tape to create a sandwich by placing your BailBond between the pendant and the bail. The tape will prevent the bail from moving in the oven once the BailBond has melted. Place the pendant sandwich face down.

Primer for Using No Days BailBond Adhesive for Jewelry and Other Findings

Beginning to Use No Days BailBond

When you first begin to use No Days BailBond, you may be frustrated by a bail that won’t stay where you put it. As the heat set adhesive turns to liquid, the bail may slide along the surface. 

To help keep your pendant, BailBond and bail in place before the adhesive sets, you can use a bit of painter’s tape to hold the pieces together. While you’re still getting used to working with No Days BailBond, there is a greater chance of overheating with this technique, because you can’t see the adhesive or feel when the adhesive bonds with the bail and the pendant. This means a bit more clean up, but it’s still simple. 

Attaching a Cabochon to Purse Hanger with No Days Bailbond

Adhering a Fused Glass Cabochon to a Purse Hanger Finding Using No Days BailBond


No Days BailBond is versatile and works well with a number of different findings. For this video, I’ll demonstrate how easy it is to use BailBond to attach a cabochon to a purse hanger finding.

Using a Soldering Iron to Attach a Bail to a Pendant with No Days BailBond

Heating No Days BailBond using a Soldering Iron

No Days BailBond is a heat set adhesive that is quick and easy to use. By heat setting with a battery powered portable electronics soldering iron:

• You’re able to feel when the NO Days BailBond is beginning to adhere. 
• You can pinpoint the heat exactly where you need it. 
• It’s portable and easy to use at a show, where you may not have access to electricity.

Attach And Wear Your Jewelry Quickly with No Days BailBond Adhesive

Attach and Wear Instantly!

No Days Bail Bond allows you to attach a bail or finding to your jewelry and wear it instantly because as soon as it cools, it’s cured.


Begin by cutting a piece of BailBond just slightly longer than your bail. As it’s heated the BailBond will pull in and fill any gaps. Make a sandwich with the bail, BailBond and pendant. 

Mosaic Adhesive Film and Mesh Overview from No Days

Overview of Mosaic Adhesive Film and Mesh from No Days Adhesives-
No Days Adhesives offers two products for mosaic enthusiasts: No Days Mosaic Mesh for vertical and horizontal mounting and No Days Mosaic Adhesive for direct application.

  [NOTE: We are constantly adding new products to our line based on feedback from our customers. If you have any ideas for products you'd like to see, or product feedback, contact us at info@nodaysadhesives.com]

Affixing Cabochons to a Disc Bracelet Blank with No Days Mosaic Adhesive

NO Days Mosaic Adhesive for Adhering Jewelry

Tools and Materials:
-NO Days Mosaic Adhesive (or glueFilm or No Days BailBond)
-cabochons, buttons, tiles, etc. to attach to jewelry finding
-disc bracelet (or other) finding
-standard heat gun or embossing tool
-masking tape or painter's tape
-heat proof surface to work on
-metal tool for pushing on cabochons

How to Create an Outdoor Stepping Stone Mosaic with No Days Adhesive

No Days Mosaic Stepping Stone

Tools & Materials:
-Paving Stone from home improvement store
-No Days Mosaic Adhesive Film (2 layers)
-heat gun
-sheets of stained glass
-tweezers
-glass cutting tools
-sanded grout


Approximate Time Start to Finish: 60-90 minutes depending upon size of stone, and skill level

Creating a Collage Mosaic with No Days Adhesive

Materials & Tools:
-mosaic tiles
-wooden substrate
-No Days Mosaic Adhesive Film
-standard heat gun
-tweezers
-scissors
-sanded grout
-container for mixing grout
-gloves
-water
-tape for masking edges of frame

Approximate Time: 2-3 hours

Faux Screen Printing on Fused Glass Using No Days Mosaic Adhesive and Glass Powders

NO Days Mosaic Adhesive for Fusing


 Using NO Days Mosaic Adhesives with fused glass powders, you can create intricate designs on fused glass to make faux screenprinted or stamped designs without the inconsistency and mess of mixing mediums.  The NO Days Mosaic Adhesive burns clean, leaving you with a detailed pattern in glass. 

  CAUTION: Be sure to use a proper respirator when working with glass powders.


Begin by choosing your design. You can use an exacto blade to trace an image. Otherwise, it’s easy to use paper punches and decorative edged scissors to make multiple identical designs. It’s even possible that your local scrapbooking store has die-cut machines available for use, which will allow you even more options for patterns and shapes. 

Creating Layered Dichroic Fused Glass Jewelry Using HoneyDoo Zuper Glue

Creating Layered Dichroic Jewelry with HoneyDoo Zuper Glue

HoneyDoo Zuper Glue is a great way to build stackups of fused glass that you can easily transport to the kiln without worry of your creation toppling. In this video, learn how to make a layered dichroic glass tile, fuse it in the kiln, and cut it into pieces for jewelry. Gather your materials: various fusible dichroic on black and clear glass, a 2” x 2” square of black or other color glass for the base, a 2” x 2” piece of clear glass and HoneyDoo Zuper Glue.

Creating Fused Glass Mosaics Using NO Days ThinFuse Adhesive

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

Creating Functional Fused Glass Art with No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive and Carolina Frit

Creating Functional Fused Glass Art with No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive


Materials:
-No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive
-Carolina Frit in various sizes
-Spectrum System 96 fusible glass


Tools:
-small spoon for scooping frit
-various tools for moving frit
-inspirations/images/sketches

No Days Liquid Fusing Adhesive makes painting with frits and powders an option even for glass enthusiasts that have to transport their work to a local glass shop or studio to be fired. The biodegradable, strong fusing adhesive burns free of residue. The ultra fine tip needle dispenser makes pinpointing the application of the adhesive simple. Watch as we show you how to create detailed and intricate designs for your fused glass!

Fused Glass Mosaics with Vicki Day and Nola Cabral of The Stained Glass Shop

August, 2011 Featured Artists - Vicki Day & Nola Cabral of The Stained Glass Shop...
Meet featured artists Vicki Day and Nola Cabral of The Stained Glass Shop in Glendale, Arizona.
Vicki and Nola bought the shop in 1986, which had sold traditional leaded glass supplies, finished goods and held classes from a suburban strip mall since 1971.

Warm glass was incorporated into traditional stained glass, and the Shop’s classes, virtually from the beginning. Shortly after purchasing the shop, Vicki and Nola went to their first trade show, took their first fusing class and bought their first kiln. Vicki then traveled to Los Angeles and took a class from Gil Reynolds and her fusing career took off. Originally, Gil traveled to Glendale to teach fusing classes for the shop; then Vicki assumed that role and Gil visited to teach only specialty fusing techniques. Vicki’s expertise and continuing education has allowed her to become The Stained Glass Shop’s professional when it comes to fused glass.

In 2001, The Stained Glass Shop moved into a space designed and built to their specifications to enable them to provide more warm glass classes.

 Although the shop is just across the street from the old location, they have more retail space as well as a better-designed teaching area. They also have the capacity to run three - 220V kilns and six - 8” kilns all at the same time! When teaching some techniques they need all that fire power!

Their fused glass mosaic technique has been developed over time with the help of two special people: Diane Sepanski, who had the original idea, and Mary Beth Maddox, who helped define the new process. Vicki & Nola love using No Days ThinFuse Adhesive in their Fused Glass Mosaic Classes because it eliminates a firing and cuts back on the amount of time it takes to finish a project. Prior to the advent of No Days Thin Fuse Adhesive, the colored tile pieces would be laid on the background glass, then the piece would be tack-fused. Now the pieces can be heat set with the adhesive, allowed to cool, and finished with frit glass grout all before being kiln fired.

The Stained Glass Shop is a full-service retail store. The shop provides glass, supplies and a large variety of classes in both traditional lead and copper foil stained glass techniques, beginning fusing and specialty fusing, mosaics, precious metal clay, wire working, silver jewelry techniques and much more.

Visit Vicki and Nola at www.stainedglass-shop.com to learn more!

Creating Faux Gold Leaf Mosaics with glueFOIL

Creating Faux Gold Leaf Mosaics with glueFOIL

Using glueFOIL from Strueter Technologies with clear textured stained glass is a great way to add sparkle to your mosaic and is much less expensive than using dichroic or specialty glasses.


Materials:
wooden Butterfly plaque -available from various online sites or at your local craft store
GlueFoil in assorted colors
No Days Mosaic Adhesive Film
Scrap Clear Stained Glass in a Variety of Textures available at your local stained glass studio
Stamping Pad or marker
sanded grout
rubber gloves
paper for pattern making
(optional: graphite paper)


Tools:
standard heat gun or embossing tool
scissors or razor blade
cutting mat
heat proof work surface
pen