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Rant: My color frit kept turning muddy on a simple vase
I was trying to make a cobalt blue vase with some silver frit accents last Tuesday, but every time I'd gather, the silver would just turn into a gray-brown mess. It took me three hours and four attempts to remember my old instructor's tip about letting the base color cool more before adding the reactive frit. Has anyone else had this happen with silver frit, and what's your exact timing for it?
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ruby8046mo ago
Remember my friend tried gold frit on black glass and it just vanished. She had to chill the piece almost to room temp first.
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phoenixk646mo ago
Yeah, the "vanished" thing is usually about the frit burning off, not actually disappearing. In my experience, chilling the base to room temp is way too cold and makes the frit just sit there like gravel. You want it just hot enough to stick but not so hot it burns. That dull cherry red Daniel mentioned is a much better target than a cold piece.
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grant.olivia6mo ago
Letting the base cool down is way too much work. I just keep everything super hot and work fast. My silver frit looks fine when I roll it onto a glowing hot gather, it gets a nice smoky effect. Cooling it down too much makes the frit just sit on top and not melt in properly. A really hot base helps it fuse better, even if the color changes a bit.
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daniel_cooper346mo ago
Oh man, that's the worst. I had the same problem with silver frit on dark red. What finally worked for me was letting the base gather cool until it was just barely glowing, like a dull cherry red, before rolling it in the frit. If it's too hot, the silver just burns right out.
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