Help! with Fosterfire bead realease

[Tutti-frutti]

Oh Shit, did I buy the wrong stuff??? or did I get it right???
The large bottle I got from Frantz was meant for Hollows and sculptural beads, I figured that's not coming off no matter how I pull on the glass...
Well, when I opened the bottle I found a blob of gritty Oatmeal stuff that I could not get to smooth out. is this meant to be that way.???
How on earth do clean those holes off.
I am so bummed about Bucket of mud that is nomore...

Help please
Katja

[FosterFire]

You can always call or e-mail me directly as I am the one who developed FosterFire. It is now being manufactured by www.lbsupplys.com , the team of Jon and Renate Hunt.

My first suggestion is add water. It should look like tomato sauce from a can. If it is thick and really gritty then it needs water. When you dip a mandrel if it looks patchy or forms a ridge it needs water. It will have some grittiness to it anyway. You have the option on your transparent holed beads to lightly sand the mandrel (before heating) with your finger to make it smooth and it will still work fine.

Please remember to shake well after adding water.

If you need additional advice you might try searching the forum as these topics have been covered before.

[Dasi]

Hey, I love Fosterfire. I have bucket of mud I never use. Want to trade?

[Starrr]

I also love my Fosterfire! The trick for me is to make it thinner than you would think it should be. When it's thin it dries to an almost perfect plastic like texture that won't break in the flame and the beads will twist off the mandrel most of the time before they even hit the water.

[jaci]

I love my foster fire! BUT my latest batch is smelly like bad eggs... and i did not add water to thin it, i added alcohol *before it got smelly*. it is still smelly, and the stuff i mixd with kiln wash is even smellier!

[HONEYBUNNY72_99]

I love it too but my latest bottle is also having problems.It is the same thickness I used before(like tomato soup)but one of 2 things happens everytime I torch:the bead release breaks as I wind on or the dang beads will not come off the mandrel.Something seems different about this batch.I never had stuck beads before ever when using the Smooth and Tough.
Tina

[Jane P]

Hmmm - I am just about out of mine (the original batch), and was wanting to order more - but with these problems cropping for some of you, perhaps I will wait. Anyone else having trouble with the new batch?

[Peach Blossom Beads]

Let Jon & Renate know right away!!!! Before they make more, screw it up, get unhappy glass peeps emailing & posting about them, and lose money b/c they have to throw it out. They'll fix it for you and you'll save other people from ordering a bad batch!

They just started making it. Maybe they need to contact Robin b/c they're "missing" something.

[HONEYBUNNY72_99]

I bought mine from someone else not sure which batch it is.
Tina

[Tutti-frutti]

Right now I have all kind of beads on different bead releases in the kiln.
I thinned Foster Heavy duty way down, still gritty but we'll see.
I thought about throwing all those leftover bottles in a blender and mix it all into a batch. anyone ever done that ?
Katja

[HONEYBUNNY72_99]

I have mixed different kinds before with no problems.I think I have my flaking issue under control(my studio was too cold)Only flakes on my 3/32 mandrels or larger.Still a problem with 1/16 not coming off mandrel at all.

[HONEYBUNNY72_99]

New observation...
I air dry my mandrels and with this batch when I heat my mandrel to apply glass I am getting these tan spots.You know how a white ceiling looks when there has been a leak.I know it isn't my water because I have not added any to the bottle yet.

[jaci]

that normal. I get that ll the time, with any release. It is really bad in the summer when it is humid.

[LyndaJ]

I've noticed the cracking issue ONLY when my mandrels need to be cleaned. I used to only clean them when there was a lot of residue on them, but the Smooth and Tuff is MUCH happier with mandrels that have been scrubbed each time.

I had actually thought that I had ruined a bottle of it, but once I started scrubbing (like a scotch brite pad) them, it's been fine.