Striking Rubino Help

[Angela Schoonen]

I have always struggled with rubino, but now I have some rods of striking rubino which is causing me no end of grief. I can't get the color to strike at all. I'm using a minor, I've tried turning O2 up, down, propane up, down, nothing works. Anybody got any tips for me please??? I'm trying to complete an order which requires rubino and am stuck! Thanks :)

[Angela Schoonen]

:wave: I've just read an article on kiln striking the rubino, so I assume this is my answer! If there are any other words of wisdom...send 'em over! Cheers

[cherokeeflame]

Angela,
Have you tried pulling the bead from the flame, letting it cool longer than usual...say 30 seconds or so...then stike it in and out of the flame until you see the color come in. Keep striking in and out til you get that nice pink, I do this in a completely neutral flame. don't get too close to the lamps
For me...it all works if I let the bead "cool" long enough.

ALSO, I HATE the clear rubino. It is a pain to strike...the colored is much easier for me

[Cosmo]

I have best luck working Rubino way out near the end of the flame. Takes longer, but usually comes out nice and pink. Then encase it in clear as soon as possible.

[cam@velocity.net]

Try this: Put a piece one of your gold pink rods flat on the floor of your kiln. Make beads as usual (ramp up, soak, ramp down, etc.) and see if you get the kiln to strike the rod pink BEFORE you use it. It may require a few sessions and if you find it works, then “kiln” strike all your rods.

Candy

[Kevan]

What Cosmo said. That's the best way that I have found. I had a whole rod of that that only stuck to the palest rose color. It was pretty, but it wasn't what I was used to it doing.

[paintingwithglass]

Another tip: Turn your oxygen up..up..up. Gold pink loves oxygen. :-D

I tried the kiln striking with an odd batch that I received recently...unfortunately, the pink never would strike to the cranberry pink...only a rose pink...I save and use that batch for floral cane...it gives the floral petals lovely three shades of rose pink. Otherwise I was very disappointed with the batch. I have not ordered gold pink since.

[Moth]

Well, if there is one thing I can do...it is strike rubino, so maybe I can help ya too.

What everyone else already said is true.

1- Don't overheat the rods as you use them. You may burn the color out and not be able to strike them back to pink.

2- All rubino is striking rubino.

3- I purchased some of that rubino that we were directed to kiln strike before using, but I never kiln struck it first. I just flashed the first 3 or 4 inches of the rod in the flame to preheat it. Once it had blushed up a bit, I proceeded as usual. I would 'flash blush' a few inches at a time as I needed it.

4- Rubino likes oxygen rich flames. This is because it reduces very easily. Too much propane and you will bring metal to the surface.

5- If you are making a bead totally covered in rubino, such as an encasement, or large surface area of rubino, be very careful not to overheat the rods as you apply them. After you have your bead completed, down to the final shape, bring it out of the flame and let the glow die down considerably. Now bring it back into the flame and slowly heat while turning evenly and bring the whole bead back to a slow, medium orange glow. Don't let it go yellow or you have gotten it too hot. I usually do this pretty far out in the flame to let the color develop best.

Once the glow has died down again, you should be able to see how your rubino struck. If you want it darker, repeat the process, but be careful, if at any point you go to hot...you have to start all over again. It has been my experience that the more often you strike this color, the less intense it ends up being.

6- If you are simply using it for flower petals, the process is basically the same, it just isn't necessary to let the slow glow get as deep into the bead. Heat it just enough to watch the rubino areas turn orange...then let them die down...repeat until your color is right.

7- If you are torching for an extended period of time, attempt to make your beads containing rubino toward the end of the session. Rubino doesn't like to soak at annealing temp for hours and hours. It will go murky/brownish on ya. You will get the best color if they don't soak any longer than they have to to be properly annealed.

8- Different batches behave differently as far as what final color you will achieve, but other than that, I treat them all the same. Well...except that batch that was supposed to be kiln-struck. I don't do that pre-flash thing with other batches I have had. Just that one...and I hope I never have to bother with it again. LOL

9- Good luck and hopefully this helps someone else too.

~~Mary

Here are beads from three different batches of rubino. The frog pink is a rod from a batch of rubino I bought 4 years ago. I don't think we will EVER see a pink that rich again.

3418
8548
8805

[paintingwithglass]

Hi Mary! Ahhh, glad you added the pics...I love the cranberry/hot pink rubino...I have been trying to get that hot pink/cranberry color consistently out of that rose pink batch....even your pics show that you get lines of it...I just think they were too skimpy on the amount of gold used when creating that batch. So disappointing!

I hope your pics help out Angela. Thanks for sharing them.

[Angela Schoonen]

Hey guys;
Thanks so much for all your help.
I kiln struck my rubino a couple of days ago, it came out a beauuuutiful cranberry color. I was so excited to use it - pulled some stringer, made florals - they lost all their color and ended up being white!
So, now that I've read all this information, I think maybe I'm heating the stringer too hot. Hopefully I'll get a chance on the torch tomorrow and try keeping it cooler.
Thanks so much, guys :)

[Moth]

Hi Mary! Ahhh, glad you added the pics...I love the cranberry/hot pink rubino...I have been trying to get that hot pink/cranberry color consistently out of that rose pink batch....even your pics show that you get lines of it...I just think they were too skimpy on the amount of gold used when creating that batch. So disappointing!

I hope your pics help out Angela. Thanks for sharing them.


Hi there!

Just for reference, if you are referring to the striped effect of the jellyfish mantles, that is a rod of white, striped with rubino, then encased with pale pink. When that is painted onto the bead in stripes, it is meant to look like the folds of a jellyfish as it is bunching up and moving around in the water.

So, it really isn't a streaky solid rubino, it is a striped stringer.

Hope that clarifies a bit.

~~Mary

[Moth]

Hey guys;
Thanks so much for all your help.
I kiln struck my rubino a couple of days ago, it came out a beauuuutiful cranberry color. I was so excited to use it - pulled some stringer, made florals - they lost all their color and ended up being white!
So, now that I've read all this information, I think maybe I'm heating the stringer too hot. Hopefully I'll get a chance on the torch tomorrow and try keeping it cooler.
Thanks so much, guys :)

Yep, you are definitely overheating the stringer as you are using it. I'm 100% certain of it.

However, you can overheat it, have it go white on you, and STILL be able to restrike it to pink. (sometimes)

Just let the bead cool way down, then reintroduce into the flame and bring a low orange glow to the rubino layers. Take it out and if it has pinked up at all...you can bring it back. Just keep striking it.

You have to be gentle with this color.

~~Mary

[totallytorched]

I work far out in the flame, but I flash in and out A LOT!! Be sure to let it cool a bit then get it back in the flame, you may have to do this quite a bit in order to get the deeper pink color, Rubino is so finnicky and takes a little bit longer to use, but once you get it you are addicted to it:biggrin: I hardly ever turn my oxygen up on my minor when working with rubino, just try to get it to glow, then let it cool and keep repeating:waving:



Jenni

[Angela Schoonen]

Yep, you are definitely overheating the stringer as you are using it. I'm 100% certain of it.

However, you can overheat it, have it go white on you, and STILL be able to restrike it to pink. (sometimes)

Just let the bead cool way down, then reintroduce into the flame and bring a low orange glow to the rubino layers. Take it out and if it has pinked up at all...you can bring it back. Just keep striking it.

You have to be gentle with this color.

~~Mary

Thank you Mary. I am off to play....