looking for help with a few vetrofond colors
 

I have bought 3 colors that looked very neat and swirly with different colors in it, but they turn out nothing like the pictures.

apricot orange- rod is an orangish brown and the bead stays that way
tomato soup- same as apricot jam
coral martian strata- rod is a maroon color and the bead is the same

I have tried striking. I have tried reducing. I have tried getting the colors super hot. nothing seems to work.

I am currently using a hothead without kiln. I haven't the space for a big boy torch but I have seen other artists that produce beautiful beads and colors with a hot head.

I have been trying my hand at lampworking and bead making since mid October 2016. so, I am new for sure. I have seen some beautiful spacer beads made with apricot orange doing a search, I just cant get it to look like anything else but balled up orange mud.

if you want the colors swirled, remember that the beads have a core or rings of color which makes the streaks. You will have to melt the rod into a small to medium gather and then fold over or smoosh (technical term) back onto the rod and do that it a few times. Swirling the gather brings up the core or other layers, and makes the glass look swirled. HTH

It's not your HH, so don't stress about that. As Kristin said, those sort of rods are built of layers of color. Take a look at these rods of Tomato Soup:

Attachment 163559

Notice how the rods on the upper right have very little of the center color? They would produce beads with minimal streaking, as opposed to those on the left. Check the cut end of your rods; you may have ones with smaller amounts of the contrasting color.

Alli

OMG Alli, is that your glass?

If you go look up these 3 colors to buy, my rods and beads look nothing like the sample pictures. There are a crummy brown orange, not a vibrant orange.

I can work with getting it swirly but I cannot get the orange to pip at all.

IMO, those oranges look a little overheated. They shouldn't be speckled at all. You might want to go lighter with the heating also. The ones you posted in the gallery look much better!

Here is your thread, stlbluesnut. Love to see how it works out for you. Those are some of my fave colors, definitely should get some good stuff with them.

It feels like I have tried it all and I still only get the brown orange above, as you can see is exactly how the rod starts out.

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I would suggest to work higher in the flame, that is some kind of soot and/or burn. I'm sorry you are having the trouble. Nothing more frustrating.

You are in the wrong area of the flame on a hot head. You need to be above the main blueish flame. not in the flame. Start a good 4-5 inches from the opening of the torch. It is actually hottest at the tip of the blue flame and about 1 inch above. I am positive you are working to close and getting the dirt deposits on the bead.
Try using ivory to make a bead and when the bead is clean, you know you have found the sweet spot for the flame.