I'd like to hear what everyone uses, too
I make big beads, and there's nothing I hate worse than bead release that cracks after I've used up two 20" rods of glass and anywhere from 30-45 minutes to melt that base glob so I can start sculpting. If it happens when I'm almost done, that's one thing-- just hold my breath and try to finish up without the cracked release breaking any further. The bead release that has worked so far for me is Super Blue Sludge. I can't say it never breaks, but when it does it's probably when I've thinned it too much. Also, I finally learned to put down as wide a footprint as I think I'm going to need as soon as possible. It's harder to keep everything warm, but it also seems to keep me from drying and flaking the uncovered bead release before I get to that area of the mandrel. Hope that made some sense.