Quote:
Originally Posted by istandalone24/7
ok, what if it's "wrinkled" looking ( your ripples on the water description is perfect) but will NOT polish out in the flame?
every time i break the 2" mark on a marble...i get these ripples along the equator where the lens meets the color backing...the rippling is on the clear.
no amount of flame polishing fixes it. i have a feeling that it's "phase seperation" (idk if that's even the proper term) from cooking the snot out of it.
any ideas?
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yes. It is due to the difference in viscosity between the colored and most likely stiffer backing and the softer clear lens as others have already suggested. My standard designs are 2.25" or so and I used to get this on larger marbles that needed lots of trips into my mold. The glass is being overworked and the damage, permanent devit, is showing up where its worst at that interface. It gets progessively worse so it is not surprising that it shows up at the end. I fixed it completely by reducing the amount of mold time to a minimum. When this was happening I was using the mold throughout the three hours or so it takes me for most of my marbles. Now I only use the mold for the final shaping. I keep them mostly round throughout with just heat and gravity. This is really pretty common. Why is it worse as the marbles get bigger? Not sure, but in my experience, everything gets harder and more critical as the mass grows. Also, be sure you clean your molds regularly. I use denatured alcohol to clean mine every day. You may be amazed by how much this will increase the clarity and luster of your lenses.