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Old 2012-11-27, 1:54pm
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Lyssa Lyssa is offline
The Harbinger of Cuteness
 
Join Date: Dec 11, 2007
Location: Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, California
Posts: 1,465
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Wow, very scientific, thanks for the explanation! I have another question that you might be able to help with, Anne. Or anyone might be able to help, really.

I clean my rods with alcohol, and the first application/winding on of an encasing layer is just fine, but after I flame cut the tip of the rod and then try to add more glass from the flame-cut tip (or use that same rod to encase another bead later), there's a million tiny bubbles in that flame-cut tip. Every time I flame-cut the glass it gets these million tiny bubbles, so the only time I can apply clear without getting any bubbles is on a brand new rod. How do I prevent this, short of cutting all my clear into small, bite-size pieces?

A friend told me the best way to prevent scumming was to remove a small dollop of glass from the tip of every new rod, but the way I work my clear that would just give me more bubbles.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anne Londez View Post
Glass doesn't like water, especially if it is scratched. From a chemical point of view, the silicon atoms in the glass have a great affinity for oxygen. A scratch in the glass breaks silicon-silicon bonds and the silicon will need to find something to attach itself to. The most easily available molecule is the water that is vaporized in the air, which attaches through their oxygen atoms. The glass thus becomes hydrated and that's what causes bubbles when you heat the glass, what you see is the adsorbed water vaporizing.
My point is that an aqueous solution for pickling glass rods will just make sure all scratches are hydrated and if the glass has lots of tiny scratches, it may bubble all the more.
I clean my rods with alcohol or vinegar but just my rubbing them.
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