A Little Chat About Dichro

glassactcc · #1 2010-11-16, 7:17pm

I have been wanting to post this for awhile so here it is

I have found that all Dichroic is not created equal. I usually buy mine from CRLoo, in scrap form, and I am embarrassed to say that I don't even know who makes it. I also have Dichro from Arrow Springs, ABR, Leah Fairbanks and probably more. I have found that certain dichro can withstand quite a bit of heat on the face of it, the coated side. In fact, I use that to my advantage as I can control the crackling effect. Some of it is very thickly coated. There are some dichro's that when heating, if you look at the backside, it goes white and the sparkle goes away. So you are looking through the clear glass to the back side of the coating. It's still sparkly on the coated side, but the backside not so much. Don't put this dichro on coated side down. Put it on coated side up. No more burn out or ash. My Leah Fairbanks beautiful dichro was turning white on me, on the backside which is normally what will show on the bead. I lay it down with the coated side up and encase it right away. It's perfect, beautiful and sparkly.

Now, I am using unfused dichro that has not been turned into fused strips. So, heat up the dichro, and if it's turning white on the uncoated side, try apply it with the coated side up. You can gently heat it once it's on your bead if you have to smooth it out a bit, but not too much. Then immediately encase it. I will try to take some pictures of what I mean tomorrow so it's easier for you to see.

So, don't be afraid to apply dichro with the coated side exposed. Just be careful with your heat.

I hope this helps!

Mitosis Glass · #2 2010-11-16, 8:45pm

Interesting! I kind of thought they all came from the same place. With the stuff I buy locally you do have to put it coated side down or you get scum right away. Where do you get the stuff that you can hit with the heat and it crackles without scumming (if you don't mind my asking)?

glassactcc · #3 2010-11-16, 8:48pm

That is the dichro from CRLoo. I did have some trouble with the pink. I exchanged it so I never tried this method with it. It's $50.00 for a 1 lb. bag. They have black and clear.

glassactcc · #4 2010-11-16, 8:51pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by glassactcc

That is the dichro from CRLoo. I did have some trouble with the pink. I exchanged it so I never tried this method with it. It's $50.00 for a 1 lb. bag. They have black and clear.

I know if Dichro Magic and CBS. There might be more.

squid · #5 2010-11-16, 9:01pm

There is definitely a quality difference in dichro. I do occasionally use dichro on black - and the CBS I use stands up to it no problem!

glassactcc · #6 2010-11-16, 9:13pm

I quoted myself

I didn't mean to do that

I think so too Squid. The black always stands up to the heat much better than the clear.
I don't know why. I make beads with completely exposed black dichro. I can't do that with the clear.

chrissij · #7 2010-11-16, 9:16pm

I buy strings from Crystal Flipz. Dichro is mean to me.

glassactcc · #8 2010-11-16, 9:20pm

That is so sad. Mmmm...I'm not familiar with that. I'll have to check that out. Yeah, something else I need to buy. Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrissij

I buy strings from Crystal Flipz. Dichro is mean to me.

chrissij · #9 2010-11-16, 9:31pm

Going and looking to find her etsy link wasn't such a good idea.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/crystalflip...ion_id=5656453

squid · #10 2010-11-16, 9:33pm

I make my own dichro stringer too.

glassactcc · #11 2010-11-16, 9:34pm

For who, you or me? Those are purdy.

glassactcc · #12 2010-11-16, 9:36pm

So just out of curiosity, why? Why the stringer and not just use the sheet. Do I have to try this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by squid

I make my own dichro stringer too.

squid · #13 2010-11-16, 9:40pm

For funsies

. It's also easier to use once it's in stringer form - very heat tolerant. It stretches the dichro out too, so the look is a little different.

glassactcc · #14 2010-11-16, 9:48pm

I'm gonna try it. It sounds like it would be more subtle. Thanks

VivianLampwork · #15 2010-11-16, 10:07pm

I do okay keeping it sparkly, but the end is where I have problems. How the heck do you get that dicro end to look nice without mucking up?

glassactcc · #16 2010-11-16, 10:19pm

After I apply the dichro, I take my tungsten pick and "pull" the clear glass of the dichro over it's edges. Or, if your using it coated side up, I do the same thing. It seals off the bad edges so they won't burn and scum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VivianLampwork

How the heck do you get that dicro end to look nice without mucking up?

DesertDreamer · #17 2010-11-16, 10:23pm

I love dichro in all forms. I make most of my beads with thin strips, but when I get down to the last inch or so, I turn the remains into stringer. It's fun to make, easy to use, and adds a very subtle glitz. (wow, how's that for an oxymoron? LOL)

scoutycat · #18 2010-11-16, 10:34pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by glassactcc

In fact, I use that to my advantage as I can control the crackling effect.

What are you doing to control the crackling effect?

theglasszone · #19 2010-11-17, 12:01pm

For those of you (ahem...Cynthia?

WINK!) who haven't tried Carol's (crystalflipz) dichro stringers, I have to say they are the nicest quality, most concentrated Dichro Stringers ever! I especially love the Gold and Silver ones!

Here's a couple shots of the dichro stringers as applied to Cobalt Blue/Hades Black backgrounds; nice and concentrated so no burnout, but thin enough to go a long way and make beautiful hints and glints of sparkle:

glassactcc · #20 2010-11-17, 12:37pm

Jen, some of the dichro that I have when heated on the surface, crackles. Some of it splinters. If you don't heat the coated side at all, it goes on with a smother finish.

De, very awesomely cool. I love the delicate look of it.

ingetraud · #21 2010-11-17, 12:51pm

I was getting scum every time I used dichro. I found out the dichro I used was going up the side of the piece. Once I found dichro that does not go up the sides of the piece, no more scum. Both Frantz and Arrow Springs sell it that way.

Lea Zinke · #22 2010-11-17, 12:58pm

Cynthia, this is a fascinating discussion, thanks for bringing it up! As long as I've been making beads (forever), I've never tried using dichro coated-side-up!!! Now I can't wait to try!!! Thanks!

Secondly, I've seen the splintered or crackled dichro here on LE, but have never purchased any -- is it specifically called that? My problem is Laurie from Arrow Springs used to tell me when the new shipments of dichro came in and pick me out a selection so, of course, I purchased over a few years time an entire LIFETIME supply of dichro. But the splintery look is pretty fascinating.

Third, I learned to make my dichro stringer from Kate Drew-Wilkinson at her home in Bizbee AZ on a visit after the Tucson show years ago. She takes the dichro coated-side-away-from-the-flame and heats the glass side. She then takes a transparent -- any color--so here you can experiment and get some beautiful tints to your dichro and quickly encases the coated side of the dichro with a thin layer of the transparent. Once you have it thinly encased, making sure you encase the edges too, gently heat it and pull your stringers, VOILE!!!!!!!!!!!! They're beautiful with different colors of transparents.

I "tuck" the edges differently than you do. I learned this trick from Bronwen Heilman. Apply the dichro coated side down on the base bead. Gently heat the top edge and push it with the edge of your brass shaper over & down the "seam" between the dichro and the base bead. This "seals" the scum from coming out since the edge is now encased. The trick here is that BRASS PUSHES the glass while a graphite tool will just glide over the glass.

Love this thread, except now I'll want to play with dichro all day tomorrow!!!

Hope others add their tips & tricks with dichro too!

EchoTantuli · #23 2010-11-17, 1:06pm

I have had some pretty good luck applying dicro side up, both in black and clear. But I just cant seem to get the joining seams to go away. I can always tell where I started and finished. Anytips for hiding the beginning/end spot?
Just wondering, Echo

squid · #24 2010-11-17, 1:25pm

On clear, I just overlap the end and the seam disappears. On black, my seam shows, so I would like to know too

scoutycat · #25 2010-11-17, 1:33pm

If you're trying for a uniform no seam application, one way to do it is to use squares instead of strips. Make a bead the width of your dichro, then heat the edge of your square and just let it fall on to your bead, heating as needed to get it going. You can stretch it a little near the end to get all the way around. There might be a bit of a seam at the end if using black, you can minimize this by tucking the edge of the glass under so the dicro edge meets the other dichro edge when it gets hot but i haven't figured how to make it go completely away.

glassactcc · #26 2010-11-17, 2:01pm

That's the fused kind I believe. when they cut the sheet into strips, they fuse it and the coated top, slumps down the sides. Just ask for unfused Dichro and Arrow Springs will cut it right off of the large sheet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ingetraud

I was getting scum every time I used dichro. I found out the dichro I used was going up the side of the piece. Once I found dichro that does not go up the sides of the piece, no more scum. Both Frantz and Arrow Springs sell it that way.

glassactcc · #27 2010-11-17, 2:08pm

Lea, the splintery dichro is the stuff I get at CRLoo. Like I said, I don't know who made it. It's usually the green blues and they are very dark and dense in color saturation. It's not called anything special. I have never seen it at Arrow Springs, or ABR.

Oh and yes, the brass paddle works very well for that. No graphite.

Thank you for your tips. I wanna try the dichro stringer if I can get these damn groceries unpacked.

Jen, thanks for that tip. I can't make it go away completely either. I have just decided to use dichro randomly, then I can say I meant to do that.

tammydownunder · #28 2010-11-17, 2:17pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by squid

On clear, I just overlap the end and the seam disappears. On black, my seam shows, so I would like to know too

I used to have this same problem. Now, I make sure that I stop a little bit before I get to the starting point and cut. Then I take just give the tail a little heat and lay it down so it matches up with the dichro. If it doesn't, I just shift it so it does.

This clip from CBS really helped improve my ability to use dichro. http://www.cbs-dichroic.com/video-flame.asp

Cynthia, thanks for the tip on using it film side up. I recently got some dichro on clear and, for the life of me, I can not figure out which side has the coating.

glassactcc · #29 2010-11-17, 3:25pm

Tammy, did you try the pencil trick? Put a pencil or pen on it and if it appears the the reflection of the tip is touching the real tip, that's the coated side.

foolrex · #30 2010-11-17, 4:55pm

Good video. I got some of this stuff at CRLoo - mostly chunks (and inch or more wide), not strips and one side looks opaque black while the other side has the color (various colors, pinks, golds, purples, etc.). I have tried to cut strips with a glass cutter (from the black side), but it isn't exactly easy to get nice clean strips. It seems that with this stuff, I need to apply the heat to the black side and then wrap and encase? Any tips and/or ideas on how best to use this?