New Moretti Purple problem

[sansan239s]

Hellow fellow artists... I have a question: I purchased 1 rod of Moretti's P-254 Purple from Arrow Springs and every time I work with it, the surface of the glass looses its shine and gets rough. Now, the 1st time I used this glass, I made a bead like I always do. I'm working on a Hot Head and I melt the glass about 1/2" - 1" above the blue cone and I have never had a problem with this happening to any of my other beads. I tried it again and kept it in the cooliest part of the flame but still needed it to melt and both time, the glass became rough, matted and lost it shine. No dark spots (scum/burnt) or bubbles.....just no shine, like glass is suppose to have. I asked the lady about this at Arrow Springs and she said didn't know what was happening and didn't know how to work with this glass, since it was a "new" purple.

Now, after I detach the glass and place it in the rod rest, when it's cool, the end still has that nice glass shine......hmmmm. OMG!!

Has anyone else purchased this new Moretti/Effetre P-254 purple and got the same reaction,if not ~ how do I work with this stuff. It's actually very pretty glass but I can't figure out how to work with it, no sense in buying any more........ Whatcha think? thanks Sandy

[Jammy]

With my old 254 purple, if I work it in the higher part of the flame, it loses it's shine.
But if I work it in about the middle to lower part of the flame and a little more propane, it returns to a nice shiny purple. But sometimes it fries! It's very touchy. So maybe your new purple will work better with a little more reducing flame.

[Teri.p]

Ah, you've discovered the delight of Evil Devitrifying Purple (edp). There are many threads about this glass ... here are a few to get you started:

What is EDP?

Conquering EDP

Evil Purple Problems

EDP - Is there a Secret to Success?

Effetre Handmade Purple - Not Behaving?

[sansan239s]

Hi Teri.P ~ Actually, the lady @ Arrow Springs said it wasn't the "Evil Purple". This purple was right next to the "Evil Purple", lighter in color and almost has a pearl appearance. I asked her maybe it was a new batch but she said that it was just a new glass.....Hmmm.

I'll take a peek at the threads thought....thanks Sandy

[sansan239s]

wow.... after looking at the Wet Canvas thread that shows the actual beads, I DO have Evil Purple. Teri.P - I wasn't suggesting that you were wrong but why would the lady that tests the glass at Arrow Springs tell me it wasn't Evil Purple? Maybe it was just a new batch of Evil Purple and they just hadn't gotten around to testing it yet. None-the-less: This color is definately worth trying the various ways of working with it. Thanks again for your help. Sandy

[Teri.p]

Originally Posted by sansan239s

wow.... after looking at the Wet Canvas thread that shows the actual beads, I DO have Evil Purple. Teri.P - I wasn't suggesting that you were wrong but why would the lady that tests the glass at Arrow Springs tell me it wasn't Evil Purple? Maybe it was just a new batch of Evil Purple and they just hadn't gotten around to testing it yet. None-the-less: This color is definately worth trying the various ways of working with it. Thanks again for your help. Sandy

That is odd. 254 is the number for EDP.

Anyhow, hope you find some good insights here.

Teri P

[Reenie]

Yup Teri. That is Evil Purple number. I wonder why she told you it was a new purple yet still had the same number? Maybe she was new???
Hope you have luck with it. It is a very pretty purple when you figure out how to work it.
I heard that if you work it over clear it won't devit...something like that. Please don't quote me on that though.

[DesertDreamer]

One way to deal with it is to encase it. The nice thing about it is that you can encase with the light purple transparents to regain some of the color (it gets paler when encased).

The other thing, though this is a PITA if you're planning on some surface decorations, is that you CAN "re-vit" it by getting it glowing orange again...it just takes some planning for what you can and can't do afterwards. It needs to be your last step. With that in mind, you can apply frit or melted in dots and have a ball. One other interesting thing: melted-in Effetre pastel white dots will get a little dark dot right in the center on EDP. It's a nifty effect. I think a few other colors do it, too, but I can't remember which ones, sorry.

[Rudy]

IMHO, what works for me is to 1st, so whatever I'm going to do with it...shape it, etc....then, the last thing I do before placing it in the kiln, is heat it HOT! If it's just "warm," before going into the kiln it goes to the dull color. So, from HOT to KILN.

[Trey Cornette]

When I have finished the bead I will go to a slightly reducing flame and fire polish the bead to a buttery sheen before putting in the kiln.

[PaulaD]

The only thing that has ever worked for me is what Trey just said! Paula

[sansan239s]

OMG..... all this information is awesome but what if I put my beads in vermiculite and not a kiln? Since I don't have a kiln, I make my beads, put them in my crock pot on high, then low, then off and then have them batch annealed when I have several done. The problem with this is, I have to let the bead cool a little before putting it in so the vermiculite doesnt stick to it.

Am I going to have to wait and use this purple for when I have a kiln on hand..?

[theglasszone]

Hi Sandy!

Lots of great information - and hope you find a way that works for YOU in all this. I don't want to be a party-pooper, but I've not found a way to make EDP 254 behave for me EVER on the Hot Head. I can't give advice on the Crock Pot thing, either, but...

I HAVE found a color that is comparable and less touchy! Instead of EDP, I use Reichenbach Opal Raspberry 104, which you can get here (among other places - I just buy often from Irene):

http://www.lampworksupplies.com/inde...7dcfst8g76acl2

Here's a picture of one of my Pandora style Beads - my hubby calls these "Speed Bunnies" (giggle - I love that!) and the color is easier to work (slightly at the back of the flame) and less prone to devit:

Here's an example of a bead that I made to go with my favorite reading glasses - it's encased in clear in this example:

Maybe if you find you can't get your EDP to behave, you can sell it in Garage Sale and give the Reich Opal Raspberry a try.

Just trying to encourage and give you options!

Hugs,
De

[sansan239s]

DeAnne... you have always been my little lampwork angel, looking after me. Thanks bunches......Sandy
BTW: I LOVE the little bunny

[lunamoonshadow]

You can make EDP work on a hothead--when you're "done" with the bead, just put it far out in the flame & rotate it there until it "sweats"--when the glass (whatever part of the bead is EDP has "sweated" (and looks glossy--that's the best description I can give--it looks like the purple will start to "sweat" as the devitrified/chalky part comes back to "gloss") & is all shiny again, just shove it in either the kiln, or your fiber blanket or your vermiculite--it will be fine for batch annealing later. I used it for um, 4 years? 5 years? of occasional melting (omg, my beads should so be better than they are ) that way! I EDP. It does great things with Opal Yellow, & Copper Green!

[lunamoonshadow]

The top bead in this pix is EDP/Coral/& ivory, done on the hothead....
~luna

[Elizabeth Beads]

There is a pinkish purple Effetre 591253 that is like EDP with no devit. It is hard to come by though, so if you find it buy some. Howeverm I have seen that same number used for another Effetre color that slips my mind right now. Using EDP over Effetre reformulated clear seems to reduce devit substantially, although I have no idea why, but it does, try it.

[sansan239s]

thanks Erose...... I'll give it a try tonight!!