Second time around for boro

kmd · #1 2012-03-16, 6:50pm

I have a drawer full of boro creations that are not good enough for anything except being stuck in a drawer, but could not bear to chuck them out. Muddy colours, the odd small crack, holes etc. I kept them because I was learning ( still am). Can I heat these up and rework them to solve problems?
KMD

Bunyip · #2 2012-03-16, 7:09pm

Short answer=Yes.

Throw them in the kiln, ramp up slow or just throw them in at temperature. Slow ramp may help preserve cracked pieces, usually not necessary otherwise though your mileage may vary.

Pix before and after would be cool to see.

kmd · #3 2012-03-17, 12:25am

Thanks Bunyip, I bunged the lot in, ramped up at 100 to 520* C and took them out one at a time for a make over. I have had an interesting afternoon.

I have mixed success. Cracks seemed to heal with a lot of heat poured onto the area. I managed to strike some unstruck colours, burned off the haze and then dolloped them with clear and that certainly worked. However, overworked mud, Butterscotch and Caramel stayed mud no matter what I did to it.

Any tips for working those colours or is it once they are muddied, that's all folks?
I love those colours.

Also burning off haze and keeping it off WITHOUT covering with clear. Can that be done?
KMD

BellaBean · #4 2012-03-17, 5:20am

It sounds like your original flame was reducing and that's what caused the mud. You can't really undo it.

You can keep the haze off by using an extremely oxygen heavy flame. Colors like that need tons of oxy.

gmkcpa · #5 2012-03-17, 11:40am

Sometimes the junk pieces look real good hung out on plants and trees in the garden.
(And sometimes they still look like junk, but nice junk when the sun shines through them.)

LarryC · #6 2012-03-17, 1:13pm

I personally dont revisit pieces that didnt meet my expectations. The extra work never pays off for me. I learn from them and then move on and try again.

Over the Moon · #7 2012-03-17, 2:44pm

I'm with Larry. Live, learn, and move on. It's...you can't polish a turd kind of thinking.
With regard to buring off the haze and keeping the color without clear, the answer is 'yes'. My spiral disc beads have no clear, just pure color.

Nitadee · #8 2012-03-17, 10:56pm

My most fave thing about Boro, is the recycling! If there's no mud, then it's a seahorse next, I just heat up the pendant, punty up to both ends and twist like crazy. Sometimes I get better colors the second go around.
At the VERY least I get to work on heat control, placement and twisties.
It's all about the PPP.
With the price of glass these days, I say reuse, and recycle when you can

Jngljnke · #9 2012-03-18, 12:44pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitadee

With the price of glass these days, I say reuse, and recycle when you can

I agree. I also enjoy the challenge of trying to make repairs. Tons of people ask me to repair things for them. It's very rewarding when I can pull it off.

Firebrand Beads · #10 2012-03-19, 12:51pm

I think it depends whether you are a "perfectionist" or a "learner." The perfectionist type will learn while trying to make the perfect piece, by doing it over and over and over until it's right... the learner type will keep revisiting the older pieces and see what can be done to make them better. Pros and cons to both, but in the end I think it has more to do with how you personally get the most satisfaction.