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Boro Room -- For Boro-related tips, techniques, and questions. |
2012-04-17, 12:11pm
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 14, 2012
Location: colorado
Posts: 35
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best bead release for Boro?
I'm new to making Boro beads on a mandrel and was hoping the community might be able to give their two cents on what bead releases have worked for them with Boro glass.
Out of curiousity does Blue Coat release from Sundance Glass work okay with Boro? I happen to have it already and it doesn't mention anything about soft or Boro glass on the jar.
Any suggestions and helpful tips would be most appreciated, thanks
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2012-04-17, 2:46pm
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Alaska Boro
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Join Date: Dec 10, 2009
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Posts: 1,065
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Bead release for the most part is a matter of opinion. Some releases work better than others. Some have a 'favorite' brand. Most if not all are made out of materials used in the pottery industry.
Have a jar of Blue Coat. It works well, but had to grind it out of the bead with a diamond drill. Very hard to remove. Having said that perhaps it has been reformulated since my last purchase. But did give up on Blue Coat and now make my own and never looked back.
Overall, just dip a few mandrels and give what you have a try and form your own opinion.
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2012-04-17, 3:49pm
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Cave Dweller
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Join Date: Mar 29, 2012
Posts: 275
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clover1978
I'm new to making Boro beads on a mandrel and was hoping the community might be able to give their two cents on what bead releases have worked for them with Boro glass.
Out of curiousity does Blue Coat release from Sundance Glass work okay with Boro? I happen to have it already and it doesn't mention anything about soft or Boro glass on the jar.
Any suggestions and helpful tips would be most appreciated, thanks
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What I like:
Foster Fire Smooth & Tuff or Heavy Duty.
Smooth & Tuff
FF Heavy Duty
Thanks for reminding me, I will be needing to order soon.
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2012-04-17, 4:28pm
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Glass Hive Kiln Tech.
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Join Date: Jun 23, 2007
Location: Toledo, OR
Posts: 907
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My favorite brand is FPI. It is often referred to as Fusion. I am not helping much, now you have many brands to check. I found that Foster Fire curled up and touched to my bead butts if I needed to do too much heating.
As has been said already, each of us work differently and those differences cause one product to work better than the others. Unfortunately trying different kinds may be your best bet research wise. If you can rent a spot at a studio for an hour or so most have multiple kinds on hand and will let you compare.
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2012-04-17, 5:13pm
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Cave Dweller
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Join Date: Mar 29, 2012
Posts: 275
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Here is a link to the FPI Fusion mentioned above:
FPI Fusion
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2012-04-18, 6:38am
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 14, 2012
Location: colorado
Posts: 35
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Thanks so much for your responses. The more I read about different bead releases more all of your words are compounded. Meaning the preference comes down to trial and error to find what works. It nice to know that bead releases can be mixed together as well to. From now until I find what works for me I think I will stick with buying small quantities of different release. I bought two pounds of Blue Coat with out really thinking about compatibility lol so... unless I like it I might be doing a bit of mixing with it lol.
Fascinating that high humidity cause cause issues with release. I live in CO so thankfully humidity isn't something I will have to worry about.
Thanks again for the help tips and suggestions Its been great finding this forum to bounce questions and concern at.
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2012-04-20, 7:45am
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Junior Member
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Join Date: Sep 25, 2008
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 14
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Dirty Louie's
I use dirty louie's for soft & boro. I do fool around a bit with it. For Soft glass I use 3 coats dipped all at the same time, let it air dry for a half an hour and then gently dance it through the flame starting from one end moving to the next end. For boro I think I'm switching to just one coat. I've had some cracking of the bead release next to the ends of the large focal beads. That makes adding additional glass touchy. Dirty louie's cleans out easily by running the mandrel through. I also play around with the thickness. I have two jars at one time in case I have thinned it out too much.
Hope this helps.
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2012-04-21, 7:43am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 08, 2005
Location: Beautiful Colorado
Posts: 2,120
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Fusion for everything.... works for me
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Leslie
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2012-04-22, 1:09pm
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Enjoying Life
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Join Date: May 28, 2009
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
Posts: 103
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Have tried several always returned to Fusion.
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Dave
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2012-04-22, 3:15pm
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Serenity Now!
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Join Date: Jul 15, 2005
Location: Deep in the woods
Posts: 3,358
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Fusion for me too. Have tried many, but it's the best, IMHO.
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2012-05-09, 1:41pm
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Junior Member
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Join Date: Jun 16, 2011
Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Posts: 9
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I use Dip-N-Go Sludge. Flame dry (slowly). Only cracks if I leave it to dry on the mandrel overnight. Haven't tried Fusion...stopped with what works for me.
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2012-05-18, 7:33am
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 14, 2012
Location: colorado
Posts: 35
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The conclusion of Blue Coat: Beads remove easily from mandrel after annealing. Although the release if a bit difficult to remove from the bead. Can be sensitive and crack away quite quickly if not careful with your flame while working your bead. But for the most part the release stays where it needs to be while working.
Overall I would say I am satisfied with Blue Coat but I think I would like to do some release experimentation. Also it would be nice to have some thing I can dip and flame dry for use right away. I think I might try out Fusion. A lot of you seem pretty happy with it.
Thanks again everyone for your input
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2012-05-18, 9:40am
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one day at a time
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Join Date: Jun 27, 2005
Location: We are MOVING!!!
Posts: 8,319
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Dip-N-Go Sludge is smooth, strong, and low residue, so it cleans completely out of the holes.
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2012-05-18, 10:02am
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 14, 2012
Location: colorado
Posts: 35
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Your description of Dip-N-Go Sludge sounds perfect, I'll have to put that on my list for trying as well, thx Lisi
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2012-05-18, 10:45am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 03, 2009
Posts: 111
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Foster Fire Smooth & Tuff or Heavy Duty.
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2012-06-02, 7:04am
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 14, 2012
Location: colorado
Posts: 35
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So my order of FPI Fusion release finally came in and I have to say I am very pleased with it. It is a much more durable bead release. It holds up to boro glass temps very well. I think I worked almost 40 beads last night varying in size from pony bead to nickle diameter, and the bead release cracked only once(operator error most likely). For more time consuming beads I was able to get them hotter and work them longer without any issues from the release. The extra care I was able to put into each bead because of FPI's durability shows in the mornings kiln bead batch. Very happy, thank you so much for the helping hand The release also cleans out great!
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2012-06-03, 12:15pm
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Glass Hive Kiln Tech.
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Join Date: Jun 23, 2007
Location: Toledo, OR
Posts: 907
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Glad you found one that works well for you.
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2012-06-03, 12:51pm
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Flamewoman
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Join Date: Jan 12, 2007
Location: California
Posts: 985
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I have tried most of them, but I always come back to Sludge Plus or the original Sludge.
I get this from Arrow Springs, and I always get my mandrels there as well, I like the 12 inch ones for Boro. I dip all my mandrels and use them as I can, sometimes they sit for weeks and I never have any problems with them. It is reliable.
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2012-06-03, 3:45pm
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 14, 2012
Location: colorado
Posts: 35
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Still open to the next best thing for experimentation sake, but yah for now I am stoked. Thanks
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2012-06-28, 12:07pm
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back at it
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Join Date: Jun 18, 2005
Location: Washoe Valley, NV
Posts: 219
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clover1978
Still open to the next best thing for experimentation sake, but yah for now I am stoked. Thanks
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Just adding in that I have experimented with a few (been doing mandrel wound boro beads for a little over 12 years) and I prefer Fusion all the way. The others I've tried have long since gone bad in my cabinet from lack of use! I don't know if anyone has come up with anything better since then, but I have no reason to leave Fusion. It's never let me down.
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Mary Ann
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2012-07-01, 6:17pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 11, 2009
Location: Massachusetts...I95 south...before Rhode Island
Posts: 2,006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisi
Dip-N-Go Sludge is smooth, strong, and low residue, so it cleans completely out of the holes.
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I have the regular Dip n Go Sludge and the Grey colored one. I still haven't tried Fusion but I believe I have a bottle of it somewhere (I hope its still good)
Duane
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2012-07-01, 10:22pm
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back at it
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Join Date: Jun 18, 2005
Location: Washoe Valley, NV
Posts: 219
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Quote:
Originally Posted by demcc2
I have the regular Dip n Go Sludge and the Grey colored one. I still haven't tried Fusion but I believe I have a bottle of it somewhere (I hope its still good)
Duane
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I had a bottle of Fusion tucked away in a cabinet for at least 4 years. It had completely dried out. I added water, a little at a time over several days to soften it up. I continued adding water as I thought about it, shaking the bottle to mix, until I had a pourable slurry. I dumped it all into an old blender with a bit more water and blended away. It worked perfectly! I also had some dipped mandrels that had been sitting for the same length of time and they worked like a charm. I love the stuff!
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Mary Ann
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