Sure Trish, I'll be glad to. I punch out a circle, in this case 1 7/8" with my hydralic press and Pepe large circle dies. Then, in this case, I drilled my hole and then domed the piece. Next, I clean and then counter enamel; generally two firings. I
Sure Trish, I'll be glad to. I punch out a circle, in this case 1 7/8" with my hydralic press and Pepe large circle dies. Then, in this case, I drilled my hole and then domed the piece. Next, I clean and then counter enamel; generally two firings. I find I get a smoother surface this way instead of one heavy sifting. Fired at about 1450 degress. First firing for about 2 minutes and second two to three minutes. Inbetween firings I pickle the piece in cold Spatime Ph down; a swimming pool chemical,a capfull to a quart of water. Next, I apply my base coat, I believe this was Shapphire leaded also in two siftings. After that I wing it. With this color back ground I used several different color greens and a dark blue; I have a lot of older enamels that aren't labeled, so I just pick colors I like. I believe the red was Cardinal which is more stable than Flash Red. Also Canary yellow. As many of you already know, when you apply unleaded on a base coat of leaded, the unleaded enamel will break up and/or be obsorbed by the leaded. This depends on the length of firing. I put a little here and there. Sometimes even leaded will break up depending on the color you're using. I fire these light siftings for a minute and fifteen seconds to a minute and a half or untill they're glossy. Lines on this piece are 911-E Blue applied with a Speedball pen and nib. After drying on my kiln, I may thin some of the lines that spread too much and fire from 45 seconds to a minute ten. Before I do this last firing, I sign the piece on the back. Inbetween firings I clean fire scale off of the edges with a diamond bit in my Foredom. I also use a round bit to clean enamel around the hole on both sides so the jump ring is on bare metal and doesn't touch the enamel. To finish I sand the edge with a coarse and then about a 400 grit sand paper 'til smooth. Lately I have been waxing my enamels with a light coat of Renaissance Wax to protect and give the enamel more shine. I hope this helps you. I wish I could be more accurate about colors, but I really don't keep very good notes; probably should. If anyone has any further questions, feel free to write. Keith
Would you sell this pendant, i would like to buy it.
Greetings from Austria
Patricia Haberl
April 15, 2013- -
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Sure Trish, I'll be glad to. I punch out a circle, in this case 1 7/8" with my hydralic press and Pepe large circle dies. Then, in this case, I drilled my hole and then domed the piece. Next, I clean and then counter enamel; generally two firings. I
... moreMay 23, 2012- -
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Keith, this is lovely, would you explain your techniques to all of us and your enamel colors?
May 22, 2012- -
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