Hi: 

 

I am a new member and new to enameling as well.  I have recently gotten an opportuntity to create a steel sculpture with some enameled elements.  I have read the previous forum posts regarding steel prep by Charles Winkel but I have a couple of questions still.

 

The part of the sculpture that will be enameled is leaves.  My questions were does the entire leaf have to be covered in enamel or can the edges be raw steel?  I was also planning on leaving a small bit of the stem of the leaf bare steel to be able to weld it onto the tree since the leaves will be enameled individually in a kiln prior to being secured to the tree.  

 

I read that the GC 16 ground coat is what I need to put on the steel prior to the other enamels.  To be sure I am understanding, after the ground coat, you still need a base coat and then you can apply your final enamels?  On the steel application, does it all have to be liquid enamels or can it also be powder for the final colors? 

 

My other question is that with regard to cleaning, since there will be some mild forming done to the leaves after I get them back from the laser cutter people.  The forming will make it hard to use a sanding tool so can these leaves be sand blasted instead for cleaning?  

 

Thanks in advance for any input.  

Debra, I'm glad you read my article, Thankyou. Depending on the steel, yes, the entire leaf should to be covered in enamel so the steel won't rust. Stainless is harder to use, that's a way around leaving a segment raw.. I personly don't like stainless. leaving part of the stem raw for welding is ok, as long as it a tack, the heat from the welder may effect the enamel on the stem. The base coat after applying the ground can be white. The reason for applying a base coat is to help further applications of enamel from evaporating or burning down to the ground coat. It helps with the tempratures and timing of the firing of the enamels. If applied correctly, you should be able to get a water color effect when applying layer after layer of enamel.  You can use powder, but you won't be able to get the effect of transparency as you get with a spray. Your last question, sand the project after the leaves are cut out and before you start for form the the leaves. This will also help to clean the slag off, and don't forget to file the edges round. This will help to prevent roll back from the edges. After you have completed forming the leaves fallow the procedure in washing the leaves. REMBER after you have washed you project wear cotton gloves, do not handle with bear hands. Your body oil will leave finger prints on your project. The enamel won stick to those areas. Don't sand plast. All you will do is to push the impurities into the steel, and the pits will effect the flow of the enamel. Just remember to sand the leaves after they are cut out prier to forming. If you forget to do this the world won't fall apart. I do this step because it helps in cleaning the steel to a different level, but if you forget, don't worry about it. If you have any more questions, please ask me. 

Charles

Hi Charles:

Thanks so much for your reply!

So as an alternative to welding the leaves, I could consider steel rivets. We would use an air hammer for these types of rivets. I can do some experimenting with both to see how it works.

This sculpture will be outside so would want to be sure to get a very good tack weld or find an alternative way to attach for long term reliability.

Will still have to leave a bit of a tab that is not covered in glass for either approach in attachment.

The rest of the steel on the tree will be coated in a patina coloration sealed with a two part polyurethane clear coat made specifically for outdoor use. The tabs non enameled tabs will have this coating as well once in place.

As far as long term- if some rust does develop - can it get under the enamel and ground coat and cause it to release or will it be okay?

I think I saw somewhere also regarding sanding, not to use a round sander like on a grinder but a flat sander like you would use for wood - is that correct and if so, why is that?

Thanks - Debra

Hi Charles:

Thanks so much for your reply!

So as an alternative to welding the leaves, I could consider steel rivets. We would use an air hammer for these types of rivets. I can do some experimenting with both to see how it works.

This sculpture will be outside so would want to be sure to get a very good tack weld or find an alternative way to attach for long term reliability.

Will still have to leave a bit of a tab that is not covered in glass for either approach in attachment.

The rest of the steel on the tree will be coated in a patina coloration sealed with a two part polyurethane clear coat made specifically for outdoor use. The tabs non enameled tabs will have this coating as well once in place.

As far as long term- if some rust does develop - can it get under the enamel and ground coat and cause it to release or will it be okay?

I think I saw somewhere also regarding sanding, not to use a round sander like on a grinder but a flat sander like you would use for wood - is that correct and if so, why is that?

Thanks - Debra

One more quick question- since the glass is fired on using a heat process - how would the welding heat - which would not be getting the metal red hot - affect the glass? I would be leaving up to 1 inch of a stem in enameled for welding.

Hi John:

Thanks for your reply. Is that plumbers Goop the stuff they sell called Amazing GOOP that you find at most hardware stores? Also - when you mention fire scale getting into the piece - are you referring to it simply landing in the glass and aesthetically ruining it or will any scale undermine the ground coat and enamel already in place?

Hi again:

I was planning on using 18 ga. low carbon steel for the leaves on this project.  Regarding a counter enamel, should I just plan on counter enameling to avoid any potential problems with movement of the steel and glass coming off or is this thick enough for that to not be a problem.  

The leaves will be shaped a little bit, not just flat.  

Thanks -

 

Debra

I've sent you answers to the question you sent me. For the base coat. The base coat adds a secondary lawer of enamel to help the enamel from evaporating. I also adds a extra coat of enamel over the ground to darken the base for sqraffito. If my instructions on cleaning and applying the ground coat are followed, you will find that the following applications of enamel may be applied very lightly to give the enamel the appearence of water color. Enamel other than white and black is supposed to be transparent. Enamel becomes opaque when it's applied to heavey, which addes to the addition of time and higher temprature to the project. The base coat addes additional protection for the following layers of enamel. 18 gage steel is heavey for my use. I use 22 gage cold rolled steel. It's easer to manipulate into shapes, and once cleaned properly will stand up to any low carbon steel. Cold rolled is cheeper that low carbon steel. I guarentee that if you use cold rolled and clean the steel the way I have disctibed, you will be extreamly happy with the results. For the leaves go to my site and look at my tree. You will see how my leaves turned out.

This post was edited by Charles Winkel at April 26, 2017 11:46 AM EDT

If you have access to someone who can tig weld the leaves to the branch, then you would have the strongest posible base.  TIG is precise and you can cover the leaf with a piece of leather to protect it.  If the leaf has a stem of any length that is not enameled, attach a piece of copper as a heat sink just to keep the heat of the weld from moving up the stem.  Another alternative is to use JB weld.  It holds metal to metal extremely well but it has a gray color.  A third alternative is to use silver solder.  Low temp silver solder melts at around 400 F which should not affect the enamel on the leaf.  Both the TIG and the silver solder require some technique.  TIG welding is an art in itself but for this purpose the strongest.  If TIG welded the patina could be applied to the area of the weld by just using a TIG stick of the same material (low carbon steel). 

I should introduce myself as I just joined the forum.  I am ranked Master Smith with the American Bladesmith Society. I actually sit on the Board of Directors for the ABS.  I got into enameling about two years ago. This year I won an international competition juried by invited curators where I enameled the handle and sheath of a damascus knife.  All my enameling has been accomplished in a open faced gas forge where I can watch the enamel as it fuses to the metal substrate (similar to torch firing).  I have used a kiln but I prefer the forge and the control it gives me.  The forge allows me to do fairly large pieces.  Anyway, please know that I am very excited about learning from all of you.

I am not sure that I come any where near the level I see on this website.  I do know something about steel and its fabrication but very little about enameling.  I joined the website out of an excitement to learn more.  Thank you, Trish.

I have had a difficult time (one out of three failures) with enameling quarter inch or thicker metal.  Thompson's GC16 works fine but sometimes I want a different base color.  That is where I tend to have some problems.  The last piece I did was stainless steel (1" by 3.5 inches by a 5/16th thick.  Sections on the top were milled away and then roughed up with a high speed die grinder to a depth of 1/16th.  Very rough surface.  The piece was cleaned and  the first coat was Thompson ivory opaque.  I had to grind this off and start over because of voids.   When I applied the GC16 it went fine. I followed that with an opaque blue heron enamel.  Any thoughts on how metal thickness affects the enameling process or did I just do something wrong?

I use a gas forge, get it up to heat, turn it off and then let the forge walls radiate the heat needed to melt the enamel. I watch the entire process and take out the piece when I see the enamel melt and smooth out.