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Lead and lead free enamels

  • Trish White
    • Moderator
    • 114 posts
    April 10, 2015 8:45 AM EDT

    Yes you can - but you must remember the chemistry for success:

    Leaded enamels UNDER lead-free - gives you a "pull through effect" - which is a bubbling of the lead underneath resulting in cool designs - and  jewel-like effects if you use Leaded transparents under Unleaded opaque on top - 

    Unleaded enamels UNDER top coat of Leaded enamels - will have no effect - 

    I was taught the mantra - UNLEADED under! 

  • Mary Rose
    • 35 posts
    April 10, 2015 12:39 PM EDT

    Thanks Trish:

    I am looking forward to using leaded enamels.  Thanks for your input, and the idea of pull through sounds exciting, along with unleaded under leaded which I will take note of.    

    Mary Rose

     

  • Vincent Paeder
    • 16 posts
    April 10, 2015 4:52 PM EDT

    About this unleaded under leaded rule: I totally ignored it when doing sample pieces for some W.G. Ball colours, on copper I fired one layer of Soyer 3 flux, added 1 silver patch, another layer of Soyer 3, and 2 layers of each W.G. colour. This is what I got

    Some show quite a bit of pull through, and some not really. The cracked one is because the hole was too small and I've been impatient (so not due to a thermal expansion problem).

    Therefore the best is probably to test with your own process.

  • Mary Rose
    • 35 posts
    April 14, 2015 9:27 PM EDT

    Thanks Vincent for your response and the enclosure of samples.  Very interesting samples.  I am looking forward to doing some testing.

    Mary Rose

  • Mary Rose
    • 35 posts
    April 9, 2015 12:20 PM EDT

    Hello, how can I use lead and lead free enamels in the same piece?  Can I layer lead over lead free, and/or lead free over lead enamels?

    Thank you,

    Mary Rose

  • Jacki Johnson King
    • 1 posts
    June 30, 2015 1:42 PM EDT

    If you put leaded enamel over lead free, there is no reaction. But if you put down a base of leaded then fire lead free over it you will get a very interesting crackle or mottled effect. I love doing this and getting the effects, It's really quite interesting what will happen. Just use a good mask and wash your hands after handling the leaded enamels.

  • Deleted Member
    June 30, 2015 2:19 PM EDT

    On enamels lead Schauer put a colorless unleaded Milton B.  : - ((((((((

     

  • Marcelo Bessi
    • 1 posts
    July 2, 2015 7:25 PM EDT

    Hello! Different layers of  leaded enamel may produce this bubbling effect...

  • Deleted Member
    July 3, 2015 12:11 AM EDT

    An interesting effect :-)