Friday Night Fusing Clinic
February 10th, 2006 ... Dichroics vs. Iridescents
Iridescents:
- Regular Spectrum iridescent uses titanium, better looking finish, but burns off around 1400 degrees, not suitable for fusing.
- System 96 Iridescent used tin oxide, with some zinc and less calcium, is sprayed on at 1050 degrees with acid and water. Can survive up to 1700 degrees, ideal for almost all fusing applications.
- Spectrum can't iridize the textured side of their glass, factory is not set up to allow that, but Bullseye and Uroboros can do it.
- Spectrum System 96 Iridescent colours are: Clear, Pale Amber, Dark Green, Pale Blue, Dark Blue, Red, White Opal, Bronze, and Black, but you can put clear iridescent on top of any System 96 colour to make it iridescent.
- Uroboros System 96 Iridescent comes on Clear or Black glass, 3mm or thin, radium or granite textures. They also put in on their line of 7 thin soft pastel colours.
- Iridescent finishes reflect heat in a kiln, so you should fire slightly slower, longer and hotter to compensate for that effect.
- You can scratch, etch, or paint over the coating to put a design into or over the iridescent finish. This will be a future Friday Night topic as it interested a lot of people.
- You don't want to put 2 iridescent glasses face to face. The metals repel each other.
- To figure out which side of the glass the iridescent finish is on, put the tip of a pen against the glass.
- If the tip's reflection is right up against the actual pen tip, that is the side with the coating on it.
- If there is a slight gap, it is on the other side.
- The iridescent finish can act a separator between fused glass and fibrepaper or fibreboard.
- Iridescent glass fused against Lava Cloth looks very good.
- Iridescent glass looks good in bowls, plates, larger applications.
Our website has what we stock in Spectrum System 96 Iridescent glass, and Uroboros System 96 Iridescent glass
Dichroics:
- Mythical origins, was derived from the aerospace industry in the 1960s on the US west coast, used as a light filter.
- Dichroic means "2 Colours"
- Dichroic coatings are an aftermarket application by many companies, CBS (Coatings by Sandberg), Savoy, DichroMagic. Done on fusible glasses, Spectrum(96) Uroboros(96 or 90), Bullseye(90), Moretti(104), float(82), and Boroscilicate(33),but only on black or clear glass. Putting a dichroic coating on coloured glass would create a conflict between the glass colour and dichroic colours.
- Dichroic coatings are colourless. They create a barrier between the light source and your eyes which filter the received wavelengths of light into colour.
- Dichroic coatings are applied in a vacuum chamber, by vapor deposition, multiple layers, 10 to 15, to build up the effect
- Coatings are titanium, various oxides, zirconium, and other 'dielectric' materials
- Reflected Colour: Light hits glass and is reflected off, clear or black glass
- Transmitted Colour: Passage of light through the glass, clear glass only
- Dichroic colour can change, "shift" when viewed from different angles
- Different kinds of Dichroic colours or effects: Single Colour Rainbow Patterns Textures
- When fired, colour can shift to a different tone or colour, test fire first
- Dichroic coatings are thin and delicate, can be cracked up by glass moving, viscosity
- Dichroic coatings can be used in traditional stained glass, fusing, lampworking/torch work, and glassblowing.
- looks best used in small quantities, like in jewelry. The Rochester International Airport is an exception
- Full sheets are a 19" circle, cut down at top and bottom to make it 16" across. You can get half or quarter sheets, or a 2" x 4" rectangle. It also comes in ½ Pound bags of scrap, noodle, F5 Clear frit, various small PinWheel designs on squares, waterjet cut shapes like butterfly, dragonfly, and square or circular spirals
Our website has what we stock in dichroic glass.
Dichroic manufacturer websites:
Recommended readings:
- Dichroics: Art Glass all dressed up, by Jackie Paciello-Truty
- Innovative Adornments, by Jayne Perscio
- Kiln Formed Bracelets, by Jayne Perscio
Loaded Shelf Before Firing
Before Firing
After Firing
