Glass Chemistry & Silver Stain

It was interesting to note that some glasses, like GNA were difficult to stain whereas the tin side of float glass and Bullseye’s “Reactive Ice” were extremely sensitive to the stain. The notes in one text I studied suggested that clear glasses with a blue or green cast would stain better than those with a yellow cast. Another mentioned that clarifying agents added to make glass optically clearer can inhibit the stain. This may explain why historic glasses, which were less “pure”, took the stain better. Of the 3 mouth blown glasses I tested, the glass coming from Poland achieved the best color range. Bullseye’s “Reactive Ice”, mentioned above, is a glass used by fusers that has been formulated to react with other glasses containing silver or copper. It takes stain extremely well, if you can overlook its double-rolled texture.

BULLSEYE Clear fusible

BULLSEYE "Reactive Ice"

Float Glass (non-tin side)

Float Glass (tin-side)

Desag/Schott GNA

KRASNOW 

LAMBERTS

ST. JUST

SPECTRUM "System 96"

SPECTRUM "Waterglass"

The KERACOLOR Stains

KERACOLOR 73028/A

KERACOLOR 76050

The OSTER Stains

OSTER Ancient Lemon

OSTER Ancient Winchester

OSTER Ancient Walpole

The REUSCHE Stains

REUSCHE 1382 (Orange #1)

REUSCHE 1383 (Orange #2)

REUSCHE 1384 (Yellow #3)

REUSCHE 1388 (Orange Intense)

REUSCHE 1390 (Amber Intense)

REUSCHE D292465 (Amber H465)

The DEBITUS Stains

DEBITUS 20% Silver Chloride

DEBITUS 40% Silver Chloride

DEBITUS Amber

DEBITUS 10% Silver Chloride

DEBITUS 20% Silver Chloride

DEBITUS 40% Silver Chloride

Notes about Airbrushing Silver Stain

 APPLICATION NOTES:

At the time of application the following observations were made. Ease of straining and applying paint was noted. The amount of gum was judged by stippling with a white hog stippler.  If no comment appears about a particular attribute on the chart below it indicates that the performance was average for the group

Reusche (USA)
1382	Good stipple
1383	Sprays good, medium gum, stipples good
1384	Spray OK, stipple OK
1388	average
1390	Spray OK, stipple OK
D292465	Sprays good, heavy gum
Debitus (FRANCE)
10% S. Chloride	Gritty, hard to spray
20% S. Chloride	Gritty, hard to spray
40% S. Chloride	Sprays OK
20% S. Sulfide	average
40% S. Sulfide	Very soft, no gum
Amber	Very hard, lots of gum
Copper Red	Very soft, no gum
Oster (USA)
Ancient Winchester	Sprays good, stipples good
Ancient Walpole	Sprays good, hard to stipple, more gum than others
Ancient Lemon	Sprays OK, grittier than others, soft stipple, less gum than others
Keracolor (GERMANY)
76050	Mixes well, spray OK, firm stipple- about perfect amount of gum
↑1:4↓	Mixes well, sprays good, easy to stipple
73028/A	Very soft, little or no gum

Introduction to the Experiments

The approach I took to sorting this all out was a series of planned tests. I spent several weeks prepping in my own studio. Each experiment was designed to reveal a different variable in this complex technique. In all I prepared over 200 samples! This obsessiveness was possible because I was able to solicit donations of 18 unique formulas of stain from 4 manufactures in 3 countries! I would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of Cliff Oster and Reusche Co (USA), Debitus (France), and Derix Glasstudios (GERMANY) for stains from Keracolour.  Please look on the manufacturer's page for a contact list for these companies.