[mikefrantz]

WOW, I was directed to this thread and "WOW" was what came out of my mouth, and the reason is that Pat Frantz is working on her blog for this Friday and it deals with exactly what this thread is all about. So I asked Pat for her draft and said I wanted to post some of the information now and the rest would be available on Friday.

"Devitrification can be a challenging occurrence and of course it happens with some of the most popular opaque colors, but not to worry because there is a simple solution to the problem. I have asked lots of beadmakers if they knew an easy fix to this problem and one friend of mine, Sue Stewart, told me the best solution I have learned and tested to date.

To make the devitrification go away on your bead surface, all you have to do is take some of the oxygen out of your torch flame, making the center candle of your torch flame a little longer than the outer ring of the torch flame.

This simple adjustment keeps the surface of the bead looking glassy instead of chalky whitish-gray. Every torch is slightly different, so it is wise to play around with the length of the center candle of your torch flame until you achive the desire results."

In her blog she will be showing photos done in neutral flame and covered in devitrified crystals and then one done in a propane rich flame that retained the glassy surface on the bead.

I hope this helps you overcome the problems you are experiencing with ALL glass prone to devitrification.

Don't forget to read Pat's Blog weekly, it's full of great information and is one of our most popular "clicked" items on our website. She tends to post later in the day on Friday's.

Mike Frantz