Need help!! Colors changing !

[MelissaWalsh]

I am new to lampworking and love it but I'm frustrated at a couple of things!
When ever I have worked with a coral color I get grey streaks in it or it turns mostly grey. I work on a hot head. Also almost the same problem with white. I cannot keep them white! They look sooty (sp?) or dirty not the lovely bright white the rod is! Maybe I'm working too hot? To cold? I've tried moving further out in the flame with no luck!! I've turned up the torch, down the torch! I don't know what I'm doing wrong!! Please help

[JetAge Studio]

The coral turns grey with heat as do many colors....is it still grey when it cools to room temp?

Can you see if your oxy port in your HH is blocked at all or if you've got something covering it?

Is your glass "boiling" or pitting at the surface? That would be an indicator that you're working too hot and possibly soot is getting melted in. Hope others can chime in for advice. Good luck!

[woozles]

My first response would be move out further in the flame -it really does just take time. Grey in your coral means you are burning it. You also could have dirty gas - what are you using for fuel? If it is bulk propane, get a new tank and see what happens. Lots of people will chime in and say propane is naturally dirty and you cannot get clean color with it. baloney, propane is what i use.

[MelissaWalsh]

I'll take a pic of my beads I made today

[allicat]

Hiya Melissa!

What fuel are you using? I had the same problem with my HotHead when I used the propane canisters (tanked propane generally doesn't have the same issue). I use MapPro canisters now and it's MUCH better.

Alli

[MelissaWalsh]

Ok cannot upload!��
Anyhow I'm on propane fuel, BBQ size tank.
And yes there is still grey in the beads once they cool. I'll check my torch itself and see if the ports are dirty.
The two colors I've been using and causing me untold grief are E Special yellow apricot and v opalino white. If that helps any!

[Three Muses Glass]

Are these going in the kiln and being annealed? I ask because coral always turn gray for me but goes back to coral after annealing.

[allicat]

How full is the tank, how old are the hoses, and have you bled them? One or all of those may be contributing as well.

[MelissaWalsh]

I've annealed some and they still haven't changed all the way back to coral! I can run them again and see if that helps.
My tank is almost full. Brand new hoses and I bleed them every time I'm done torching

[MelissaWalsh]

Oh and the ports are clean

[Sue in Maine]

You are working too hot. Coral turns to mud, as do pinks, if you work them too hot. Move further out in the flames and watch carefully because your hands WILL slowly move back down in the flames. You have to get used to catching yourself in order to train yourself to work further out. At least, that's my experience with myself.

Sue

[JetAge Studio]

Opalino white is notoriously easy to get "sooty", it's not just you! LOL! In fact, a lot of the alabasters and opalinos are that way. You might find CiM Marshmallow or another white to be easier, though it sounds like you still need to nail down the overall issue. Sounds at first to me like it's the gas too, but you say it's a new tank so I don't know! So sorry you're having trouble! Folks with more experience on the HH will for sure help with lots of advice. Hang in there

[yessysbeads]

This would happen to me a whole lot with corals and whites. Also, my blues would turn red and most of the type it meant I burnt the color. I worked way too hot, I started to work further out in the flame and it seamed to help. I also only worked on a HH with propane.

[Sue in Maine]

Originally Posted by yessysbeads

This would happen to me a whole lot with corals and whites. Also, my blues would turn red and most of the type it meant I burnt the color. I worked way too hot, I started to work further out in the flame and it seamed to help. I also only worked on a HH with propane.

When your blues (especially turquoise) turns red, you are right in that you are working too hot but it's not burning the color. It's bringing the copper to the surface. Sometimes you can cool it off, work further out and get rid of some of the red. There is a light blue that does this as well and a green.... um, can't recall the shade off the top of my head but it's a pretty green. Rats, it will come to me at 3 am, what do you bet!

Sue

[MelissaWalsh]

Ok so top bead is the white the two under it are the apricot l I spoke about and the bottom is a mix of the two just for fun

The rods are the original rods the beads are made from

[Eileen]

Yep, maybe turn your flame down, and work further out where the flame has a better oxygen mix. You can always move in a bit if things are OK until you see problems.

[MelissaWalsh]

This bead is the coral anneald

The third and forth ones are not anneald

[isaberg]

Everyone who started on a hothead had the exact same problem. Too hot, too close to the flame. I've still got that very same grey-supposed-to-be-green first bead.

[Lisi]

Sounds like dirty ol' propane to me. Twelve years of torching experience and I could never get propane to not muck up my beads. I tried three different fuel companies over the years. Propylene bulk tanks (similar fuel to MappPro) from your local Air gas or welding shop would be the best thing you can do. It may cost a little more, but it is so worth it.

With propylene, I never had trouble with any color. Transparents were perfect, whites were white like the rod, reds were red, and coral was always beautiful. Never saw any grey. Unless I was using the propane tank...

[Lisi]

They have Airgas in Canada. Maybe there is one near you.

http://www.airgas.com/content/about....=9005003001000

[woozles]

Turn down your torc. Also, you do need to realize that with a hot head especially you need to work all the way at the end of the flame - it can even look as though you are not even in the flame, but you!

Opalinos are just plain tough.

[flameonglass]

I agree with Lisi. I would try Mapp Gas instead of propane.

[tammydownunder]

Before you change your gas, try turning the flame on your HH so that is JUST stays on. You don't need inferno heat or you're going to get the soot no matter what gas you are using. In addition, work further out in the flame. If you're wearing diddys, have a look over your glasses to see the colors of the flame and you want to work in the blue area about an inch or two away from the yellow.

[jaci]

That white looks like opalino white. It's gotta be just barley worked to get it to stay white. Very temperamental. The two colors you have there are probably two of the most difficult colors to work on a hh. If you can master their color you can master any color on the hh! It can be done!!! They just need patience and babying...

[MelissaWalsh]

Yes the white is opalino white and the other is special yellow apricot yellow also having issues with coral.
I hope to be able to get to the torch on Sunday and I'll try turning down the flame and work further out and last but not least be patient !
Thank you everyone.