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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2010-07-16, 8:25pm
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Default Anyone having problems with foster fire

I just bought 2 large bottles of foster fire ...boro & presses ....
It is driving me crazy I have been using this brand for years ...suddenly the new bottles crack in the drying process before getting near a flame ...and get it near the flame and it flies off the rod ...I called Robin and she suggested I water it down ...no good ...I have wasted too much time for days now trying to make this work ....any more suggestions ? This is my busiest time of the year I need to be creating not messing with this stuff ....thanks ...Susan
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  #2  
Old 2010-07-16, 8:32pm
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when I used Foster Fire, I typically had to remove some from the jar to make room to add enough water to get it the right consistency. Do you have pics of the mandrels? Might be able to help if we can see it.
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  #3  
Old 2010-07-16, 11:36pm
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washed them off 3 times, I thinned it and they still cracked ....I will take photos tomorrow ...
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Old 2010-07-17, 3:28am
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I was having a similar problem and it was solved by thinning it with water.
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Old 2010-07-17, 2:02pm
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I do boro. If I heat the mandrel up in the flame too fast, foster fire cracks and spits off pieces. So I now heat the mandrel further back in the flame, slower, and I've not had any problems. This is how it was for both air dryed and flame drying. I've been using it for many years.
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Old 2010-07-17, 6:05pm
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What kind of water did you thin it with? I know if you have any type of water treatment system you can not use that water. I always keep a bottle of distilled water in my studio just for this.
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  #7  
Old 2010-07-19, 2:30pm
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I did have to thin it alot. Thin with vodka, flavored for a pretty smell the only other problem I ever had was a bit of mold, so now I thin with boozzzeeee I think it helps the drying process too somehow.... Always works better for me with the alcohol. (gin, or ammaretto in a pinch, works good too! LOL)
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Old 2010-07-19, 10:38pm
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Thanks for the tips specially the booze ...too funny ...anyway I thinned the crap outta it and it works ...consistancy of cream ....phew!
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Old 2010-07-20, 7:12pm
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Mine made me so crazy that I finally couldn't take it anymore and switched to Sludge/Sludge Plus. Love it!!! Will never go back.
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Old 2010-07-20, 7:13pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heartglass View Post
Thanks for the tips specially the booze ...too funny ...anyway I thinned the crap outta it and it works ...consistancy of cream ....phew!
oh good
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Old 2010-07-21, 4:43am
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i've discovered a trick lately - when i dip my rods i pull them out and give them a sharp flick downwards, it takes off any excess and they work perfectly.

i'm too impatient to pull them out of the bottle sloooooowly to get a thin coating
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  #12  
Old 2010-07-21, 2:14pm
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Yeah, I've used it for years and it cracks like crazy and drives me crazier! Guess I should switch. I thin mine out too tho I've never tried booze.
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  #13  
Old 2010-08-11, 8:32am
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I just recently bought a bottle and find my dipped mandrels are cracking as I introduce it into heat. Any tug or pull on the bead and the whole chunk of release loosens. I've added regular tap water to thin it, and it doesn't help at all.
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Old 2010-08-11, 8:56am
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I don't have any of the new bottles - I got my huge bottle years ago. But at one point I left it in the trunk of the car in the middle of the hottest days of the year, and it got funny. Now, I can't put my mandrels in the flame or the bead release will break or flake too easily. So I just keep the mandrel out of the flame (I warm the mandrel just under the flame to start) and it works fine.
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  #15  
Old 2010-08-12, 10:37pm
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If your mandrels are wet or not completely dry when you dip them, then there is your reason for the cracking bead release. Does the bead release on these mandrels have a squiggly little line type of crack?? If so, then the wet mandrels are the problem.

This is what happens: if your mandrels are wet when you dip, the release traps that water and as it dries on the outside, the release is still fluid toward the inside next to the mandrel because of the trapped excess moisture.

Bead release dries fast on the outside + release is still "wet" inside = crack city.

Trust me on this. I discovered this for myself a looong time ago, and ever since I have dried my mandrels thoroughly before dipping, I have never seen cracked bead release on them again. With ANY brand of bead release, and I'm in a very humid climate! (deep south FL) But if it's not from wet mandrels, then it might just be too much moisture in the air itself.
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  #16  
Old 2010-08-13, 6:13pm
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I never dip mandrels and then use them right away. I always get a bunch of mandrels, dip them and let them dry overnight, sometimes days or weeks go by before they get used.
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