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Boro Room -- For Boro-related tips, techniques, and questions.

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  #1  
Old 2012-04-17, 12:11pm
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Default best bead release for Boro?

I'm new to making Boro beads on a mandrel and was hoping the community might be able to give their two cents on what bead releases have worked for them with Boro glass.
Out of curiousity does Blue Coat release from Sundance Glass work okay with Boro? I happen to have it already and it doesn't mention anything about soft or Boro glass on the jar.

Any suggestions and helpful tips would be most appreciated, thanks
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  #2  
Old 2012-04-17, 2:46pm
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Bead release for the most part is a matter of opinion. Some releases work better than others. Some have a 'favorite' brand. Most if not all are made out of materials used in the pottery industry.

Have a jar of Blue Coat. It works well, but had to grind it out of the bead with a diamond drill. Very hard to remove. Having said that perhaps it has been reformulated since my last purchase. But did give up on Blue Coat and now make my own and never looked back.

Overall, just dip a few mandrels and give what you have a try and form your own opinion.
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Old 2012-04-17, 3:49pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clover1978 View Post
I'm new to making Boro beads on a mandrel and was hoping the community might be able to give their two cents on what bead releases have worked for them with Boro glass.
Out of curiousity does Blue Coat release from Sundance Glass work okay with Boro? I happen to have it already and it doesn't mention anything about soft or Boro glass on the jar.

Any suggestions and helpful tips would be most appreciated, thanks
What I like:

Foster Fire Smooth & Tuff or Heavy Duty.

Smooth & Tuff

FF Heavy Duty


Thanks for reminding me, I will be needing to order soon.
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  #4  
Old 2012-04-17, 4:28pm
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My favorite brand is FPI. It is often referred to as Fusion. I am not helping much, now you have many brands to check. I found that Foster Fire curled up and touched to my bead butts if I needed to do too much heating.

As has been said already, each of us work differently and those differences cause one product to work better than the others. Unfortunately trying different kinds may be your best bet research wise. If you can rent a spot at a studio for an hour or so most have multiple kinds on hand and will let you compare.
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  #5  
Old 2012-04-17, 5:13pm
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Here is a link to the FPI Fusion mentioned above:

FPI Fusion
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  #6  
Old 2012-04-18, 6:38am
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Thanks so much for your responses. The more I read about different bead releases more all of your words are compounded. Meaning the preference comes down to trial and error to find what works. It nice to know that bead releases can be mixed together as well to. From now until I find what works for me I think I will stick with buying small quantities of different release. I bought two pounds of Blue Coat with out really thinking about compatibility lol so... unless I like it I might be doing a bit of mixing with it lol.
Fascinating that high humidity cause cause issues with release. I live in CO so thankfully humidity isn't something I will have to worry about.
Thanks again for the help tips and suggestions Its been great finding this forum to bounce questions and concern at.
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  #7  
Old 2012-04-20, 7:45am
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Default Dirty Louie's

I use dirty louie's for soft & boro. I do fool around a bit with it. For Soft glass I use 3 coats dipped all at the same time, let it air dry for a half an hour and then gently dance it through the flame starting from one end moving to the next end. For boro I think I'm switching to just one coat. I've had some cracking of the bead release next to the ends of the large focal beads. That makes adding additional glass touchy. Dirty louie's cleans out easily by running the mandrel through. I also play around with the thickness. I have two jars at one time in case I have thinned it out too much.

Hope this helps.
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  #8  
Old 2012-04-21, 7:43am
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Fusion for everything.... works for me
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  #9  
Old 2012-04-22, 1:09pm
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Have tried several always returned to Fusion.
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  #10  
Old 2012-04-22, 3:15pm
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Fusion for me too. Have tried many, but it's the best, IMHO.
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  #11  
Old 2012-05-09, 1:41pm
KelleyA KelleyA is offline
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I use Dip-N-Go Sludge. Flame dry (slowly). Only cracks if I leave it to dry on the mandrel overnight. Haven't tried Fusion...stopped with what works for me.
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  #12  
Old 2012-05-18, 7:33am
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The conclusion of Blue Coat: Beads remove easily from mandrel after annealing. Although the release if a bit difficult to remove from the bead. Can be sensitive and crack away quite quickly if not careful with your flame while working your bead. But for the most part the release stays where it needs to be while working.
Overall I would say I am satisfied with Blue Coat but I think I would like to do some release experimentation. Also it would be nice to have some thing I can dip and flame dry for use right away. I think I might try out Fusion. A lot of you seem pretty happy with it.

Thanks again everyone for your input
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  #13  
Old 2012-05-18, 9:40am
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Dip-N-Go Sludge is smooth, strong, and low residue, so it cleans completely out of the holes.
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  #14  
Old 2012-05-18, 10:02am
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Your description of Dip-N-Go Sludge sounds perfect, I'll have to put that on my list for trying as well, thx Lisi
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  #15  
Old 2012-05-18, 10:45am
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Foster Fire Smooth & Tuff or Heavy Duty.
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  #16  
Old 2012-06-02, 7:04am
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So my order of FPI Fusion release finally came in and I have to say I am very pleased with it. It is a much more durable bead release. It holds up to boro glass temps very well. I think I worked almost 40 beads last night varying in size from pony bead to nickle diameter, and the bead release cracked only once(operator error most likely). For more time consuming beads I was able to get them hotter and work them longer without any issues from the release. The extra care I was able to put into each bead because of FPI's durability shows in the mornings kiln bead batch. Very happy, thank you so much for the helping hand The release also cleans out great!
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  #17  
Old 2012-06-03, 12:15pm
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Glad you found one that works well for you.
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  #18  
Old 2012-06-03, 12:51pm
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I have tried most of them, but I always come back to Sludge Plus or the original Sludge.
I get this from Arrow Springs, and I always get my mandrels there as well, I like the 12 inch ones for Boro. I dip all my mandrels and use them as I can, sometimes they sit for weeks and I never have any problems with them. It is reliable.
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  #19  
Old 2012-06-03, 3:45pm
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Still open to the next best thing for experimentation sake, but yah for now I am stoked. Thanks
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  #20  
Old 2012-06-28, 12:07pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clover1978 View Post
Still open to the next best thing for experimentation sake, but yah for now I am stoked. Thanks
Just adding in that I have experimented with a few (been doing mandrel wound boro beads for a little over 12 years) and I prefer Fusion all the way. The others I've tried have long since gone bad in my cabinet from lack of use! I don't know if anyone has come up with anything better since then, but I have no reason to leave Fusion. It's never let me down.
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Old 2012-07-01, 6:17pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisi View Post
Dip-N-Go Sludge is smooth, strong, and low residue, so it cleans completely out of the holes.
I have the regular Dip n Go Sludge and the Grey colored one. I still haven't tried Fusion but I believe I have a bottle of it somewhere (I hope its still good)

Duane
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Old 2012-07-01, 10:22pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by demcc2 View Post
I have the regular Dip n Go Sludge and the Grey colored one. I still haven't tried Fusion but I believe I have a bottle of it somewhere (I hope its still good)

Duane
I had a bottle of Fusion tucked away in a cabinet for at least 4 years. It had completely dried out. I added water, a little at a time over several days to soften it up. I continued adding water as I thought about it, shaking the bottle to mix, until I had a pourable slurry. I dumped it all into an old blender with a bit more water and blended away. It worked perfectly! I also had some dipped mandrels that had been sitting for the same length of time and they worked like a charm. I love the stuff!
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