Has anyone tried pickling clear glass?

[Marcy]

If you're using the Sparex, do not use it again for food. If you are using vinegar and salt, you're good to go after a washing it carefully.

[Shrimp]

Thanks Marcy! I love my pyrex lasagna dish. It's off to the thrift stores!

[AVTrout]

I used to always dish washer my rods, every color, every time. Then I got lazy. Now my method of cleaning it is, "Oh look, there's something on here" (((wipe under my armpit))).

[Kevan]

There is no reason not to use the pan for cooking in again. The ingredient in the Sparex is also in food. It is more than likely that you have something in your refrigerator with it in it right now.

Sodium bisulfate is used primarily to lower pH. For technical grade applications it is used in metal finishing, cleaning products, and to lower the pH of water for effective chlorination, including swimming pools. Sodium bisulfate is also AAFCO approved as a general use feed additive, including companion animal food. It is used as a urine acidifier to reduce urinary stones in cats. Sodium bisulfate is considered GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by FDA[1] and meets their definition of a natural product. The food grade product meets the requirements set out in the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC). It is denoted by E number E514ii in the EU. Food Grade sodium bisulfate is used in a variety of food products, including beverages, dressings, sauces, and fillings. It is also widely used in meat and poultry processing and most recently in browning prevention of fresh cut produce.

In jewelry making, sodium bisulfate is the primary ingredient used in many pickling solutions to remove the oxidation layer from surfaces, which occurs after heating

[Mountain Snail]

I did the vinegar salt recipe. It worked well.

[dusty]

I don't believe it will poison-ify the container, either. It's used in hot tubs, right? They aren't going sell hot tub additives that will harm people in minute quantities (such as will remain after washing).

[CheriB]

I am resurrecting this thread with a (very) silly question that I haven't seen explained yet. How do you arrange the glass rods in the dishwasher? Don't they slip around and get scratched or broken? A photo would be great.
Thanks,
Cheryl

[mtnlaurel]

The PH down that you use for swimming pools is a great pickling compound. It works as good as spartex, is way cheaper and is available at Home Depot , lowes etc. I use it in all my metalworking classes..I will have to try it on glass and see if it makes any difference. Will let you know!

[Eileen]

Laurel, it does work fine. But don't use it on DH clear!

[wendybritt]

Originally Posted by Eileen

Laurel, it does work fine. But don't use it on DH clear!

AMEN to that.....ask me how I know

[AnArtistontheInside]

A related question if you folks will indulge me: I wipe down each rod of clear with an alcohol wipe before use, but I don't feel like I have enough control of the rod if I hold it only at the end. Therefore I tend to hold it about halfway down, and I'm sure I end up reintroducing oil from my fingers back onto the rod that I am melting.
Surely you don't all wear cotton gloves, do you? Do you just keep rewiping the rod throughout the torching session? How do you prevent muck from getting right back onto the rods you have wiped clean?
Thanks for the help!

[2xMI]

You'll never be able to keep your rods totally pristine once you start using them at the torch. But if you've cleaned off the accumulated dirt, debris, oils, dust, etc, before you use the glass, you should be good to go in a studio setting. A lab setting would be something else...

If you do use a cloth to dry or wipe down your rods, use one that's lint-free and you haven't used fabric softener or dryer sheet on it, which can leave an unwanted residue.

Mimi

[AnArtistontheInside]

Thank you!

[28676bhe]

I pickle my transparent glass, and you should see the water.... It is absolutely amazing how dirty it can get!

[KJohn]

I wash a few rods of clear before each torch session, in a bucket with soapy water and rinse and dry. I have had success this way, but whichever way you use, I find you really have to stay on top of it and check each rod as you use it.

[istandalone24/7]

i pickel all my 104 clear, save for Zephyr.
all my boro? i dunk the end of the rod into my quench jar and use the armpit swipe technique.

[Mickip15]

Has anybody experienced their pyrex dish exploding??

I was just about to turn my twin burners on, but opted to go get coffee, the liquid hadn't been used for a few weeks and I just left it is the pyrex dish. When I was coming down the stairs with my coffee in hand |I heard this god awful cracking glass noise went to check if one of my shelves let go and it was the pyrex dish all over the work table and floor. That was my last dish. The first one, I had just finished cleaning 30 lbs of clear, closed the unit, went to make dinner, take the dog out, finish cleaning the house so this was about 4 hours after I turned the unit off, again I hear the cracking glass noise, go and check and sure enough the pyrex lasagna dish was in pieces. The second time, I waited until the next morning after cleaning a lot of glass and emptyied the contents to clean the pyrex dish and this time as I was carrying to the sink it exploded in my hands.

Any idea of what I am doing wrong with these pyrex pans. I am going to be home in less than 2 weeks and my orders of clear will be arriving so they all need to be cleaned before use. Would stainless steel pans work? More durable, non exploding?

Thanks

Micki

[Eileen]

I have heard that the newer dishes are not actually Pyrex, don't remember what they are. I have a lasagne pan I've used some, but maybe not enough to destroy. I also don't use a burner, but a warming tray or make it fresh with hot water & allow it to cool, then leave it in longer if needed. Maybe it is the heating on the burner?

I don't have any knowledge about the metal pans.

[Jinx Garza]

Originally Posted by Mickip15

Has anybody experienced their pyrex dish exploding??

Yes, and ugh, it was such a huge mess I haven't had the energy to try it again.

[betsymn]

Corning sold the Pyrex brand, and the new owners switched it to soft glass instead of boro. Interestingly, I read that Pyrex sold in Europe is still made from boro. Money is #1 in the U.S.

[Marcy]

Larry Scott was the guy who taught me about pickling, (haven't done it myself) you can find him on Facebook and he might be able to answer questions.

[RSimmons]

The surface layer of soft glass rods will interact with moisture and process called de-alylation takes place. The storage conditions and length of time in storage will affect how the glass acts when you heat it. I've seen older glass break up into tiny squares just a few micrometers thick as it nears the flame, the end result being a frosty look on the end of the rod as it melts and lots of bubbles in the gather. (From some SEM experiments with aging glass) Sparex treatment helps reduce these effects, though if the glass has been stored under wet conditions for a long time it won't make this go away completely.

Robert

[28676bhe]

Robert, wonderful information! It's so easy to think of glass being a solid, and, therefore nonabsorbent! Not true.

[FourTailsLampwork]

Robert, care to weigh in on the idea of re-using a glass container one has used for Sparex pickle? I would not do it; I know the compound occurs naturally, but not at nearly the concentration used in pickle, and both glass and ceramic are absorbent to a certain degree! After all, cyanide occurs naturally in broccoli, but I wouldn't reuse that container either. Or is that a false analogy?

[RSimmons]

Sparex Pickle simply breaks down to maintain a low concentration of sulfuric acid (circa 5%). Run the glass dish through the dishwasher and you are good to go, no residue to worry about. Other materials are another matter all together and I would not reuse any plasticware or unglazed ceramics, and to my mind even glazed ceramics are questionable.

Robert

[FourTailsLampwork]

Thank you! I sit corrected -- good information to know.

[essiemessy]

Soooo, pickle makes your glass squeaky in the same way the dishwasher does?

[hyperT]

All you hoarders out there lol.

Surface aging: Soft Glasses are impaired somewhat by prolonged exposure to humid air, particularly in smoggy area atmospheres. Flux appears to dissolve from the surface and to react with carbon dioxide and other contaminates that collect to form carbonates on the surface as a whitish or light gray film. This film looks as if the glass has been etched. Tubing and rod stored under these conditions for 10 years or more may appear to the eye to be perfect until
one tries to heat the glass then the scum shows up. Stocks of glass should be limited to a 5 year supply for this reason. Any corroded glass may be cleaned by soaking for several days in a 10% solution of chromium trioxide followed by a complete rinse in distilled water, or complete surface removal with various acids. Obviously this treatment is warranted only in the case of rare or costly glasses. Nor would it hurt to store your glass in pvc pipe with a screw cap on one end.

[Finn_28]

I have read this thread a couple times trying to figure out what type of vinegar is being used, but not seeing this detail if it there? There was one comment that it smelled like they were dying Easter eggs, so it sounds like cider vinegar, yes? Would distilled vinegar work? Anyone tried it? Also, what type of salt? Regular iodized table salt or non-iodized? Kosher salt? Sea salt? I have a feeling I may be over thinking this - guessing people have kept is stupid simple by using cider vinegar and iodized table salt. Can anyone help me on the ingredients?

[hyperT]

I would think that distilled white vinegar would work since it is one the very best glass cleaners you can get. How about salt of the earth?