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What is Dichroic Glass?
Can you use dichroic glass for glass
Why does dichroic glass have multiple colors?
What is the firing temperature for Dichroic Glass?
What is slumping?
What is tack fuse?
What is a full fuse?
How do you slump (flatten) wine bottles?
What do you use to slump wine bottles or any glass bottle?
Why do you slump glass bottles?
My slumped wine bottle broke can I fix it?
Can you still recycle slumped glass bottles?
I have a wine bottle from my wedding; can I get it slumped by you?
What types of bottles can you slump?
What are the uses for slump wine bottles?
Can you paint the wine bottles?
Can you shape slumped wine bottles?
Can I fuse two glass bottles together?
What is Dichroic Glass?
Well, the glass is not really "dichroic"; it is the coating on the glass that is called a dichroic coating. Dichroic means dichromatic or two-colored. You can take any piece of glass and deposit a dichroic coating on it. The glass we use is specifically made for fusing work and that glass has received a dichroic coating. Hence the name dichroic glass. In order to understand what dichroic
glass is, you need to understand the concepts of fusing glass. First you need to know what COE is. COE stands for coefficient of expansion. It is the rate that the glass expands and contracts. In order to fuse (blend) two or more different pieces of glass together they need to be compatible, meaning their COE's have to match. Most fusible glass is what is called "tested compatible", meaning you can take two different pieces of glass, fuse them and not worry about the combined mixture of glass breaking
or creating stress fractures because one piece of glass is pulling while the other may be pushing.
Now that you know about fusible glass, you can better understand what dichroic glass is. Dichroic glass is fusible glass that has been coated with layers of distinctive metals (in some cases up to 30 layers). But you may ask, "how come I can still see through the dichroic layers?" The answer is simple, each layer is so thin (less than 0.1 micron thick or 0.0001 cm!) that, although you may have
30 layers, you can see right thru them. The multiple layers of unique metals give dichroic glass a colorful clear optical quality that is highly desirable. The dichroic layers are made up of many different metals like gold, silver, titanium, platinum, copper, cobalt.....the list is really long! The luminance quality, high radiance, colors variations and textures that you get from these precious metals make dichroic glass a beautiful design medium to work with. It is used to make glass jewelry, stained glass panels,
glass artwork and home/business decorations.
Why does dichroic glass have multiple colors?
The multiple colors of the dichroic glass have to do with the reflection and refraction properties of the metals used to create the layers. Different layers give you different reflections and light transmissions. Generally a piece of dichroic glass will have a name with two colors, the color you see during reflection and the color you see as light passes through the glass.
Can you use dichroic glass for glass blowing?
Yes you can. You really need to be careful with the quality of the dichroic glass. Poor quality dichroic glass can lead to burnouts and lackluster color performance at the extremely high temperatures used in glass blowing. I believe that CBS Dichro has the best quality dichroic glass around, but I recommend you try out different manufacturers of dichroic glass before purchasing large quantities of
glass material from anyone.
What is the firing temperature for Dichroic Glass?
Dichroic glass is fused at temperatures ranging from 1200-1500 degrees Fahrenheit. The range of temperatures varies depending on the type of firing that you require. Lower temperatures are for slumping, medium temperatures are for tack fusing and kiln forming and high temperatures are for full fusing and glass blowing.
What is slumping?
Slumping is the process of heating up something until it flattens out and changes shape.
What is a tack fuse?
A tack fuse involves heating the glass until it gets a little sticky (i.e. tacky) and then the pieces of glass will join together while maintaining the 3D original placement of the glass layers.
What is a full fuse?
A full fuse is heating the glass until the layers get so hot they start to melt together and blend into one solid mass.
How do you slump (flatten) wine bottles?
To slump any wine bottle, you take the bottle and clean it up nicely to remove all the labels and wine (of course removing the wine is often the best part!). You put it on a kiln shelf (you need special kiln wash to make sure the glass doesn't stick) and you crank up the heat! You heat the wine bottle until around 1200-1400 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the desired result...fully fused flattened
bottle or a semi-flattened bottle.
What do you use to slump wine bottles or any glass bottle?
You really need a commercial kiln, preferably digitally controlled, to take the temperature up high enough to get the glass to melt. Knowledge of basic kiln-forming principles and an understanding of thermal shock, annealing, and devitrification is also needed.
Why do you slump glass bottles?
Well that's easy! You're recycling glass and repurposing bottles to a new and creative use, especially when in most cases your wine/glass bottles are no longer deemed useful.
My slumped wine bottle broke can I fix it?
If you really want to, yes you can. It would require re-firing it in the kiln and overlapping the broken areas. The shape might not be the same as what you originally started with, but it is still doable.
Can you still recycle slumped glass bottles?
At the end of the day, it is still glass, so it is still recyclable. By slumping the bottle you are giving a new life and use to an item.
I have a wine bottle from my wedding; can I get it slumped by you?
Of course you can! It is an amazing way to make something useful out of something meaningful! We charge $6 per bottle. You pay for shipping the bottle to us and for the return or, to save money, drop it at our studio and pick it up after slumping.
What types of bottles can you slump?
You can slump any glass bottle or glass container you have as long as it isn't contaminated with metals, then you may have problems with the slumping process. I have slumped Grey Goose bottles; and they look amazing, wine bottles, Bawls bottles, SoBe bottles and liquor bottles. The bottles that are painted such as the Grey Goose bottles are really cool because you still get to see the design in the bottle after
the slumping.
What are the uses for slump wine bottles?
Uses for slumped wine bottles (and any slumped bottles for that matter) are pretty limitless. I will list a few here, but I am sure I will forget many: wall/table decorations, sushi plates, cheese/cracker trays, sun catchers, wind chimes, personalized mementos, picture frames, incense burners, candle holders, kitchen spoon holders, cutting boards,....
Can you paint the wine bottles?
Yes you can! You need to buy glass paints at your local craft store; there are lots of Michaels in my area. The brand I use is the Pebeo glass paints. You can decorate your bottle and bake it in your house oven at around 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, and viola, personalize wine bottle decorations. You can also do this with glasses you own.
Can you shape slumped wine bottles?
Yes, you can slump glass bottles or glass pieces into a diversity of shapes! The slumping process is the same as the one previously described except that, instead of placing a bottle or glass piece directly on a kiln shelf, you place it on a mold that has the shape you desire. The slumped glass will come out of the kiln as an almost exact replica of the mold you used.
Can I fuse two glass bottles together?
This one is a really tricky question. Yes and no is the answer. You could definitely not fuse two bottles from different manufacturers. The reason for this is they may not have the same COE, so in between the fused layers, if they don't have the same COE, they will break away from each other. COE stands for coefficient of expansion. Since you do not know their COE you can not really fuse them together.
You could possibly fuse two bottles from the same manufacturer but over time there might be variations in the glass they use to make the bottles that might make them incompatible. So the answer is yes, but with hesitations. As long as you don't get your hopes up, you may end up with a master piece or just shards of glass.
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