bullseye opal not fusing

[Jojo2018Participant]

Hi everyone. I’m new to this forum, and new to fusing. I really wanted to try this so I bought a microwave kiln kit to start with. It came with fiber paper , dichroic glass, some millefiori, frit, and bullseye opal glass… All marked as COE90. I’ve used the dichroic and millefiori at 900wats (my microwave max power) starting with 2 minutes and then in 60 and 30 second increments and it all fused beautifully. Anyway the problem was the opal glass. Tried it at 900w on its own starting with 3 minutes and although there was some red glow , it quickly faded and the fiber paper turned brown. Then another minute etc, but the paper got browner and the glass didn’t fuse, so I just gave up. Should I try a lower wattage, or times or should I just go for a different glass? Not sure what I am doing wrong. Thanks for  reading, Jo

[Jojo2018Participant]

II think it probably needs more time, but since the fiber paper turns brown doesn’t that mean its dangerous? Help

[Mary Kay NitchieParticipant]

Hi Jojo,

I think that your opal glass needed either more time or a higher temperature. The fiber paper turns brown as the binders are burning out. These binders are burned up and the paper turns white again at the process temperature for the glass.

Mary Kay

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