glue

[judyathey]

What kind of glue can be used to hold pieces in place while firing?

[Anonymous]

There are a number of glues that people use to hold pieces in place to get their work into the kiln. Here are some popular choices:

 

• Hairspray (sprayed into a cup)
• Super Glue (not recommended – can produce small amounts of cyanide gas when fired)
• Elmer’s white glue (often diluted)
• Elmers clear school glue (works best near edges where gases produced during firing can escape)
• Various CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) based glues. Many glues advertised as “fuser’s glue” are CMC based.  CMC is a food additive.
• Bullseye Glastac (not CMC-based)

 

My preference is Glastac. We did careful testing a few years back and Glastac was the ONLY glue that burned off cleanly 100% of the time.

Keep in mind that all these glues burn off before the glass fuses.  I am not aware of any glues that survive to fusing temperatures and will hold pieces in place until then.

Hope this helps,
Paul

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Paul
FusedGlass.Org
Helios Kiln Glass Studio
PaulTarlow.com

 

[wordana]

I like hairspray. I’ve never had much luck with Elmer’s glue — white or gel always leaves evidence behind . I’ve also used aloe vera (tip from Petra Kaiser) and Klyr-Fire. I took a class recently from Janet Schrader, and we used clear nail polish. Seemed to work OK, and once dry, it certainly holds. I would run some tests on transparents, though.

Dana W.

Jester’s Baubles Fused Glass Designs

http://www.jestersbaubles.com

[leeray]

i have been using a water based wood varnish when using powders and flrits ,and find it works very well even more so if you are working over a light table as the heat from the lights dry the varnish very fast . i just paint a line that i want the apply the flrits or powders ,when dry use a hobbie blade to cut the edge to however thin or thick,,the varnish does like to flow a bit.,,the best part about the varnish is next day you can really take to the work with a good brush and clear it all up,,

i had the guys in the paint shop add a black tint this helps to see where you have painted ,,oh and no residual after firing and only a light smell

 

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