Many
people use glue to hold their arrangements of glass together to get
it to the kiln. There are many kinds of glue that can be used. It
is best to avoid resin based adhesives, but most other kinds of glue
can be used – including hair spray, lacquer, super glue, CMC and
PVA in addition to the proprietary fusing glues. The cheapest with
the fewest additives seem to get good results.
Remember
the glue burns away long before the glass becomes sticky, so if the
glass won't stay in place while you are assembling it, it won't in
the kiln either. The glue is only to keep things together while
being transported to the kiln.
But
this note is about were to apply the glue you choose to use.
The
glue should always be used in minimum amounts. If it is a strong
water based glue, such as PVA, it can be diluted with water and still
provide sufficient adhesion. The glue should be runny, not thick or
a gel. Unless the adhesive is a spray, a small dot at the edge of the
piece to be glued will be sufficient. Capillary action will draw
enough glue under the piece to stick it to the base glass.
If you
are spraying the adhesive, that should be done at the end of
assembly, to avoid
flooding the base glass with adhesive. It is often best when using
these lacquer based adhesives to spray a small amount of liquid into
a container and use tooth picks or other pointed implement to dot the
lacquer at the edge of the pieces to be attached. This way you can glue as you assemble rather than waiting to the end.
Adhesive
under the middle of a piece of glass is likely to give black marks
and even large bubbles, as the combustion gasses cannot get out from
under the glass. So always confine your glueing to the edges of the
pieces. A dot at each end is all that is required.
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