We all at times take
short cuts or economies which lead to less than desirable outcomes. One of these is to piece together fibre
paper. Often the marks of the join –
which are always there – are just too obvious to leave. The question becomes whether the fibre paper
join marks can be eliminated.
Yes, there are at
least two ways to remove these marks.
One is to cold work the bottom with a flat lap or wet belt sander.
The other is to use
the kiln to re-fire the piece.
One method would be
to put fresh fibre paper or kiln wash on the shelf and fire. This will require temperatures near the full
fuse to achieve enough heat at the bottom of the glass to effect a significant
change in the markings.
My
suggestion for removing fibre paper marks - while it is still flat - is to fire upside down to fire polish
to get rid of the marks without much changing the desired final texture of what will be the top. This
is because the underside of the glass will not have the same heat effects as
the top side. This also has the advantage that you can observe when the marks
are eliminated.
When
fired, flip over, clean the piece well to remove any fibre or kiln wash, and
take to a quick fire polish to remove any marks - if necessary - caused by the upside-down
firing. This quick fire will be a slow
rise to ca. 600°C, and then quickly to the 740°C to 770°C range. This will cause the minimum change in the
surface of the piece.
You will
need to observe when both the evidence of the line disappears, and in a subsequent firing, when the final
top surface of the piece is fire polished.
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