Glass testing for geeks
Caution: glass geek post!. One problem that frequently arises is how to get rid of surface devitrification (ugly scum that shows up on fired glass). Some things that cause it: residue from my glass cleaner or drying rags, dust from my adjacent clay studio, glue that gets used to hold glass in place while carefully transporting it to the kiln, finger prints, price tag goo, etc. In the glass community groups devitrification (aka devit) is a frequent topic of discussion. People ask for advice on how to clean their glass before firing, and which glass glue works best. All sorts of answers pop up, with not a lot of side by side tests. As a software engineer learning fused glass, it helps me learn if I test. I tested 20 different scenarios with 3 different COE 96 clear glass types that I had in stock: Oceanside Crystal clear, Oceanside icicle clear, and Wissmach clear. Each test consisted of a 1x1 inch square of glass with a cleaning method, and possibly a glue substance and glue ...