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enameling on pieces made from precious metal clay is a joy

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This Web Provide Enameling On Fine Silver Metal Clay

Enameling On Fine Silver Metal Clay

Enameling on pieces made from Precious Metal Clay is a joy! The clay is malleable and will take any shape or texture: it handles like ordinary clay before it is sintered. After the sintering, the material is usable in a variety of enameling techniques. Sintering, an evaporation process, is done by firing the formed clay in a kiln at a high temperature that removes the binder and water and compresses the minute metal particles into solid metal. After sintering, the object is pure silver or gold and is enameled as such.

Metal clay has the possibility for unusual shapes. There is no waste: all scrap is reusable one way or another. Pieces can be prepared for champleve without etching or soldering. The ultimate joy from metal clay is that there is no copper to oxidize and cause firescale problems.

The metal clay brands that I have worked with are Precious Metal Clay (PMC), made by Mitsubishi Materials Corp. and Art Clay, made by Aida Chemical Corp. Original PMC is a less sticky formulation than PMC+ and Art Clay. They all look like window putty and are worked like ceramic clay. Both brands are available in different formulations: lump form, paste, slip/syringe and paper/sheet. The new PMC Paper is very flexible and can be folded like Origami. Unlike the other forms, it only sticks to itself when water is applied to it. This is a growing field with exciting new formulations added periodically. Given a choice, my students usually prefer to use PMC+ because there is less shrinkage and shorter sintering time.

the most important decision to be made after sintering is how to finish the surface of the piece before enameling

For earrings, pins, pendants, necklaces and other light stress or larger objects, my choice is the original PMC formulation. The pieces are relatively lightweight compared to fabricated forms of the same metals. The shrinkage of 25 - 30% allows detail that could not be done any other way. It is the most porous formulation. For rings or bracelets, PMC+ or Art Clay Silver with 10 - 12% shrinkage are better choices because the metal is denser and will better withstand abuse.

You can buy the metal clay in either fine silver (.999), fine gold (24K PMC) or 22K Art Clay gold. The paste and slip formulations are useful in making multi - part pieces and decoration. PMC is sold by the Troy ounce, 3 1.1 grams of silver plus binder and water. One ounce of PMC is about the size of the end joint of a woman's thumb. PMC+ and Art Clay have more silver, less binder and water per ounce, so an ounce of these is smaller in size and sold by the avoirdupois ounce, 28.35 grams.

Producing a silver or gold object with metal clay is adequately covered in today's literature, so I am covering mainly my method of enameling on silver after I have made the piece. Sometimes I sketch an idea, but I rarely draw a design in detail. Part of my inspiration comes from working intuitively and directly with the material.

The most important decision to be made after sintering is how to finish the surface of the piece before enameling. I can choose to leave areas the natural matte white of sintered silver, brass brush it to a satin finish or burnish it to a high polish. I like the look of just burnishing the raised surfaces. A variety of finishes adds a visual depth to the piece as well.

Transparent enamels reflect slightly different shades of the same color depending on the surface finish of the silver below it and, therefore, how the light reflects from it. The color will differ, e.g., between the valleys with a matte or satin finish and the highly polished ridges. If a variation of color is desired, the valleys can remain a matte or satin finish and the ridges can be highly polished. However, to have a consistent color regardless of how the light hits it, the surface must be finished evenly whether it is matte, satin or burnished. This finishing is particularly important on smooth surfaces where every flaw is noticeable.

Bring up the shine gradually, stopping to evaluate at each step. It is hard to go back to the original softer finish if the whole piece is burnished to a hard bright shine in the beginning. Taking care not to disturb the areas I want to remain matte white, I usually start with a brass brushed satin finish to bring up the metallic color on the parts to be shined. Then the burnishing closes the pores of the silver and puts on a high shine. If the surface of the metal is not closed by burnishing, excess air bubbles might form in the enamel because of porosity in the metal. My PMC test pieces showed that using the tumbler for an all - over burnished surface produces fewer small air bubbles in the enamel than hand - burnishing. Enameling requires a clean surface, so I do not use a buffing machine, which might leave polishing compounds that could be difficult to remove. An overall high shine is best done in a tumbler with steel shot, a little Fels Naptha soap and water.

I have used 80 mesh, unwashed, leaded and unleaded enamels in thin coats without discernable loss of brilliance. Counter enamel has not been necessary on thicker pieces when thin coats of enamel are used. I apply the enamel by wet packing or Sifting. I only use an adhesive when the shape requires one. I have a Vcella enameling kiln, 12 " x 12 " x 61/2 ", on a 220V line, and a SC - 2 Paragon 8 " x 8 " x 6 " controlled kiln for PM C on a 110V line. Continue to learn more about enameling, please visit Ganoksin.


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