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Gold Pens for Fusing
There are basically two different types
of gold pens that can be used for fusing. Each of these
contains a liquid that can be applied to the glass and then
fired to around 1200F (650C). After firing, the lines will
be brilliant gold. These pens are great for making
permanent decorations on glass or even for signing your work.
One type of gold pen is similar to a common household pen.
To use it, first press down on the tip, which will start the ink
to flow. Then draw or write more or less the same way you
would write with an ordinary pen. The ink usually comes
out fairly quickly. The lines you draw will look a bit
pale (a slight gold tint, but not bright gold colored), and they won't necessarily be uniform
in thickness. Allow the gold ink to dry, then fire in a
slump or similar lower temperature firing. (The ink
usually survives a fuse firing also.) Two common manufacturers
of these gold pens are Ferro and Thompson Enamels.
A second type of gold pen is more
complicated to use, but has the advantage of flowing a bit
better. This is the Kemper pen, which has a small gold cup
at the end which is filled with gold luster. The Kemper
pen also has a variety of different tips that can be used to
vary line thickness. Lines drawn with the Kemper pen are
usually very uniform in thickness.
Click here for basic information about fusing
with liquid gold. ----------------
Copyright 2006 Brad Walker. All rights
reserved.
Most of these tips came from
posters on the Warm Glass bulletin board.
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