glue chip drying

[Craig Leslie]

hello everyone...I have recently started glue chipping and have purchased my glue from letterhead sign supplies...it has been mixed in the correct water to glue ratio and applied to the glass at around a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch in thickness..i allow it to dry naturally for between 12 to 18 hours before placing it in front of a heater...the glue dries to a point where it crazes and starts to peel but then stops..my question is can the surface of the glass get to hot and can the glue actually get cooked on the glass...the glass gets hot enough that you cannot put your hand on it and the glue gets quite sticky to touch...any advice would be appreciated...thank you

[vance galliher]

the problem criag is in your drying method "placing it in front of a heater..." sticky glue will never chip...it needs to dry, but not get hot...and your glass shouldn't be hot either. do a search on glue chipping here. I have a cabinet with lights and fan, but I find placing panel on light table works really well. just remember, it's not the "heat" . and it really is all about getting good information and experimenting . have fun

[pat mackle]

A 1/16" dry layer of glue is pretty thick. And 1/8" is stupid thick. You will get nicer brighter tighter chips if you scale back on your thickness. At 1/8" thick, the glue can actually break your glass by curling it up. Do yourself a favor and experiment with as little glue as necessary to get a chip, then increase it until you like the results. You are just wasting glue as thick as you are pouring it now. And remember, the thicker the glue, the longer it takes to dry into the chipping stage.

[Craig Leslie]

Thank you for the advice pat...just to clarify ...my sixteenth to one eighth thickness is wet....after drying it shrinks to a thickness much less than that....in all honesty i have only been following the instructions that i have been reading on this forum and on the site where i purchased the glue...much of what is written is very conflicting but i understand that you have a lot of experience in this area...your advice is greatly appreciated and i will pay close attention to it...thankyou once again

[pat mackle]

Wheww, glad to hear that was the thickness after jelling and not dried. I envisioned glass curling up like taco shells! lol
Sounds like you are in a ballpark with laying down the glue. Now just don't rush the drying procedure, we have determined that is the greatest thing that has an affect on the chipped finish you get. If you force it to dry, the surface of the glue will begin to curl and pull the still moist glue off the glass leaving areas unchipped.

[Craig Leslie]

Thanks again pat...you have just answered something that has been puzzling me.."when i get a successful chip happening why i dont get the same 'tight' chip pattern happening that i see in the pics on this forum"...i think i am guilty of not leaving the glue to cure naturally for long enough before 'applying' heat...having gotten into this i am now finding it slightly addictive and your advice is greatly appreciated

[Dan Seese]

Several years ago I had a 6 ft. by 6 ft. piece of laminated glass and I was chipping a pattern throughout most of the panel. It was a cold January and, while most of it had chipped there was a section on an edge which hadn't done so. I put some heat on it and when I returned a couple of hours later the entire glass had cracked.
Lesson learned the hard way - be patient and let it do it's thing.

[Craig Leslie]

thank you dan...I appreciate everyones help on this...the advice given is warmly received

[Doug Bernhardt]

Just to add to all the good advice...you can add "as much water as you like" but you have to wait till it all evaporates so using as directed resolves that. I also have the light table set up and although doing glass isn't all that common in my shop any more it IS terrific at getting things dry. I once had almost the exact same problem as Dan about 15 or 16yrs ago. I added a little extra heat to a stubborn area and while I was working away in the other room I could hear a strange sound coming from there...I wandered in to watch as it slowly cracked right from edge to edge

[Craig Leslie]

thanks to everyone who took the time to pass on their knowledge and advice...as a result of following the tips that were passed on I am now achieving consistent and exquisitely beautiful chip patterns....if I was kind of addicted before I'm totally addicted now