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I have been experimenting over the last few days with silver staining and have had some great results ,so I thought I would share them here with you guy's .Silver staining is the effect you would see on cut glass and in church windows around the UK mainly being used at the turn of the century. they still use it on stained glass windows today in elaborate scenes of people and scenery.
I was always fascinated in the gold effect seen in the cutting on some of the more elaborate cut glass windows around London of which are still surviving today. The transparent effect of amber in the cuts would really make the brilliant cutting take on another effect almost like translucent angel gilding on some of the lighter panels. These pictures show the colour fairly deep but it can be lightened and darkened to ones own taste. I have lots more experiments to do with applying chemical silver over the stain and acid etching in different tones.
What really works well is fading the stain to clear glass using an airbrush ,the stain comes in powder form when you mix it with white vinegar into a milky consitency it's ready for use.
The stain can be brushed but you need to go over it with a badger brush to soften it and to get even ,the use of an airbrush is best but wear a mask as it is toxic so spray out side. These pictures shows the glass just come out of the kiln one part is wiped the other still has the delicate dryed powder of stain attached. To get to this effect you do need a kiln ,I bought a kiln a few months ago for slumping and for some of the more modern art glass I want to produce .The size of kiln I have will take glass panels no bigger than 3'x 4'. To silverstain the temp needs to be 566 or 570 degrees and it needs to be held at this temprature for 10 minutes . The glass will not liquify at this tempreture. When it is cooled down wipe off the powder with a wet cloth and dry it. That's basically it ! now you have another fabulous technique to had to your panel of glass.
I will play some more with this process and share it here in the coming weeks. I posted a pot of the stain out to Pat Mackle which he bought from the same company to try out,so it will be interesting to see what Pat makes of it. And interesting to see what he comes back with. Also Doug Bernhardt has some great shots of the process .Can you post some here to show Doug?. Thanks mate!...........
Yes Roderick the stain is fired then the residue of black powder is removed. But these photo's are just showing the stain they have not been silvered yet.
I am hoping the silver will take and that no chemical inbalance between the two will take place. As for what the material is made of I will try to find out today and post it here a bit later ,I was told once that silver nitrate was used for this type of effect. Thanks for the photo Doug! This was me taking a quick sleep in a pub in Edinburgh .I will have to get you back for that one Bernhardt. And I will!!!!!!!!!
Hi all. Dave and I have become interested in silver staining glass. I've been working on duplicating a replacement of silver stained and wheel cut glass for an 1800's antique gypsy caravan wagon.
I bought some silver stains from Reusche Company, but they didn't fire up to a deep amber. They required 3 - 4 fired coats and still I wasn't happy with the results. I began to make my own stains and came to learn exactly how and why silver stain works. In its most basic discription, the silver compound is added to a clay mixture. Various types of clay from certain parts of the world are touted to be superior to others. Lebenon being one, but with all the fighting that source has disappeared.
The clay carries the stain and basically keeps the silver away from the glass. The stain is applied to the glass and placed in a kiln. During the firing process, the silver compound is vaporized out of the clay and penetrates the surface of the glass as ions. Many sources state that Silver stained glass must be fired with the stain face down in the kiln.
The resulting amber stain color is very permanate to weather and sunlight.
I bought some stain from the UK after viewing some pictures of a panel Dave had in Ireland. I jumped out of my chair, it was the exact tone I had been striving to acheive for 6 months!! Upon arrival I came to read that the ingredients of this new stain also contain copper sulphite, probablt the missing ingredient to the previous stains I had purchased AND formulated from my head. I did however come across some very interesting results in my experiments. There will most likely be additional information on this subject as we attempt to mirror over the silver stain and check for compatibility.
More later,
Pat
Maybe you already know this, but there is a chapter on making and using Silver Stains in the SGAA (Stained Glass Association of America) Reference and Technical Manual, 1992, ISBN 0-9619640-1-4 by Dorothy Maddy. I can send you a copy of it if you want. The book is out-of-print.
Silver stains are why stained glass is called "stained" glass - it's how they made the halos on saints in the great medieval cathedrals - its been around for a while.
Doug Bernhardt prompted me to find out about the above Manual. I am thrilled to tell you that it is being reprinted in sections. Go to http://www.cafepress.com/sgaa for more info.
Well, of course, I didn't look up everything before I posted. The answer is yes, this reprint of the above section (Chapter 13) of the Manual does contain Doroth Maddy's article on silver staining - go to http://www.cafepress.com/sgaa.57292061
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