is it possible

[tish]

hi is it possible to add to a bead thats alreDY SITTING IN ANNELING BUBBLES  E.G. I WANT TO ADD AN INITIAL TO A HEART I MADE
SO IF IT POSS ANY HINTS AND TIPS RULES WOULD BE APPRECIATED
oops didnt notice id hit capslock sorry

[Trudi]

Personally, I wouldn't!

[julieHB]

Sounds dodgy to me - chances are high that it will explode on you!

If you have a kiln:
Let the bead cool down, but don't remove it from the mandrel. Let the bead heat up in the kiln next time you are annealing, and let it soak for a while at annealing/garaging temperature. Take the bead out of the kiln carefully (using pliers or very good heat resistant gloves), cooling the mandrel in water or with wet kitchen paper and introduce the bead to the back of the flame. Slowly heat up the whole bead, and add the decoration to it. Anneal like normal.

If you don't have a kiln I would probably have used a glass paint that can be hardened in the kitchen oven afterwards.

[stuwaudby]

It is possible, but very slow and very risky. You have to heat the bead very gently and very slowly well away from the flame. Very slowly increase the heat as it warms until it is ready. There is a more than 50/50 chance of it splitting.

This is a very slow process, it's probably quicker to make a new heart.

Alternativly stick it in the kiln and warm it upto 550 and remember that the mandrel will be hot.

[tish]

ok ty i will leave it as its the 1st heart shaped freehand bead ive ever made and dont want to ruin it plus i dont have a kiln i was hopeing i could just heat the stringer and lay it on the bead

[lampworklover]

Don't do it!

and don't ask me how I know not to   

[Redhotsal]

I've never been able to do it without picking hot bits of exploded bead out of my face............

You can of course add stuff to a bead that's in a hot kiln, but once it's in those annealing bubbles it's going to be as shocky as hell.

And yes, an awful lot of us have tried it! 

[kerensky]

So glad to read that I am not the only one to have tried this - just once that is......

[Calico Cat]

I suppose you could "paint" on the bead with PVA (glue) to act as a resist and then etch the bead - the area covered in PVA should, I think, stay shiny while the rest went matt - would need to be a fairly bold initial to show up well. (I've done something along these lines with fused glass and a sand blaster)

Of course, I now have all sorts of ideas buzzing about my head but I'm in a hotel working in Leeds all week - shame, I'll have forgotten all about it by the time I get back Friday . . . .

[Alison G]

Boom, in my experience. It doesn't always work with a kiln either.