Eugena's Creations

More on PolyGlaze

I am getting ready for my faux cloisonné class I will be teaching in NC later this month.

A new thing I am adding this time is a demonstration of clear surface finishes that may be obtained with PolyGlaze (which I normally use in my work) and materials other than PolyGlaze. I am also going to show possible problems that may occur with each of these materials and how to avoid or fix them.

By the way, making mistakes on purpose is more difficult than I thought!

One of the problems with PolyGlaze that I was told about is its occasional cracking. The person who had this problem lives in Maine, and she told me about it this winter. I suspected the cracking was a result of lower temperature she may had in her house during that time. This had never happened to me, so the entire idea was a pure speculation.

This time I decided to re-create the problem. Since it is now hot a humid in Maryland, the only cold spot in my house is a fridge. So, that is where I cured two samples covered with PolyGlaze tonight. I understand it is overkill, and I seriously doubt that my friend in Maine had such a low temperature in her house, but I had to start somewhere.

I am happy to report that by morning both of my samples were dry and both of them developed a few cracks! I will take this fact as the proof of my theory – PolyGlaze does crack at lower temperatures.

Although this is not quite scientific and I cannot tell you the critical temperature when this occurs, I think we have enough information to work with. The lowest temperature in my house (in winter) is about 65F. It is safe to say that PolyGlaze dries nicely at 65F and above. Any lower temperature may be risky.

My next step is to see if the cracks could be fixed. I will work on it tonight and report the results in a day or two.

I also promise to have pictures by that time.