How to make a test a plate of enamel. Necessary to see the true enamel color once fired. What you see in the container un-fired is not what it looks like when fired.
First big reason I go about it this way, is all colors of the same family are here. Making a color test plate as you see below allows me to see how close the colors are to each other which gives me the opportunity use them to shade from light to dark.
Second and even more important is to see the different melting times of each enamel. These enamel dots were all applied at the same time and fired all at once. One did not melt = means it is a harder firing enamel. If you lay it down next to one that melts quicker you will have cracking between the two enamel colors.
Third, I can see which pink enamels have yellow in them or blue in them. This tells me the ones with a yellow base will burn sooner than ones with a blue base.
On to making the plate,
You can pause the slide show when you need to.
* Clean the Copper sheet of 18ga. using comet cleanser or penny brite.
*The copper will be bright and the water should run off. A good sign the metal is clean.
* My counter enamel is moist and I add a mixture of one part Klyre-Fire to five parts water. The Klyre-Fire acts like glue to keep the enamel from falling off when you flip it over the add the flux on the front side of your test plate. Add counter enamel to the back.
* Remove excess liquid with the brush, turn the test plate over and add enamel flux to the front of the test plate.
* Here in images 5 & 6 I am sifting on the flux to the front side of the test plate. If I wet pack the flux and get too much water it can disturb the enamel on the back of the test plate if it runs under. This is the only time I sift enamels, as I do not care for it to be airborne.
*Fire the enamel test plate, I use 1450 degrees, for 1 minute to 1minute and 15 seconds, in my kiln. Images 6 & 7 front and back fired.
*Next prep fine silver foil, using 120 grit sand paper.
*This is accomplished by burnishing the fine silver foil on the sand paper with a small flat tool, like a ruler. This puts small holes in the foil so it will not trap air bubbles when fired. I am using foil to fire test of transparent enamels on instead of using fine silver sheet. It is just less expensive.
*Gently brush off the back of the fine foil so no sand from the paper is on it.
*Lay the foil on the fired fluxed side of the test plate of copper.
*After removing the plate from the kiln burnish the foil down.
*And fire in kiln. This image shows the foil fired on and 1/2 had flux added, then fired again. This way I can test transparent enamel on flux and the same colors without flux. Info I might use later.
* Last 2 images shows my color dots of enamel I wanted to test. These enamels were washed in distilled water before applying. Then fired in the kiln.
Now you know how to make a test plate of enamels
This test plate is for enameling on Fine Silver. If you want to enamel on copper just skip adding the fine silver foil. Also if you are enameling on copper turn the temperature up to 1550 and fire to get a beautiful gold color to the copper sheet.
I would like to mention this plate with all the pink colors on it is .5″ x 3″. And the dots are small that would equal one layer of enamels. Not very much. Just remember you want to see the true color of the enamel and be able to see through it specially if you are enameling on fine silver. If this is one layer think about how much it will darken also with 4-5 layers.
https://alohilanidesigns.com/color-plates-understanding-expansion-enamels/
Hi Patsy,
I’ve decided to completely reorganize all of my enamels. As part of this project, I am going to redo all of my test plates so that they are by color family like the way you have all of your pinks lined up. In your slide show, you show putting flux on one half so that you can test on fine silver and on flux. I am trying to determine if I want to do this on all of my plates.
My questions are: when you are enameling a cloisonne piece, how can you put your warm colors directly on the silver while building up other cloisons that have a flux base. It seems like the color on the silver would receive too many firings and could burn out. Are you adding paler colors on top to keep the level of that cloison up to the same level as the other cloisons? Does the hard flux under the other cloisons next to the ones that do not have flux cause uneven pressure throughout the piece and increase the chance of cracking or does the color going directly on the silver need to be as hard of an enamel as the flux being used in the other cloisons? Does the color that is directly on the silver need to be in it’s own cloison or can it sit next to flux in the same cloison and must it be the same hardness?
Thanks,
Sher
IMAGE LINK
Hi Sher,
Having all my plates showing all the enamel in a family helps me gradate in that color from dark to light with a prefect transition. It is a good bit of work but to me really worth it.
I use flux Bovano #3 for fine silver in my cloisonné. Once in a while I come across a need to work directly on fine silver as in Champleve. So I test enamels at that time without flux. If that was my primary enameling technique, then I would test them all.
To answer this…My questions are: when you are enameling a cloisonne piece, how can you put your warm colors directly on the silver while building up other cloisons that have a flux base.
I do not. If I am doing cloisonné all cells have flux. Some cells will have 2 or even 3 layers of flux before a warn color goes in. I decide this by how deep the cell are, how many firings I will be doing, so I do not burn my warm colors.
2nd question… Are you adding paler colors on top to keep the level of that cloison up to the same level as the other cloisons?
YES, as I work up to the top of a cell wall, I continue rouse enamels in the color family getting lighter and lighter. I find if I do this instead of using a finishing flux I get riches colors to my work.
3rd question….Does the hard flux under the other cloisons next to the ones that do not have flux cause uneven pressure throughout the piece and increase the chance of cracking or does the color going directly on the silver need to be as hard of an enamel as the flux being used in the other cloisons? Does the color that is directly on the silver need to be in it’s own cloison or can it sit next to flux in the same cloison and must it be the same hardness?
It would cause problems, but all cells have flux.
Happy Enameling!
Are you using wet or dry enamel for this process?
The enamel is wet. I use a wet brush to pick it up and place the enamel where I want it to go.