Decorative Add-Ons, Painted, Etched & Fused Glass
In addition to the large palette of coloured and textured glasses that are used to make a stained glass window, there are various techniques that can be used for specific features of the design. The most common of these are:
- Painting a design or decoration and then kiln firing to achieve permanent adhesion to the glass. Typical firing temperatures for the various paints will be between 500°C and 850°C.
- Etching This puts an opaque white on plain glass and is also generally used to remove the surface colour on flashed or enamelled glass to create detail. The usual method I employ is sandblasting. This works well for lettering and numbers in entranceways. It can also be used to 'carve' the glass to create detail in relief.
- Fused glass This usually refers to two or more glasses being melted together to achieve a permanent bond. This produces particular colour and texture combinations not obtainable in stock glasses. This can create wonderful combinations of colour and design not possible with basic leaded coloured glass. All three of the above techniques can be used together.
