Welcome to Hot Glass Beads Online

                             
 WHAT IS DICHROIC GLASS?

Dichroic is defined in the dictionary as “The property of a surface of reflecting light of one color and transmitting light of other colors.”  Transmitted colors are what you see when you would look through a clear piece of DichroMagic® glass.  Reflected colors are the colors you see when you hold the glass in front of you, and will be the opposite color of the color reflected. Dichroic coatings are produced by vacuum depositing multiple thin layers of exotic materials onto a glass substrate. This creates an optical filter that can selectively reflect and transmit wavelengths of light. A vacuum chamber is needed in order to produce a pure environment for depositing the thin film materials. The vacuum produced is similar to that of outer space. The proprietary evaporants are vaporized in a crucible located in the bottom of the vacuum chamber, by a high voltage electron beam onto the rotating glass above. The glass is also rotated in the chamber through this vaporization process in order to deposit uniform coatings on the glass.  Due to the difficult coating process there can be slight differences in color throughout the sheet, or from one sheet to the next. 
 

WHY USE DICHROMAGIC® DICHROIC GLASS?

DichroMagic® has many uses from stained glass, fused jewelry, tiles, slumped bowls, lamp worked beads, blown paperweights and vessels to cast sculpture. DichroMagic® dichroic glass is a state of the art thin film combining the science of vacuum deposition and optical filters with the art of glass. DichroMagic® dichroic is designed to remain highly stable at fusing and glassblowing temperatures while retaining the beautiful optical properties and colors.  This endurance is due to the state of the art equipment installed in our optical coating laboratory.  The DichroMagic® coating is enhanced with a tough overcoat giving it high temperature resistance and scratch resistance. Due to its unique properties, DichroMagic® is the professionals’ choice for dichroic glass art.  The only limitation is your own imagination.

 

USAGE TIPS FOR DICHROMAGIC® DICHROIC GLASS
 

Color Shifts In Fused And Hot Glass

After fusing or lampworking dichroic glass, the color will shift towards the left on the visible color spectrum, depending on the thickness of the dichroic coating, the amount of time and temperature fired for a specific kiln, the number of firings, the type of base glass, and the exact application of the DichroMagic® in the project.  Always choose colors that will have room to shift towards your desired resulting color.  Also, individual kilns fire differently and it is important to test color shifts before entering into large projects.  The color codes for DichroMagic® are arranged in order from the thinnest (LY) to the thickest (RR).  After selecting the correct color needed for your final product, go to the next thickest color.  For example, if you desire a blue transmit/yellow reflect, (BL), choose a light blue transmit/gold reflect (LB).  Upon cooling, the color will shift from light blue to blue.  Thinner colors such as LY, YE, and AM may shift beyond the desired results if your process is very hot.  We recommend fusing a test palette using the color sample set to see how much firing temperature will affect the color shift.  The best way to see what the color shift should be is to view the dichroic at a 45-degree angle.  That color whether it is from the reflection or the transmission will be the shifted color. 

USAGE TIPS FOR DICHROMAGIC® DICHROIC GLASS
 

Color Shifts In Fused And Hot Glass

After fusing or lampworking dichroic glass, the color will shift towards the left on the visible color spectrum, depending on the thickness of the dichroic coating, the amount of time and temperature fired for a specific kiln, the number of firings, the type of base glass, and the exact application of the DichroMagic® in the project.  Always choose colors that will have room to shift towards your desired resulting color.  Also, individual kilns fire differently and it is important to test color shifts before entering into large projects.  The color codes for DichroMagic® are arranged in order from the thinnest (LY) to the thickest (RR).  After selecting the correct color needed for your final product, go to the next thickest color.  For example, if you desire a blue transmit/yellow reflect, (BL), choose a light blue transmit/gold reflect (LB).  Upon cooling, the color will shift from light blue to blue.  Thinner colors such as LY, YE, and AM may shift beyond the desired results if your process is very hot.  We recommend fusing a test palette using the color sample set to see how much firing temperature will affect the color shift.  The best way to see what the color shift should be is to view the dichroic at a 45-degree angle.  That color whether it is from the reflection or the transmission will be the shifted color. 

FUSED GLASS 

Upon firing, DichroMagic® produces a unique crazing pattern depending on the color, glass texture, glass thickness, coating color, and fusing technique.  The dichroic coating will fuse readily to uncoated glass.  In general, two dichroic layers will not fuse directly to each other. 

HOT GLASS / OFF-HAND / LAMPWORKING 

For hot glass processes such as blown, lamp work, and cast glass, DichroMagic® should be used with care.  At extended temperatures above 1600 degrees F dichroic coatings can oxidize rapidly causing drastic shifts in color.  If exposed to direct flame the dichroic coating can be burnt out.  Extreme overheating and repeated firings will destroy the dichroic creating a white ash.   We suggest at temperatures at or above 2000 degrees F the glass be applied with the dichroic layer away from the flame.  By gathering or fusing a layer of clear over the coating, the dichroic can be encased and protected from destruction.  When glass is blown and stretched, the dichroic coating will be fractured into smaller pieces.  Bead making using the dichroic-coated side out of clear glass DichroMagic® works well provided you do it with care. 

STAINED GLASS 

DichroMagic® with stained glass is a fantastic way to illuminate an area with pure brilliant color.  The thin film can be scratched or destroyed by corrosive flux, patina, and glazing materials, so the dichroic layer should be protected.  To temporarily protect the glass, a resist such as contact paper will work.  It can be permanently protected by fusing or gluing (laminating) clear glass on top.  A clear spray or brush overcoat of acrylic coating can be applied to seal it in, but be aware that overcoats will cause color shifts.  It is also important to never soak dichroic-coated glass in water for an extended period of time.  The acidity of the water causes the dichroic coatings to etch off. 
 

DichroMagic® Colors

DichroMagic® coating colors are defined by the transmitted color on clear glass.  For example, on clear glass the color MA will show with transmitted light as magenta. When the glass is positioned so that light reflects off the surface, a second opposite color, TE or Teal, is exhibited. By viewing the dichroic at a 45-degree angle, a third off-axis color, Yellow or YE, can be seen. 
Please refer to the technical information section regarding color shifts when working with DichroMagic® as hot glass.  Take note of the possible color shifts before using the product in hot glass projects.  Also, production lots of a color may vary.  Below, the Post-firing Shift Reflected color is approximate and is based on Uroboros thin glass with a normal kiln full fuse with clear glass on top of the DichroMagic® fused at 1500 degrees.

                                        STANDARD COLORS

PREMIUM COLORS**

COLOR CODE	TRANSMITTED	REFLECTED	POST FIRING SHIFT REFLECTED
GR	GREEN	PINK	LIGHT PINK
TE	TEAL	LIGHT PINK	SILVER OR GOLDEN PINK
TQ	TURQUOISE	SILVERISH	GOLDEN TO GREENISH
OR	ORANGE	CYAN	LIGHT BLUE
RE	RED	SILVER TO LT CYAN	CYAN
MR	YELLOW/GREEN	MAGENTA	LIGHT MAGENTA/PINK
RR	CLEAR	RED	RED/RED ORANGE

**Premium colors have about twice the thickness in coating as Standard Colors

ULTRA PREMIUM COLORS
 

COLOR CODE	TRANSMITTED	REFLECTED	POST FIRING SHIFT REFLECTED
XR	CLEAR	DEEP RED	RED
VR	PINK-VIOLET	VIOLET	BRIGHT PINK/VIOLET
PR	PREMIUM RAINBOW***	PREMIUM RAINBOW	VARIES

***Ultra Premium Rainbow starts as Pink-Violet (VR) in the center and goes to blue on the corners.
Only available by Half Sheet (8” x 16”) and Full Sheet (16”x16”).

Contact info for Classes or Ordering:

Hot Glass Beads
1722 N College Ave C-308
Fayetteville, AR 72703

Tel 479-387-8787
email dcmille290@aol.com