Re: Cleaning Indian ?lampwork beads?

The "clay-like crap in the hole" is bead release, which is used to ensure that the bead comes off the mandrel when it cools. In theory, you should be able to use a diamond reamer or slender diamond bit (by hand or on low speeds with a Dremel/flex-shaft) to clean it. But go very carefully. Indian glass beads are notorious for being poorly (if at all) annealed and my break while you're trying to clean them. A gentler but less effective way to clean them is to get real pipe cleaners (the ones with wires wound along with the fluff), dampen one with a little vinegar, and pull through several times. Godawful labor intensive but it will work.

-- KarenK Desert Dreamer Designs

Just make sure you clean them wet. The bead release is harmful if airborn. Not too bad, but you want to be safe.

I thought of that, after other posters were commenting on the poor quality of them.

They're not something that I'd wear _every_ day (too bright, "flashy", noisy(!) ), and there is an idea of making a charm necklace out of them...

Thanks for the tip. :)

I'd considered doing that with some tumbles quartz stones I have that had (I'm trying to avoid the phrase "dirty holes!" :) ) dirt in them, but I never thought of doing it for these.

This might sound a dumb question......with or without a detergent tablet thingy?

Well, you usually clean glasses (etc) in the diswasher with detergent, so I'd have thought it'd be fine in with your dishes on a normal wash. Seems silly to run a dishwasher with just a little net baggie of beads inside!

I usually do this-- sometimes it helps, sometimes not. Sometimes just the soaking process causes the beads to crack. Kaytee "Simplexities" on

Well, I am sure others have answered, but here's my take. I have tried cleaning some of those kind of beads. What's in there is clay - and the consitency is not the same as my particular bead release. It's gritter and much more difficult to clean. That said, you can clean these beads, but most likely some will break in the process. Sometimes, the clay is what's holding an already cracked bead together. So be careful not to cut yourself on the glass. I use a bead reamer, which is really a pointed file in a handle. You can use pipe cleaners, but that won't clean the beads as well. If the bead makes it through the cleaning without breaking, it will most likely look so much nicer. Good luck!

I wouldn't use the indian, they tend to break easily. But I just saw someone the other day say that their LBS runs them through the dishwasher twice, and then takes out the broken ones. I would say don't sell "professionally", but for gifts for friends, and all, use this method, kindof a trial by fire...

Mary

I also read in here awhile back (forgot who wrote it) that you can put the Indian beads in your freezer in order to test them to see if they'll break or not once you take them back out of the freezer. I tried it on some I had - just put the whole lot into a large baggie and stuck it in the freezer. I took them out an hour or 2 later... and not one of them broke after they warmed back up, even after I 'dropped' the bag a few times on the kitchen counter just to see if they'd break.