I've been away from stained glass for a little while and now that I want to make a little project I find that my foil seems to have lost it's stickiness. Is there a way I can bring some life back into it? Thank you for your kind reply.
copper foil reguvenation?
Dec 06, 2004
6 Replies
toss it and buy new foil. however, you don't need the adhesive on foil if you crimp it on well. the first foil was adhered with beeswax.
If you can't afford/don't want to junk it, work in the warm, also clean and dry the glass throughly to maximise stickability. Or just tough it out, cursing occasionally when the foil comes loose on a tight curve before you get to solder it.
As your other respondent said, it doesn't have to be well stuck (or for that matter, well burnished). May not apply to you, but many people waste huge amounts of time trying to get perfectly burnished foil.
If you can't afford/don't want to junk it, work in the warm, also clean and dry the glass throughly to maximise stickability. Or just tough it out, cursing occasionally when the foil comes loose on a tight curve before you get to solder it.
As your other respondent said, it doesn't have to be well stuck (or for that matter, well burnished). May not apply to you, but many people waste huge amounts of time trying to get perfectly burnished foil.
Foil is one of the cheaper things to replace but..... a friend of mine puts his foil and/or glass on a portable hotplate, and he swears by it!
Warmth will re-new the tacky qualities of acrylic adhesive, that hot plate idea is ok, and so is a bright light bulb in a box, an old toaster oven on low, and a heat gun used carefully on both sides.
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