These were 10g balls melted using our GBMF test. Frit 3602 is lead bisilicate. But it got "smoked" by the Fusion FZ-16 high-zinc, high-boron zero-alumina! Maybe you always thought lead was the best melter. That it produced the most transparent, crystal clear glass. But that is not what we see here. Notice something else: Each frit has a melt-fingerprint. When two are similar we can see it immediately.
This demonstrates the amazing melt behaviour of lead-as-a-flux for ceramic glazes. Not only does it melt early, but it softens slowly over a 300F range of temperatures before it goes off the end of the runway on this GLFL test. Then, when fired 200F hotter than that, it remains a stable, clear and uncrazed glass. Beginning around 1750F, this becomes a transparent glaze, by itself.
This melt flow tester demonstrates the beautiful crystal-clear glass this zinc frit creates by 1700F. It fits this porcelain without crazing, even though very thick and high in sodium (the high zinc and boron are countering it to keep the thermal expansion down). It runs off the end of the runway around 1600F on this GLFL test, rivaling lead bisilicate. This is a more concentrated boron source than even Gerstley Borate. Everything about this material screams “ultra gloss”, what a material to build a fluid-melt reactive super-glaze on!
Tests | Glaze Melt Fluidity - Ball Test |
---|---|
Materials | Frit LA-300 |
Materials | Ferro Frit 3249 |
Materials | Ferro Frit 3195 |
Materials | Ferro Frit 3124 |
Materials | Ferro Frit 3110 |
Materials | Fusion Frit F-524 |
Materials | Fusion Frit F-75 |
Materials | Fusion Frit F-69 |
Materials | Ferro Frit 3134 |
Materials | Fusion Frit FZ-164 |
Materials | Fusion Frit F-15 |
Materials | Fusion Frit F-38 |
Materials | Ferro Frit 3602 |
Materials | Fusion Frit FZ-16 |
Materials | Frit B325 |