A Quick Guide to Fusing Mica Powder With Glass

There is little that mica powder can’t do, and it is the best option for adding pops of color and sparkle to glass pieces. It’s easy to use and can handle the heat needed for fusion. Let’s dive into how to fuse mica powder with glass.

Choosing a Mica Powder

It’s best to test any powder colors before you fuse them to the glass. The fusion process heats the glass and mica powder up to 1400°F, which can cause the colors to change. As the glass and colors fuse, the pigments soak into the glass, which can cause fading. A sparkling gold mica powder may lose some brilliance depending on the heat level or a black may suddenly look gray.

Use a piece of glass you don’t need and apply the colors you’d like to use on your final creation to test the pigment, then fire as usual and see how the shades look after cooling. You can repeat the process for a more intense result if the colors have faded too much.

Select the Medium

Usually, an acrylic clear coat or an epoxy works best with mica pigments, or you can use Klr-Fire. After mixing your powder of choice with the medium, you can paint or spray it onto the glass. Use thin coats when applying mica dye. The only part that adheres when you heat it is the powder that touches the glass. Anything extra melts away.

You can also use the cap method, which involves shaking or dusting the powder directly on the glass without a medium, then covering it with another layer of glass before fusing it in the kiln. Stencils come in handy with the cap method, so the pigment stays where you need it.

Fusing the Mica Powder

The final step is to fuse, or heat, the mica powder to the glass using a glass kiln. The kiln heats up during the process and then holds at a particular temperature, depending on the project. It quickly heats the pieces up to 1400°F, then cools down to around 1300°F and holds that temperature for up to 10 minutes.

Mica powder is an excellent choice for glass fusion projects and many other creative outlets. We offer an array of color choices in high-quality mica powders at Eye Candy Pigments. You can trust Eye Candy Pigments for all your creative projects.