Striking striking colors

[AlexM]

I've been working with striking colors lately, and I've stumbled on a reliable way to tell when your bead is cool enough to strike. I hold the bead under the desk where I work, and look at the color of the glowing bead in the semi-dark under the desk. When I cannot see any orange glow under the desk, the bead is cool enough to strike. No more guessing, no more cracking beads, just wait until the glow goes away in the darkness and then strike it! It works every time!

[glassdude]

Geez, what a simple answer! Thanks Alex!
Jacqui

[GinnyHampton]

Oooh, I'll have to try that . . . does it tame the Moretti transparent red beast??? I hate that color :(

[AlexM]

Ginny,

I've never had any trouble striking the transparent red, I just reliably strike it without having to hold it under the desk. I don't see why it wouldn't work though.

I was referring to striking the more stubborn colors like powder pink and tongue pink and opal yellow.

[Lampburke]

....so, once it has reached that cooling temperature under the desk, do you reintroduce it to the flame quickly and that causes the blush/Striking??

[AlexM]

Susan,

Striking a bead a little more complicated than just sticking it into the flame! You had to KNOW that it wasn't that simple!
:evil: :angel:

There are some colors that are really easy to strike using Ingrid's method. Scroll down and find the thread called "Powder Pink = Terra Cota" and it will give you instructions on how to do it. Before Ingrid posted that I could NOT strike the powder pink or the tongue pink at all, now I am doing it every time.

There are some other colors that don't like this method, so to strike them you carefully introduce the bead WAY out in the back of the flame (almost arms length), twirl it a couple of times and watch carefully for any color change. The striking transparents are ones that like it back here.

Tip for all striking colors: DO NOT get the bead really hot when you instroduce it into the flame to strike it. You just want to warm the skin of the bead, not heat it all the way through. If you heat it too much, any color that you have struck will simply fade and you will have to start all over, under the desk again. Also, some colors will fade with each successive strike, like the Lauscha purple (yes, it will strike darker), so you want to get it right the first time.

[Nolly]

Thanks, Alex. I'm giving this thread 5 stars.

Nolly

[AlexM]

I've been striking everything in sight and I've discovered that several colors that are not striking colors, do strike when I use Ingrid's technique. They are:

Violet - it becomes a very nice lavender!
Bright violet - becomes a bright biolet! How about that!
Coral becomes a warm orange, kinda coral color!
Lauscha purple darkens, but it fades easily from too much heat.
Opal yellow becomes a warm light brown, like Lauscha cocoa.
Opaque sage becomes a dark putty color, a very nice neutral.

[Emily]

Originally posted by AlexM
There are some other colors that don't like this method, so to strike them you carefully introduce the bead WAY out in the back of the flame (almost arms length), twirl it a couple of times and watch carefully for any color change. The striking transparents are ones that like it back here.

I've succeeded in striking the tongue pink by re-introducing it to the flame way, way out where Alex recommends (after cooling, of course). Putting it back in the flame at the normal working place hasn't worked for me.