How glass is made. Special matting paste

Once a rare and valuable piece of art, obtaining glass is now commonplace. production process. Glass products are used as industrial and household containers, insulators, reinforcing fibers, lenses and decorative arts. Materials for obtaining various types glasses may differ, but general process its receipt is described below.

Steps

Use of the oven

Purchase quartz sand. Quartz sand is the main ingredient for glass production. Iron-free glass is valued for its transparency, as if the glass contains iron, the glass will appear greenish.

• Wear a mask if you are working with very fine quartz sand. If inhaled, it can irritate the throat and lungs.
• Quartz sand can be bought in online stores. It is quite cheap, a bag weighing 25 kg costs around 200 rubles. If you want to work in industrial scale, then for large quantities, specialized sellers can offer good prices- sometimes less than 2000 rubles per ton.
• If you cannot find sand that contains few impurities, the greenish tint effect can be offset by adding small amounts of manganese dioxide. And if you want greenish glass, leave the iron as is!

1. Add sodium carbonate and calcium oxide to the sand. Sodium carbonate (called soda ash) lowers the production temperature of industrial glasses. However, it causes glass to be corroded by water. Therefore, in order to neutralize this phenomenon, calcium oxide, or lime, is additionally introduced into the glass. In order to make glass more resistant, magnesium and/or aluminum oxides are added to it. Typically, these additives occupy no more than 26–30 percent of the glass composition.

   Depending on the purpose of the glass, add other chemicals. The most common additive for decorative glass is lead oxide, which gives the crystal its brilliance, as well as its low hardness, making it easier to cut, as well as low temperature melt formation. Spectacle lenses may contain lanthanum oxide, which is used for its refractive power, while iron promotes the absorption of iron by the glass.

   • Lead crystal can contain up to 33 percent lead oxide, but the more lead, the more experience it takes to form molten glass, so many glassmakers choose a low lead content.

2. Add components to obtain the desired glass color, if necessary. As noted above, iron impurities in quartz glass give it a greenish appearance, so iron oxide is added to enhance the greenish tint, as is copper oxide. Sulfur compounds give a yellowish, amber, brownish and even black tint, depending on how much carbon or iron is added to the glass mixture.

   put the mixture in a good temperature-resistant crucible. The crucible must withstand the exceptionally high temperatures that are reached in the furnace. Depending on the additives, it can range from 1500 to 2500 degrees. The crucible must be such that it is not difficult to grip it with metal tongs and rods.

   Melt the mixture until liquid. For industrial silicate glass, this is carried out in a gas-fired furnace, special glasses can be melted in an electric, pot or muffle furnace.

   • Quartz and sand without impurities pass into a glassy state at a temperature of 2300 degrees Celsius. The addition of sodium carbonate (soda) reduces the temperature required for glass formation to 1500 degrees Celsius.

3. Homogenize the molten glass and remove bubbles from it. This involves stirring the glass to an even consistency and adding substances such as sodium sulfate, sodium chloride or antimony oxide.

   Mold the molten glass. Glass molding can be done in one of the following ways:

   • Melted glass can be poured into a mold and allowed to cool. This method was used by the Egyptians and is how most optical lenses are made.
   • A large amount of molten glass can be collected at the end of a hollow pipe and then blown out by turning the pipe. Glass is shaped by air blown into the pipe, gravity acting on the glass melt, and any tools the glassblower uses to work with the melted glass.
   • Molten glass can be poured into a bath of molten tin used as a substrate and blown with pressurized nitrogen for shaping and polishing. The glass formed by this method is called float glass, and this is how flat glass has been made since the 1950s.

4. Cool the glass slowly in the oven. This process is called annealing, and it removes any point sources of stress that may have formed during the cooling of the glass. Unannealed glass is much less durable. Once the process is complete, the glass can be coated, laminated, or otherwise treated to improve strength and durability.

   Using a charcoal grill

   1. Make a makeshift oven out of a charcoal-fired barbecue grill. This method uses the heat generated by a flame from burning charcoal to melt quartz sand into glass. The materials used are relatively cheap and readily available - in theory, to prepare everything you need to get glass, you only need to run to the hardware store. Use a large barbecue grill - a grill will do standard size dome model. It should be as thick and strong as possible. Most barbecue grills have a vent on the bottom - open that up.

      • Even at the extremely high temperatures that this method achieves, melting the sand on the grill can be very difficult. Before you start, add to the sand a small amount of(about 1/3–1/4 of the volume of sand) washing soda, lime and/or borax. These additives lower the melting point of the sand.
      • If you are going to blow glass, have a long hollow metal pipe. If you are going to pour the glass into a mold, prepare it in advance. You want a shape that won't burn or melt from the heat of molten glass, graphite is great for that.

   2. Know the danger of this method. This method involves heating the barbecue grill beyond its normal temperature restrictions- so much so that the grill itself can even melt. Careless work using this method is dangerous severe injuries or even death. Work with care. Keep plenty of earth, sand, or a high-temperature fire extinguisher on hand in case you need to reduce the intensity of the fire.

      Take all possible precautions to protect yourself and your belongings from high temperatures. Work on this method on the concrete surface outdoors, in conditions of sufficient space around. Do not use irreplaceable equipment. stay away from the grill when you cook glass. You also need to wear as much protective clothing as possible, including:

      • high-strength gloves or mittens for ovens;
      • welding mask;
      • high-strength apron;
      • fire resistant clothing.

   3. Get a vacuum cleaner for your home workshop with a long hose attachment. Use duct tape or otherwise bend the hose so that it blows straight into the bottom vent without touching the grill body. You will probably need to attach the hose to one of the grill legs or wheels. Place the vacuum cleaner itself as far away from the grill as possible.

      • Make sure that the hose is fixed and does not move: if it comes loose during glass melting, not go to the grill if it is very hot.
      • Turn on the vacuum cleaner to check the position of the hose. A precisely placed hose will blow straight into the vent.

   4. Lay out inner surface grilling with charcoal. Use more charcoal than you would for roasting meat. Successful results are observed when filling the grill almost to the brim. Place a cast-iron pan or crucible filled with sand in the middle of the grill, sprinkled with charcoal.

In this article we will look at recipes various kinds this element. Well, then we will describe how to make glass in Minecraft, and what is needed for it. Actually, any gamer who prefers building something larger, larger and more beautiful than building a standard box house, or who loves any non-standard solutions in the construction and decoration of the house, with one hundred percent accuracy will appreciate how unusual glass blocks are.

This is due to the fact that it has a number useful properties, which, if they can be found in other blocks, then with great difficulty. And appearance glasses are, in general, much more attractive than most other elements in the game.

Why is glass needed in the game?

Without blocks in Minecraft, it is impossible to build even the most common structure that every self-respecting player creates - at home. After all, what house is built without windows? Is that a dark gloomy box or a barrack with a basement. Therefore, no other block can replace useful and necessary glass. It is possible, of course, to use a gate or a fence so that the light still gets into the room, but anyone will agree that it will look as unnatural as possible than the glass windows we are used to.

In addition to the aesthetic function, glass blocks also perform a protective one. So, for example, any monster or other mobs perceive them not as transparent, but as full and solid, therefore, being at home, you can be sure that the monster that you see through the glass window will not be able to detect you, which means , will not try to break into your home.

Spiders are an exception, but even they will not be able to break the glass barrier. So, professional players very often build glass walls or passageways made of glass in mines, which allows them to continue their activities undisturbed.

In addition, glass is the most convenient material for experimentation: you can, for example, create an entire bunker made of glass right under water, which will open up many new interesting possibilities.

Glass is not of any kind natural material, so it is impossible to get it in a mine or on the surface, which means that glass is obtained by crafting. The process of making glass is very simple. The block we need can be obtained by firing sand in a furnace, which is available everywhere, especially near water bodies. If there is no oven, you can craft it from eight blocks of stone. Various materials can be used as fuel for the furnace: coal, charcoal, a bucket of lava, or simple wood, which is spent much faster than coal.

glass properties

glass panel

Glass block, although not a natural material, easily acts as a crafting element and helps to create a variety of other things. So, for example, having several blocks of glass, you can get a glass panel. Outwardly, such a panel resembles a conventional glass block and has all its functions, but it is much thinner.

To craft a glass panel, you need glass and a workbench, which can be crafted with four blocks of wood. To get the panel, it is enough to expand one block on each section in the two lower rows of the workbench. Sixteen glass panels can be obtained from six glass blocks.

The installation of glass panels resembles the placement of a fence: if you put two such panels side by side, they connect and form a semblance of a monolithic row. The difference from a fence is that it is possible to jump over a series of glass panels. However, it is quite possible to create a transparent wall from panels. It is not possible to install glass panels flat as they form a cross shape, however they can be installed in window openings instead of glass blocks.

Initially, when glass panels first appeared, they fell out when broken and could be collected. This was later corrected and the glass panels are now just as brittle as normal glass blocks.

What can be made from glass?

There are a number of items for which glass is the primary crafting element.

Special types of glass

In addition to the standard glass in the game, thanks to various mods, can take any form and properties.

Conclusion

Video

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Badges, brooches, various decorations and many household items cover enamel- glass applied to metal. Here we will try to make glass. These experiments require a special oven. For this reason alone, glass making cannot be done at home. But, in addition, skills in working with hot melts are also needed, so experiments, of course, must be carried out in the presence of elders.

In factories and chemical laboratories, glass is obtained from charge- a thoroughly mixed dry mixture of powdered salts, oxides and other compounds. When heated in furnaces to very high temperatures, often above 1500 ° C, salts decompose to oxides, which, interacting with each other, form silicates, borates, phosphates and other high temperatures connections. Together they make up glass.

We will prepare the so-called fusible glasses, for which a laboratory electric oven with heating temperature up to 1000°С. You will also need crucibles, crucible tongs (so as not to burn yourself) and a small flat plate, steel or cast iron. First we will weld the glass, and then we will find a use for it.

Mix with a spatula on a sheet of paper 10 g of sodium tetraborate (borax), 20 g of lead oxide and 1.5 g of cobalt oxide, sifted through a sieve. This is our burden. Pour it into a small crucible and compact with a spatula so that you get a cone with a top in the center of the crucible. The compacted mixture should occupy no more than three-quarters of the volume in the crucible, then the glass will not spill. Place the crucible with tongs in an electric furnace (crucible or muffle), heated to 800-900 °C, and wait until the mixture melts. This is judged by the release of bubbles: as soon as it has stopped, the glass is ready. Remove the crucible from the oven with tongs and immediately pour the melted glass onto a clean steel or cast iron plate. Cooling on the stove, the glass forms a blue-violet ingot.

To obtain glasses of other colors, replace the cobalt oxide with other coloring oxides. Iron(III) oxide (1-1.5 g) will color the glass brown, copper(II) oxide (0.5-1 g) green, a mixture of 0.3 g of copper oxide with 1 g of cobalt oxide and 1 g iron oxide (III) - black. If we take only boric acid and lead oxide, the glass will remain colorless and transparent. Experiment yourself with other oxides, such as chromium, manganese, nickel, tin.

Crush the glass with a pestle in a porcelain mortar. In order not to injure yourself with fragments, be sure to wrap your hand with a towel, and cover the mortar with a pestle with a clean rag.

Pour fine glass powder onto thick glass, add a little water and grind to a creamy state with a chime - a glass or porcelain disk with a handle. Instead of a chime, you can take a small flat-bottomed mortar or a polished piece of granite - this is what the old masters did when they rubbed paint. The resulting mass is called slip. We will apply it to the aluminum surface in much the same way as they do when making jewelry.

clean aluminum surface sandpaper and degrease by boiling in soda solution. On a clean surface, trace the outline of the pattern with a scalpel or needle. Cover the surface with a slip with an ordinary brush, dry it over a flame, and then heat it in the same flame until the glass melts onto the metal. You will get enamel. If the badge is small, it can be covered with a layer of glass and heated in a flame in its entirety. If the product is larger (say, a plate with an inscription), then it is necessary to break it into sections and apply glass to them one by one. To make the color of the enamel more intense, apply the glass again. In this way, you can get not only jewelry, but also reliable enamel coatings for protection of aluminum details in various devices and models. Since in this case the enamel bears an additional load, metal surface after degreasing and washing, it is desirable to cover with a dense oxide film; to do this, it is enough to hold the part for 5-10 minutes in an oven with a temperature slightly below 600 ° C.

Of course, on great detail it is more convenient to apply the slip not with a brush, but from a spray bottle or simply by watering (but the layer should be thin). Dry the item in drying cabinet at 50-60°C, and then transfer to an electric oven heated to 700-800°C.

And from low-melting glass, you can prepare painted plates for mosaic work. Pieces of a bat porcelain tableware(they will always be given to you in a china shop) pour a thin layer of slip over it, dry at room temperature or in an oven and fuse the glass onto the plates, keeping them in an electric furnace at a temperature not lower than 700°C.

Having mastered the work with glass, you can help your colleagues from the biological circle: they often make stuffed animals there, and stuffed animals need multi-colored eyes ...

In a steel plate about 1.5 cm thick, drill a few recesses different sizes with a conical or spherical bottom. In the same way as before, fuse the multi-colored glasses. Gamma, perhaps, is enough, and to change the intensity, slightly increase or decrease the content of the coloring additive.

Place a small drop of bright molten glass into the recess of the steel plate, then pour in the iris-colored glass. The drop will enter the main mass, but will not mix with it - both the pupil and the iris will be reproduced in this way. Cool products slowly, avoiding sudden temperature changes. To do this, remove the hardened, but still hot “eyes” from the mold with heated tweezers, put them in loose asbestos and cool it to room temperature already in it.

Of course, fusible glasses can be found in other applications. But wouldn't it be better if you look for them yourself?

And at the end of the experiments with glass, using the same electric furnace, we will try to turn ordinary glass into colored glass. The natural question is: is it possible in this way to make sunglasses? It is possible, but it is unlikely that you will succeed the first time, because the process is capricious and requires some skills. Therefore, take the glasses only after you have practiced on the pieces of glass and make sure that the result is as expected.

The basis of paint for glass will be rosin. From resinates, acid salts that make up rosin, you previously prepared driers for oil paints. Let us turn again to resinates, because they are able to form a thin, even film on glass and serve as carriers of the coloring matter,

In a solution of caustic soda with a concentration of about 20%, dissolve with stirring and remembering, of course, caution, pieces of rosin until the liquid becomes dark yellow. After filtering, add a little solution of ferric chloride FeCl 3 or other ferric salt. Keep in mind that the concentration of the solution should be small, the salt cannot be taken in excess - the precipitate of iron hydroxide, which is formed in this case, will interfere with us. If the salt concentration is low, then a red precipitate of iron resinate is formed - this is where it is needed.

Filter off the red precipitate and dry it in air, and then dissolve to saturation in pure gasoline (not automobile, but solvent gasoline), it would be even better to use hexane or petroleum ether. Use a brush or a spray gun to paint the surface of the glass with a thin layer, let it dry and put it in an oven heated to about 600 ° C for 5-10 minutes. But rosin belongs to organic substances, and they cannot withstand such a temperature! That's right, but that's exactly what you need - let organic base burn out. Then the thinnest film of iron oxide will remain on the glass, well adhered to the surface. And although the oxide is generally opaque, in such thin layer it transmits part of the light rays, i.e., it can serve as a light filter.

Perhaps the light protection layer will seem too dark or, on the contrary, too light. In this case, vary the conditions of the experiment - slightly increase or decrease the concentration of the rosin solution, change the firing time and temperature. If you are not satisfied with the color in which the glass is painted, replace the iron chloride with another metal chloride, but certainly one whose oxide is brightly colored, such as copper or cobalt chloride.

And when the technology is carefully worked out on pieces of glass, it is possible to make the transformation of ordinary glasses into sunglasses without much risk. Just remember to take the glass out of the frame - the plastic frame will not withstand the heat in the oven just like the rosin base ...

O. Olgin. "Experiments without explosions"
M., "Chemistry", 1986

Tired of old glass surfaces? Do you want variety and don't know how to do it? There are simple and effective method, which will help to deal with annoying glass surfaces. What is it? Is it a simple replacement? Not really. There is a best and original version- do frosted glass with your own hands. Such a transformation is fully justified and allows you to create an indescribable effect.

However, an ordinary person has a logical question: how to make frosted glass at home? You will learn the answer to this question from our article. You will see several ways of matting, as well as the rules for surface care.

Benefits of frosted glass

Why is frosted glass so good? This solution has its advantages:

If you decide to experiment, then let's look at the available techniques for creating a mat on a glass surface.

Options for creating frosted glass

Matting methods are quite simple, so everyone can do it on their own. So what are these methods? Below is the list:

• gluing a matte film;
• applying a matting paste to the surface;
• using a sandblaster.

Matting glass with film

This method can rightly be called the most accessible and simple. A special frosting film is sold on the market to help you work with glass. It only needs to be glued to the glass with reverse side. This is all work. But, there is one drawback - although the surface becomes opaque, you cannot call it a full-fledged mat. If you want to get a really matte structure, then use the following options.

Matting glass with paste

It's no less hard way. All you need is a frosting paste for glass, which is easy to buy at the store. It is produced by different companies. The glass matting process itself is very simple:

That's all, now your glass has become truly frosted. Above we mentioned stencils. This is a great opportunity to do original gift for relatives or friends. The work is practically no different from the previous one. You can buy or make a stencil that will have the pattern you want. You can even order products with inscriptions and congratulations. Then it remains to carefully glue the stencil on glass surface and smooth it, starting from the center, moving to the edges.

In the event that the drawing is small and the glass area is larger than the stencil, then cover the unprotected areas with masking tape so as not to matte the unnecessary surface. Then the process is identical: apply the paste, smooth it over the surface with a layer of 4 mm and wait 20-30 minutes. It remains to wash off the paste, rinse everything hot water and remove the stencil. The drawing is ready.

You can find detailed instructions for matting with paste in this video:

Matting glass with a sandblaster

This is the method used in production. It is the most reliable and high quality. But, it is difficult to call it accessible. After all, sandblasting equipment costs a lot of money. If you have such a unit, then it's good. Some rent it or are looking for friends with such a device. The sandblaster can make matting of any depth and density. And for processing large surfaces he is simply irreplaceable.

Advice! You should not immediately start trying to frost the glass on working surface. It is better to practice on unnecessary glass.

The disadvantage of this method is not only the mandatory availability of equipment, but also the fact that the glass after processing will lose about 3 mm in thickness. That is why it is recommended to use glass with a minimum thickness of 5 mm. In addition, you will need sand and a respirator to work.

The process of creating a mat on glass is as follows:

1. First, clean your work surface.
2. In the case when you want to create a pattern on the glass surface, stick a stencil in the desired place. Glue it carefully, as sand under high pressure can penetrate inside.
3. Now you need to take care of safety: protect the room, as well as yourself. Use gloves to protect your hands, a respirator or mask to protect your face and respiratory organs, and goggles to protect your eyes. It is advisable to work in a protective suit, as the unit will create a small sandstorm.
4. Do a test run on the unwanted glass to make sure the jet quality is right.
5. Press the pump against the glass and, using circular motions, evenly treat the glass surface. Do the process several times. The longer you work, the larger the layer will be.
6. At the end, tear off the stencil and wash the glass.

That's all, now you know how to make glass frosted. You can choose any option that will be affordable for you, according to your strength and capabilities. BUT detailed instructions on sandblasting matting you can find in this video:

How to care for frosted glass

If making frosted glass is one thing, then caring for it is another. For example, many do not know how to wash frosted glass from greasy spots. After all, whatever one may say, this cannot be avoided. Even on the mat, dirt, stains and stains will be visible. What to do in this case? The first tip is to clean the glass surface as soon as dirt has formed. Then the stain will not eat into the material, and it will be quite easy to wash it off. You can even not use detergents and cleaning agents. It is enough to wipe the surface with a damp cloth or microfiber cloth.

In the event that you find serious contamination on the glass, then you can wash it by special means, which can be bought in specialized stores or in a supermarket. However, you should remember one thing: the matte surface is afraid of cleaners that contain silicone or fluoride.

To keep the matte surface always beautiful, you should take care of it from time to time. Natural suede will help you with this. It is enough to wipe the product with a piece of damp cloth. Another way is to wash the surface with hot water with the addition of vinegar. When you have processed the product, it must immediately be dried with a napkin.

There is another folk way:

• take a glass of water;
• add a few cloves of chalk to it, which must first be crushed into powder;
• mix everything and apply the product on a matte surface with a rag;
• after drying, remove all dirt with newsprint.

Note! Difficult stains and dirt can be removed ammonia. Just be sure to ventilate the room while working or be outside. After all, everyone knows what a strong smell ammonia has.

Such simple tips will help you properly care for your hand-made product.

Summing up

As you can see, your old glass can be turned into an original product. With the help of matting, you can not only hide from prying eyes, but also to create unique souvenirs for relatives and friends (cups, vases, beautiful bottles, mirrors). The matting process itself is simple, accessible to everyone. And if you properly care for such a matte finish, it will remain beautiful for many more years.