A new bead release, and I wish I could say I loved it. But it's not making it to my favorites list.First of all, I will say this in it's favor - the label says that it cleans out nicely from transparent beads and leaves a cleaner than usual hole. This is true, it does this and does it well. Now, for the bad news.
The first jar I got (the larger one) was just plain defective - it didn't work - the bead release on the mandrels curled and cracked in the flame - lifted off and broke, even before I got the glass anywhere near it. I thought perhaps it was too thin, so I tried leaving the lid off and letting it "dry out" a bit. No change. And btw - this bead release separates like I have never seen a bead release separate before - with about an inch of clear liquid floating on the top of the larger bottle. This is not just a settling in transit thing, as it will do it from one usage to the next.
So, to be fair, as the endorser/developer (not clear which) - Lewis C Wilson - is someone who's work I have a great deal of respect for - I tried a fresh bottle. This worked significantly better, and actually functioned as a bead release. It is not particularly strong, I got some failures, where the bead release breaks during making the bead, but it was reasonably good, and, it does clean out very nicely. Not the easiest to slip the bead off after, but not a problem in any way.
However, the dipped mandrels do NOT age well - perhaps it's the humidity here - but I find that the mandrels I have that are still dipped with it, and were dipped about a week ago, when I put them in the flame - the bead release cracks and curls and flakes off.
IMHO - this bead release is too finicky for my personal taste - perhaps it might work better for others in a different environment - but I'm giving it a pass. Sorry.
so what bead release do you recommend for humid climate (hawaii) working with 90 and 104 on 3/32 mandrell size, on larger beads - 3' long.
ReplyDeleteHmmm- humidity. Well - I'll match the Ontario summer humidity to Hawaii's any day. My current favourite is the Dip n Go sludge -although it seems to have changed in the last year and is not quite as smooth as I remember it. If humidity is an issue - pick a bead release that can be flame dried - as you can then make sure that it is completely dry - regardless of if it has dried and then re-absorbed water from the air. That's my take on it, anyway.
ReplyDeleteBTW - the Dip n Go sludge does not like to be diluted with water - if it get's low - you can't just add water and keep going like you can with the Fusion bead separator. If you do - you will find yourself struggling to get the beads off the mandrel.