Exhibitions, awards, written and broadcast material Enamel is a kind of glass fused to metal at a high temperature, usually around 800 degrees Centigrade. The best metals are copper, silver and gold. Like glass the main ingredients are silica, lead, soda, potash and borax. These form clear glass or flux.
Colours can be transparent, opaque or opalescent.
We take the metal and give it the form we wish with a hammer or other tools. The metal is heated and, when cool, placed in sulphuric or nitric acid to be thoroughly cleaned. Touching the metal with bare hands is avoided so that no grease is left on the surface. That is, like surgery, we use a No touch technique . We then take the enamel, in powder form or in lumps, crush it in a porcelain mortar with a pestle, and wash it with water very meticulously.