Society of Dutch Enamellers
The art of glass on metal

Used to scour and polish metal surface prior to enamelling.

May be used (e.g. as vinegar) together with salt, to pickle metal prior to enamelling

Cleaning the metal before firing with it.

A water soluble gum substance obtained from seaweeds. Upon firing the glue burns off without a trace. It is used as a delicate glue in enameling, for example, in arranging cloisonné wires on a previously fired enamel surface wetted with a thin water solution of the gum.

A double sulphate of aluminium and potassium. Used to paste gold or silver foil, but also to clean metal (100 g per litre, to be heated when used).

A trade name of alumina abrasive, just like Aloxite.

The act of softening metals. This is useful when the object must be made malleable after becoming work hardened, to prevent fractures. Work hardened metal must be annealed prior to enameling, as otherwise the object's shape will change after firing and enamel will crack or chip off, or cloisonné wires will be misaligned or come loose. Gold, silver, and other non-ferrous metals are heated to a dull red temperature and then quenched in water. Tool steel will harden when quenched; hardened steel is annealed by gradual cooling.

A block (usually of iron) with a flat top, concave sides, and often a pointed end, for forging metals.

A thinned solution of asphalt used as a barrier paint or resist in the process of etching.

A thinned solution of asphalt used as a barrier paint or resist in the process of etching.

Basse-taille enamel entails engraving or etching out metal, and then covering it with translucent enamel that allows the pattern to show through. It differs from guilloché enamelling where the basse-taille work is machine-engraved using an engine-turning lathe, or tour a guilloche.

It cuts through metal with ease

Sodium borate, a white mineral. It is used as a flux, forming a low melting glassy coating on hot metals while they're being soldered. This prevents excessive oxidation and encourages metals to flow together more easily. See also www.borax.com/

Flux for soldering

A yellow alloy of copper and zinc; it can be used for enamel work when the zinc content is 5% or less (see tombak).

Warp by warmth or tension

To polish metal with various fine abrasive compounds embedded into cloth wheels or bristle wheels. The wheels themselves are commonly called buffs.

Various fine abrasive particles held together by sticky wax in the form of bars or blocks, that are held against spinning buffing wheels, or rubbed by hand onto buff sticks to embed or "charge" the wheel's fibers. It is the compound that does the polishing, not the fabric.

A polishing machine

A rough edge or area remaining on material, such as metal, after it has been cast, cut, or drilled.

A compound of carbon and silicon used as an abrasive.

A heat resistant ceramic or graphite container in which metal is melted, and used to direct the flow of the metal into a mold.

Can be used as a trivet when firing enamel in the kiln.

Low temperature curing (93 °C = 200 °F for one hour), hard "enamel", in fact a two part epoxy. The result is a ceramic like surface which resembles kiln fired enamels in both appearance and physical properties. Occasionally used if the restauration of enamel cannot be done in any other way.

Hollows are formed in the metal - either by carving out by hand, by making a die casting or by acid or galvanic etching - leaving raised dividing strips. A raised field of metal is left to form the design. Enamel is then applied.

The technique of fusing colours of ground glass onto metal, with wires forming lines (French - little fences) in the design separating elements of the design - formed with bent flat wires embedded in the glass enamel, or hard soldered on edge to the metal's surface.

The thin flat, occasionally round or filigree wire used as a design element to separate colours or areas in cloisonné enameling.

Not an enamel, but a ceramic-reinforced composite material similar to what the dentist uses on teeth. Used in the restauration of old enamelled pieces if this cannot be done with true enamel. It is a liquid that comes in many different colors, which can also be mixed to produce any shade (in transparent or opaque). The material is very hard, can be sanded, sand-blasted, filed, buffed to high shine, inlaid, wire brushed and will withstand scratching.

Extremely hard crystallized alumina, used especially as an abrasive

Fused glass enamel applied to the opposite side of the metal from the decorative enamel. It can be decorative too, but the main concern is to equalize strains in the cooling to prevent the enamel on the opposite side from chipping off as the metal contracts.

A melting-pot for metals.

A wood or metal block with various sized concave, or dished out shapes. Used with dapping punches to form sheet metal disks into rounded dish shapes or hemispheres, also called a dapping die.

The process of covering metal (often previously covered thinly with Klyrfire or similar glue) with enamel powder via a sieve, tea strainer, tea ball or the like.

Cloth or paper covered with emery, used for polishing or cleaning metals etc. Emery is a coarse rock of corundum and magnetite or haematite used for polishing metal or other hard materials.

True enamel is coloured glass, usually ground into a powder and "fired" or melted onto a metal surface. Many non-enamel products are advertised as "warm enamel", "cold enamel", "soft enamel", "hard enamel", "french enamel", "baked enamel" are often plastics. Ceramit (a two part epoxy, cured at 93 °C = 200 °F for one hour) and Colorit (a ceramic polymer as used by dentists: very hard, can be sanded, filed and polished, is cured with UV light) are occasionally used in the restauration of enamel if this cannot be done with 'true' enamel.

A difficult and beautiful technique in enameling, similar to cloisonné, but having no backing metal - to permit a stained glass effect; in one method transparent enamel and wire are arranged on a form of mica, fired and re-filled with more enamel, fired again, etc. until the desired thickness of glass is obtained. Then the underlying mica is carefully stoned away and the object very briefly fired again to polish just the surfaces.

A difficult and beautiful technique in enameling, similar to cloisonné, but having no backing metal - to permit a stained glass effect; in one method transparent enamel and wire are arranged on a form of mica, fired and re-filled with more enamel, fired again, etc. until the desired thickness of glass is obtained. Then the underlying mica is carefully stoned away and the object very briefly fired again to polish just the surfaces.

A difficult and beautiful technique in enameling, similar to cloisonné, but having no backing metal - to permit a stained glass effect; in one method transparent enamel and wire are arranged on a form of mica, fired and re-filled with more enamel, fired again, etc. until the desired thickness of glass is obtained. Then the underlying mica is carefully stoned away and the object very briefly fired again to polish just the surfaces.

A technique in enameling that separates colours and elements of the design with imbedded bent and formed flat wires, arranged on edge - from French "fences."

Very thin gold or silver, laid between background enamel and the top transparent colours, used to reflect light back through layers of transparent enamel.

A special oven used to "fire" or fuse enamel onto metal.

A strong hard bowl and crushing tool used to hand grind enamel (coloured glass) particles.

A small stand usually made of stainless steel, to hold the enameled metal, usually by its edges or on three points, in a kiln while it reaches the fusing temperature

The technique of enamelling the irregular surface of figures, or of objects in the round or in very high relief. With small-scale sculptural compositions the surface is roughened to hold the enamel coating.

The general name for whatever acid formula is used in etching.

Ornamental work of gold or silver or copper as fine wire formed into delicate tracery; fine metal openwork.

A type of decoration in the manner of cloisonné enamelling but having the cloisons made of twisted wire (rather than flat strips of metal) soldered to the base, and filled in with opaque enamel. After the powdered enamel in the spaces is fused and, upon cooling, has contracted, the wire shows above the surface.

Pure silver, often denoted as 1000/1000 or 1000/-. Compare with sterling silver.

The process of fusing the enamel to metal in a kiln, or by gas torch.

A copperish-coloured stain formed on sterling during the process of soldering or otherwise during heating to incandescence. It can be removed with nitric acid, but is usually filed, sanded, or buffed off. It increases in thickness with longer periods of intense heat, and with free access to oxygen. Fire scale also develops as a black oxide when heating copper to at least 700 °C (1300 °F), see fireglaze.

Also called a pendant drill; a hand-held drilling grinding and polishing apparatus with an electric motor suspended from above and the rotating power transferred through a flexible tube of spring steel coils and rubber, by means of an inner lubricated cable.

A material used to protect the oven from enamel that is floading

Colourless transparent enamel: using this as a layer underneath transparent enamels to lighten up these enamels

Jewellers saw

A vitreous composition from which soft porcelain, enamel, etc., are made.

Brush made of thin glass fibres, used to clean metal surface.

Is an enamelling technique, starting with a dark surface. Then you can only use white opaque enamel in firing and you can use this process no more than 7 times. After each firing the result will be show a greyisch, milky white tone.

A metalwork ornament imitating braided ribbons.

A resin from Astragalus tragacantha, used in enameling as a gentle binding agent for powdered enamels. Dissolved with water, and used with the "wet inlay" technique of cloisonné and plique à jour. When fired the gum burns away without a trace.

Hydrochloric acid

A furnace or oven for burning, baking, or drying, esp. for calcining lime, firing pottery or enamel.

A clear liquid thinned with water and applied with ground glass enamel. It bonds the particles together when dried, to aid in holding the powder in position, and burns away without a trace during the firing. Prior to it, gum tragacanth was used for the same purpose.

Exposed to air and light the material decays rapidly. It smells like rotten eggs. It is used to blacken silver or add a patina to copper.

Indication of to measure the particles of enamel

Material used to support the enamel in the process of making plique à jour enamel.

Italian word for "thousand flowers". Millefiori glass is made by first heating a bundle of thin glass rods of varying colours until the rods fuse together. The bundle is pulled thin, cooled, and sliced to produce small disks with flowerlike designs. These disks are then occasionally applied to enamel work, but more often to hot blown glass ware which is then reheated and blown for a further time. This produces spectacular coloured glassware. The technique was developed by the Romans and dates to the 1st century BC. The technique is most frequently used to make paperweights and marbles.

Any of the various acid and chemical mixtures that are used to etch metals.

Any of the various acid and chemical mixtures that are used to etch metals.

A hard alloy of copper, zinc and nickel, looks like silver.

A heat-fused mixture of the sulfides of copper, silver and lead, used as a decorative dark gray or black coloured part of a pattern or design, usually filled into etched recesses as a fused inlay within the silver. It should not be used inside hollow ware used for cooking because of the lead content. A detailed description on how to make niello is available on www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/enameling-10-2.htm

A strongly aggressive acid that dissolves most metals and is thus used, diluted with water, as an etching "mordant."

Firing the enamel in the kiln, or by torch, at too high a temperature. Opaque enamels may become partly transparent, and too much oxide may be formed, leading to discolorations.

A small snippet of solder, usually formed by cutting it from sheet solder.

Extra grinded enamel-powder ( very fine). Use it with water to draw, with a pencil or a pen, on a surface of enamel.

Used to clean copper prior to enameling. Pennibrite contains an abrasive and a mild acid. The latter makes the use of sparex or alum superfluous.

Light sensitive material that can be sprayed or painted onto metal. After exposure to ultraviolet light through a transparent sheet with a black-and-white image, exposed photoresist can be removed with a solution of sodium hydroxide; the remaining material acts as a resist, protecting the metal from etching substances.

An acid chemical bath used to dissolve off flux and dirt from soldering operations. Sodium bisulfate, a dry salt, or Sparex®, is commonly used. When dissolved in warm water it produces a weak sulphuric acid solution.

An acid chemical bath used to dissolve off flux and dirt from soldering operations. Sodium bisulfate, a dry salt, or Sparex®, is commonly used. When dissolved in warm water it produces a weak sulphuric acid solution.

A sheet to enamel on

Several layers of wood, stick together

A light porous volcanic rock often used as an abrasive in cleaning or polishing substances.

An instrument for measuring high temperatures, esp. in furnaces and kilns.

Fast cooling with water. Many work hardened non-ferrous metals must be annealed by heating to incandescence, and then quickly quenched. The same process applied to carbon steel does the reverse.

Hammered into relief from the reverse side.

A protective coating of a resistant substance, applied to parts of metal that are to be protected from an etching substance.

A protective coating of a resistant substance, applied to parts of metal that are to be protected from an etching substance.

Paper with fine glass compounds or amaril glued on, used to scour

Necessary after each firing, related to oxidation

Clay product with chemical additons, used to protect areas of the metal that are not covered with enamel against oxydation. After firing the scalex detaches from the workpiece, after which enamel can still be applied to the protected surface.

Pointed instrument to scratch

A technique of scratching through an unfired layer of enamel to reveal the underlying metal or base coats once it has fired.

A dry salt, or Sparex®, is commonly used dissolved in warm water to produce a weak sulphuric acid solution. Used to dissolve off flux and dirt from soldering operations.

Silver solders are alloys that melt at different temperatures: the normal highest being "hard" and the lowest, "easy." Solder alloys are changed with melting, and will melt at a slightly higher temperature after each melting, so it is common to cut a bit and melt it first, than let it cool -- to raise it's melting point and use it first. Allois containing e.g. copper or cadmium may affect the colour of the enamel that is fused onto it.

Commercial name of sodium bisulfate, a powder that when dissolved in water yields a weak solution of sulphuric acid, and is used to clean metal.

A broad-bladed knife-like implement used for spreading, stirring, mixing, etc. Small spatulas are often used in the wet inlay technique.

The hole, commonly in the front door, of the kiln that allows you to peek at the inside. Protect your eyes when you use the spyhole! You have to wait until the object has the same colour as the inside of the kiln.

Often used for sanding the metal surface prior to enamelling.

A thin sheet of plastic, metal, card, etc., in which a pattern or lettering is cut, used to produce a corresponding pattern on the surface beneath it.

Silver alloyed with 7.5% copper to strengthen and harden it. Another term for sterling is "925" meaning 925 parts silver in a total of 1000 parts. Pure silver is extremely soft and not very durable. Britannia silver has a slightly higher silver content than sterling - 958 parts per 1000. Coin silver is lower - 20% copper, or "800" silver per 1000 parts. "Nickel silver" may not contain any silver.

A strong acid, used to clean or etch metal.

To spread out your enamel-powder on the metal.

Tombak is sometimes also called "Garnet Gold", because of its golden color. The word is said to have been derived from tambaga, the Malay word for "copper". It is an alloy of copper (at least 70%) and zinc, resembling brass. Called also German, or Dutch, brass. It is very malleable and ductile, and when beaten into thin leaves is sometimes called Dutch metal. The addition of arsenic makes white tombac. Enamel tombak, an alloy of 95% copper and 5% zinc, is very suitable for enamelling and brighter than copper.

You can fire your enamel on metal in the kiln or you can use a torch to melt the enamelling-powder on the metal surface

Used to carry the metal during the firing-process.

Vermeil is karat gold electroplate over sterling silver, bronze or copper. In order to be termed Vermeil, the gold electroplate must coat all significant surfaces and be a minimum of 2œ micrometers thick (0.0001 inches). An item should not be called vermeil if it has a plating of base metal over the sterling silver (such as nickel) over which the gold is plated. If this is the process, then it must be so identified. When an item is simply termed electroplated, it must be an amount of Karat gold deposited on all surfaces of the piece via an electrochemical process equal to a minimum of .175 micrometers (.0000007 inches). It may be termed Heavy Gold Electroplate if it is a minimum of 2œ micrometers. Electroplating varies in the amount of gold deposition, from a "flash", a minimum deposit for color, all the way to the vermeil specifications of 2œ micrometers. When faced with the term electroplate, one should always be aware that the gold deposit is variable. Etymology: Middle English vermail, from Old French vermeil, from late Latin vermiculus, a kind of red worm, from Latin, grub, diminutive of vermis, worm.

May be used (e.g. as vinegar) together with salt, to pickle metal prior to enamelling.

Sulphuric acid solution (nine parts of water, one part sulphuric acid)

Make or become bent or twisted out of shape by the action of heat.

Make or become bent or twisted out of shape by the action of heat.

Make or become bent or twisted out of shape by the action of heat.

Make or become bent or twisted out of shape by the action of heat.

Also called spatula technique: enamel is applied to the metal surface mixed with distilled water and thoroughly dried before firing it in the kiln. This technique can be applied on plaques, instead of dusting, and is standard procedure in cloisonné and champlevé enameling.

A brush with wire bristles for cleaning and rust off metal

One of the earliest enamelling techniques