Mollie,
What temperature and how long? My piece is standard PMC. (I made a mold of a polymer piece I did long ago and used the standard because I wanted it to shrink a lot.)
Thanks for your input. Alice

Alice,

Just fire the piece at the original firing time ... so for PMC Standard it would be 1650 for 2 hours.

Best wishes,
Mollie

Mollie, I think the time Alice was questioning was the actual firing time of Aura22 on her finished PMC piece.
WIth my application process, I base the firing time on how much gold I've applied. I have two firing times. And both work. I use 1560 for 10 minutes for fine layers and 1650 for 10 minutes for my heavier coated pieces. Really both temps work just fine.
When your kiln is ramped up to either of these temps, remember that when you open your kiln door the temperature goes down fast so get your pieces intquick. Start your 10 minutes timing when you see your kiln reach either of these 2 temperatures.
When done, remove and burnish then hand polish.

I haven't tried Tonya's way yet and probably won't for a little while. Have to be with my mother in NH (not doing good)--AND am with my daughter planning her July 28th wedding. Lots going on here these days.

Mollie,
I've already fired my piece once, added the Aura 22 and fired it for the 10 min. I have tumbled it, added patina and polished it. Can I still refire it to get it white? And if so, what temp and how long? Will the second firing affect the original layers of Aura 22? My Aura 22 was nothing but powder when I opened it and I think I probably did not have the right consistency when I put it on. (I think it was too thin) The gold color shows if the light is hitting it just right but it is not all that obvious. Alice

Hi Alice,

Yes, firing your piece a 2nd will get it back to the "pickle white color" (the aura 22 may make some areas a mustardy yellow because its not burnished, but this is not a problem). Some of the Aura 22 will get absorbed into the fine silver during the 2nd firing, but this isn't a problem either. Just re-fire the piece at the regular firing schedule (1650 for 2 hours for PMC Standard). Then follow the directions on the Aura 22 insert, make sure they're the updated directions (you can download them from the PMC Guild's website at http://www.pmcguild.com/gettingstarted/technicaldata.html). Some other people have come up with other methods for using Aura 22, but I've never experimented with them, the insert directions have always worked well for me.

If your Aura 22 is dry when it arrives just add a few drops of the media and stir with a needle tool (so you can save the gold, it will get absorbed into a toothpick). You want Aura 22 to have the same consistency as nail polish. If you think that you're Aura 22 is too thin you can always apply a 4th coat.

One thing to consider is that a shiny (polished) gold and silver surface do not look extremely different, especially when we're using fine silver instead of sterling. To really get the Aura 22 to "pop" you might want to use a slight LOS patina on the silver (LOS doesn't darken gold). Another option would be to do a matte/satin finish on the silver or gold and leave the other color bright and shiny.

Hope this helps!
Mollie

Hi everyone. Just learned how to add pictures to my postings.
Here's one of my pieces from patinaswings on etsy.com.
Hope it helps with your questions and interests.

Kathy

Hi guys. Been busy in my studio the last few days. Mollie, and Angela, I've tried Tonya's method and have had success with it but not they way you'd think---I took this fired bead which wasn't polished and decided to use my PMC3 slip to adhere both a free-form amount of Aura22 as well as a fired oval bezel that I made (which was polished).
OK so since I didn't have a lot of Aura22, I went to my used media jar/gold which I save separately, and threw a bunch of that on with the PMC slip then stuck my bezel on the piece and then let it dry a bit. I then fired it at the 1650 for 10 minutes and it was done.

Now the piece isn't done yet because this week I plan to do some enameling on it. I'll post if here when I'm done. --FYI Aura22 makes a great base for enameling. Turquoise, reds and some browns all transparent--LOOK great . Those are the colors I've started using.
See, I've always had good luck applying the Aura22 but now I know that I can also use it when I want to add more silver pieces WHILE applying the gold to my piece.
COOL to know.

Kathy
Hey, just sold my first pieces on my patinaswings@etsy.com account. AND---they were using Aura22 on PMC

I am so happy.

Hey,
I'm show casing on Etsy on the 29th. Anyway, check out patinaswings.etsy.com for some of my PMC, Aura22, enameling pieces. Or Pmc and enameled ones. Got a GREAT enameld bead there too.

Kathy
patinaswings.etsy.com
busylittlebeads.etsy.com
www.isabellesbeadshoppe.com
www.KISTTechniques.com

http://www.etsy.com/showcase.php

Hi,
Can anyone tell me if there is an enamel color or mixture of colors that will look like rose gold or can Aura22 be colored in any way ?

Julie

QUOTE: Originally posted by Patinaswings Hi everyone. Just learned how to add pictures to my postings. Here's one of my pieces from patinaswings on etsy.com. Hope it helps with your questions and interests. Kathy

Oh Kathy! I just saw your esty site and you have such gorgeous pieces there! After reading this thread, I'm now ready to take out that jar of Aura22 and have at it. Fingers crosed that I can have something nearly as nice as yours. Thank you for all the information and making this little jar abit more 'user friendly'.

Letting you know how my refire worked out. I did refire my piece for two hours at 1650. It came out white with the gold areas looking more yellow white. I reapplied the AGS, (didn't have aura22). Then I refired it for the time recommended for the AGS. It did make the gold much brighter but the gold looks kind of gritty. Is it supposed to look that way or is it because my AGS was powdery dry and I had to add the liguid. I mixed it to the consistency of a milkshake but it looks like the powder never dissolved into the liquid. The piece is basically a learning piece. I think it is pretty ugly but would probably work as a clasp on a bag. I will probably weave a bag and use it for the clasp. It did give me practice in mold making and using the gold, so it served a purpose. Next time though I will try Aura 22 instead. See if there is a difference between the two products. Alice

marypnj--How EXCITING to learn that this lil' blogette has encourged someone to earn try a new scarey product!!. I haven't been on for a while, but as you can see, we are all learn from each other here and how fun that is.
For me, hearing that second refiring for two hours after a second application of Aura was interesting. Though I haven't much trouble with my students and my own pieces, learning that tip as well as Tonya's about mixing a little PMC3 slip, will simply make my knowledge more refined.

OH, And thanks for looking at my work at patinaswings.etsy.com for your own inspiration. That also means a lot.
[angel]