Torch Fire Enamel in 3 Ways - with Ricky Frank

The samples used in this video are copper! Thanks for watching!

Very helpful. I am buying my first torch for my home so it will need to be Butane. I have previously used an Acetylene torch in class for copper & Silver metals and enameling on copper. But the Acetylene is extremely pricy and then you need to find a gas dealer. All too much hassle for a home shop. I also feel the Butane is a much safer route to go. I don’t plan on doing any large items - just small jewelry.

Dear Ricky thanks for your amazing videos. I really appreciate if you tell me if I can use low temperature enamel (EFCO) to make beautiful pieces as same as yours? thank you

Very helpful video, thank you!

My black counter enamel looks beautiful. Then I fire from underneath to melt the top layers with colors. Many times, I find that the black counter enamel has been heated so long that it now looks brownish and mottled. I've tried a mapp gas torch from the plumbing department. I've tried my smith Oxy/ propane torch, I've tried my butane torch. I've tried heating it with a cooler flame but longer. I've tried a hotter flame quicker. Is there a trick to keeping that backside looking nice too while melting the top layers? It seems to be hit or miss. I've been using the 80 mesh sifters on 24 gauge copper.

nice work !

Hi Ricky, I have been watching your fantastic instructional videos all day on Enamelling and cloisonné. I’ve just tried my first piece using a small torch and after I the orange peel stage nothing seems to happen. Then when the piece has cooled enough for me to pick it up all the enamel just falls off in a sheet!!! What on earth am I doing wrong please??? I think your videos are so clear and precise, thanks very much for sharing so much of your knowledge.

Have you ever used Amacote when Torch-Firing on the counter enamel side to help keep the backside color from turning dark?

How do you avoid orange peel effect, do you re-heat after the first melt ? I want to enamel steel circles but the smoothness is critical for the final finish.

Hello. Is it possible to use the torch-firing technique for plique-à-jour, please? I've tried using my ceramics kiln but the result was not up to my expectations.

большое спасибо!

If the enamel piece is NOT to be mounted onto a metal how do you keep the back side ( the undercoat) from turning a yucky color which happens when you fire the topcoat from the underrcoat side? Will a black enamel undercoat remain black ? Or?

Hello. I'm wondering can you enamel brass. I've never tried and wondering what your experience with this type of metal is.

What’s the small three prong piece called that you set the jewelry piece onto on top of the screen?

What's the best gauge sheet for torch enameling?

Is counter enamel necessary when torch firing a small flat piece of copper?

What metal are you using? Thanks

Those are the titanium trivets, correct??....Which don't act as a heat sink. That's important for newbies like me to learn. Love the hole! We could not tell that any areas got smoother than the other. Maybe a different choice of enamel would help. Maybe a solid color. Couldn't see any sheen. He says... "it's getting orange peel" ... is orange peel a good thing or a bad thing??!! This isn't explained! This is very vague! I know a tiny bit about enameling... so I'm aware of how vague this is. What should we see?? He's just saying what he sees... but not if what he says is good or bad. So frustrating! At 7:07 I don't understand what he's saying at all! I think this should be redone, with a beginning middle and end laid out. He says that "the butane torch is less hot than the acetylene"...But doesn't say you can just turn down the acetylene to make it less hot. This is all over the place. I LOVE Rio... but this isn't a good video. Sorry who checks these?? A person who is a jeweler, or, it almost seems not. 😩