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  Internation Guild of Glass Artists  

Our Mission:  "To facilitate communication among glass artists,
to encourage education and promote excellence in the glass arts."

IGGA Tips

Send suggestions to: Steve Richard with the heading TIPS

Lead Light Cement

You can make your own cement as the materials are fairly common and safe to use.

The recipe is:

7 parts whiting/chalk
1 part boiled linseed oil
1 part mineral spirits (turpentine or other)
 **(All of the above measured by volume)**

1-2 Tablespoons lamp black or other colorant – black poster paint, acrylic paint or oil paint

Method
Add the whiting (reserving about one quarter) to the linseed oil and mineral spirits. Mix this well, by hand or with a paint mixer. When these are mixed thoroughly, check the consistency. It should be like molasses on a cold morning — barely fluid.

Add more whiting as required to get the consistency you want. Experiment a little to find what suits you best. If you have to deliver the panel quickly, for example, you need to increase the proportion of mineral spirit. The mineral spirit evaporates relatively quickly, leaving a more rapidly stiff cement.

You should make only what you will be using in the next day or two, as the whiting separates from the linseed oil and spirit relatively quickly. The commercial cements have emulsifiers to keep the whiting from settling and so extend the life of the product. Since it is cheap and easy to make your own lead light cement, there is no saving in making a lot.

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Last Update: February 24, 2008 Contact IGGA  |  Search Site