Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Pink Glass..... well, isn't!

While Elizabeth was taking her nap today I decided to start breaking the glass I have acquired for the countertop project. Not having a hammer handy I placed the glass in an empty kitty litter bucket and started to whack it with the butt of a matchlock musket.

The green glass IS green. However, the pink glass (made in China of course) is actually clear glass with a pink translucent plastic coating designed to fool you. If I can get the pink glass to lay the right way up in the mold this won't be too much of a problem otherwise the pink will get ground off when I polish the concrete. I'll have to run my test before I break the other pink vase unless I get myself too worked up about it and smash it for the thrill. Back to the thrift stores in the morning I guess. I will pour the samples on Thursday so the results won't be in until next week. I have an idea for the black streaks that might work. We shall have to wait and see...
Time for another BEER. Better make it a firkin!

3 comments:

Derek said...

how about some of the off cuts from stained glass. They might sell the pieces that are too small to use for really cheap. I'm curious to see how this will turn out.

Anonymous said...

So the broken colored glass will be laid into your countertop?? I live in NYC and there are certain street lights that have broken glass and china encrusted in them. They are a site to see, so beautiful. Going to a thrift store is a great idea. Ive always found my favorite household decorations there. If you go to associatedcontent.com, they have a whole bunch of articles about ideas for projects and such. Well, good luck with your project! Be sure to post pics of the finished project!

Gary said...

My last resort will be to buy a piece of stained glass. Pink will probably cost me at least $7 a sq. ft. (I'm guessing). I always have this option. I have no clue if the finish will look any good, hence the test. If it works and I need good quality glass then I will spend the money. I saw some interesting tigers eye marbles today at Michael's. Ummm, wonder how the would look crushed and polished?
For anonymous, the glass will be laid in the mold and the concrete poured over it. After a few days I will pull the mold apart and grind the top of the piece (which is the bottom of the mold) to reveal the glass and any aggregate in the concrete. I am going to use bagged concrete since the total volume of the counter is only around 1.5 cubic feet or about two 80 lb bags.
No luck with REAL pink glass today, oh well. More beer will fix that temporarily!