Topic: frit

[ronno]

I can't get too technical about this but, when visiting "Escol" (manufacturers of architectural enamel panels in the late 1970's), frit was explained to me as the powder used to impart the colour to the vitreous enanel panels.  Escol held recipes for lots of different colours that, in the powdered form, gave you no inkling of what the finished colour would be after firing.  Escol were the principal supplier for vitreous enamelled panels used on London Underground at that time and their skills were so good that they could virtually replicate anything in vitreous enamel - illustrations, paintings, you name it.  The recipes for achieving particular colours would obviously be achieved through trial and error.

Since vitreous enamel is glass fused to a steel body I suggest that, at that time, frit was the colourant certainly used in the production of vitreous enamel and that the term may also have been applied in the production of decorative glass.

Hope that helps the discussion along.

Ron

[krsilber]

Thanks for the comment, Ron.  Interesting that the color of the powder didn't reflect the final coloring.  That might suggest that the metal oxides used weren't yet a part of the glass powder component (or it wasn't fully fused??).