What is mica?
Mica is a shiny silicate mineral with a layered structure, found as minute scales in granite and other rocks, or as crystals. It is used as a thermal or electrical insulator.
It is chemically inert, lightweight, reflective, refractive, resilient, and ranges in opacity from transparent to opaque.
Mica is stable when exposed to electricity, light, moisture, and extreme temperatures.
It is thermally stable to 500 °C (932 °F).
Muscovite, the principal mica, is used by the electrical industry.
Phlogopite mica remains stable at higher temperatures (to 900 °C (1,650 °F)) and is used in applications in which a combination of high-heat stability and electrical properties is required.
Fluorphlogopite is artificial mica crystal with high temperature resistance; it can work at high temperatures for a long time.
The mica on this website contains
Fluorphlogopite, titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxide, silica and tin oxide in varying quantities. MSDS sheets are available on request.
As with any particulate substance a mask is advisable during usage.
You may like to decant the mica into a glass or plastic container.
How do I use it?
Put some on a heat-resistant surface.
Make your bead and roll the glass on the mica.
Put back in the flame to fuse the mica to the glass.
Encase if desired or leave on the surface for texture.
Tips
The larger flakes (gold and silver large) are less resistant to the flame than the smaller ones (silver being less resistant than gold), due to the larger area of coating being exposed; the powder and shimmer colours love it!
Keep a dampened paper towel or newspaper handy to wipe any excess off the fused bead. Excess can even be scraped if needed but this runs the risk of scraping it off altogether so be gentle.
Mica does not stick to other mica.
Black glass is the best to bring out the most colour in the shimmer and multi-toned mica or try a similar colour to enhance e.g. dark blue under blue shimmer.
Gold and silver in large, medium and small are flakes of mica. They aren’t particularly flyaway.
All the fine mica, including the multi-toned, is very flyaway.
Blue, green, gold and purple shimmer powders, and the bronze and wine red powders have the consistency of flour.
I am happy to answer any questions you may have about the application of the mica.