Melt the glass yourself to make new items


Old glass bottles are the raw material for new glass products in the recycling process, which is well known. However, few people know that melting and reforming glass can also be a private hobby. We explain how this particular artistic activity works and what you need it for.

These things you need to reformulate glass

  • safety goggles
  • Protective gloves
  • old glass bottles
  • Kiln for temperatures up to about 1,000° C
  • copper wire
  • Molds for glass

Melting Glass: Practice Makes Perfect!

The most important "ingredient" in this exciting new hobby is patience. Normally, the melting / pouring of glass does not work as easy as you might think. The technique must be practiced and perfected.

Schedule several exercises to get a good feel for the material. First use only one and the same type of glass, then later you can turn to other glasses.

Procedure for melting glass

Before you melt the glass, a thorough cleaning of the material is appropriate. Dirt and labels must be completely removed before melting begins. It is best to soak the bottles for several hours and then scrub them thoroughly.

  • Lay the copper wire around the bottlenecks.
  • Hang the bottles on the copper wire in the oven.
  • Place the molds under the bottles.
  • Preheat the oven to about 650-700° C.
  • Watch the glass in the oven.
  • At around 540° C, the glass softens.
  • From about 650° C it changes its shape.
  • Watch as the glass runs into the mold.
  • Now cool the oven down to about 590° C and take a break.
  • Continue to cool down and pause for 20 minutes at approximately 540° C.
  • Then cool to about 315° C and wait again for a while.
  • Slowly continue to cool down to room temperature.

The cooling process can take 24 hours or even longer: try out the best way to do it in your case. If the freshly poured glass cools too quickly, stresses in the material will result in fractures.

Tips & Tricks

After you have removed the glass from the mold, it is recommended to polish the surface thoroughly: in this way you create a particularly smooth, shiny surface.
Melt the glass yourself to make new items

FAQ - 💬

❓ Can you melt glass to make new glass?

👉 “Glass is 100% recyclable,” says Robert Weisenburger Lipetz, executive director of the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council (GMIC), a nonprofit trade association. “It has an unlimited life and can be melted and recycled endlessly to make new glass products with no loss in quality,” he adds.

❓ Can you melt glass yourself?

👉 To melt glass successfully and safely, you must own a kiln. A kiln suitable for glass-melting purposes will run you somewhere in the neighborhood of $4000 to $10,000, based on 2010 prices, but if you turn your melted glass bottles into art and sell it, you may eventually be able to recoup your expenses.

❓ How do you melt glass?

👉 Melting glass requires either a regular or microwave kiln, a firing profile, and some sturdy, heat-resistant gloves. If you're serious about melting glass, you'll need the control that comes with a regular kiln, but if you're just getting started, a microwave kiln will do the trick.

❓ Can you melt down glass and reuse it?

👉 You can create your own glass art by melting down old bottles that have accumulated in your home. This is a great way of recycling old, beautiful glass into something new and elegant.

❓ Can we melt the glass?

👉 Most glass melts at 1400 to 1600 degrees Farenheit. Nevertheless, there are specialized glasses that will melt at as low as 900 degrees. A kiln is necessary to raise the temperature of glass to 1400 to 1600 degrees, while a blow torch can raise the temperature of glass to approximately 900 degrees.

❓ How many times can glass be melted?

👉 Glass can be recycled and reused over 100 times without losing its purity. Local collections take used glass to a recycling plant where it is cleaned, separated into colours, crushed, and melted before being reused.

❓ Can glass be remade?

👉 Products Made From Recycled Glass: All types of used glass containers can be reused indefinitely to make new glass products. It is actually easier to manufacture new glass containers from recycled glass than from raw material.

❓ Is melting glass toxic?

👉 Fume—inhalation of fumes from the reheating or melting of the glass can cause Metal Fume Fever; symptoms include metallic taste in mouth, shortness of breath, gastric pain and flu‐like symptoms. Medical conditions aggravated by overexposure: Respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

❓ Can you melt glasses together?

👉 Simply put, Glass Fusing is the joining together of 2 pieces of glass by melting them in a kiln. This process can be a TACK Fuse, where the two pieces of glass do not completely melt into one solid piece, but instead the glass on top of the bottom one comes out of the kiln with a 3D effect.

❓ What is it called when you melt glass?

👉 Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a glassblower, glassmith, or gaffer.

❓ What is melted to make glass?

👉 Glass is made from natural and abundant raw materials (sand, soda ash and limestone) that are melted at very high temperature to form a new material: glass. At high temperature glass is structurally similar to liquids, however at ambient temperature it behaves like solids.

❓ What is the best way to melt glass at home?

👉 [5] Choose between molding or slumping. Molding and slumping are the two main techniques used in glass melting. Generally, molding is where you melt your glass in a kiln and allow it to fill a mold, giving the glass a new shape.

❓ How do you melt glass bottles in a kiln?

👉 Melting Your Bottles Choose between molding or slumping. Determine your firing profile. Insert your glass into the kiln. Heat your kiln. Lower your ramp rate but continue heating. Melt the bottle as desired. Allow your melted glass to anneal.

❓ What is melting glass and how is it used?

👉 Melting glass is an exciting way to use old glass pieces and to form impressive, decorative art. Melting glass requires either a regular or microwave kiln, a firing profile, and some sturdy, heat-resistant gloves.

❓ What should I pay attention to when melting glass?

👉 You should pay special attention to temperature, hold times, ramp rates, and the kind of glass you are melting. Perfect your glass melting technique. There are many small factors that can have a significant affect your glass melting.


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