Cleaning Beads

I sometimes think people don’t realize some of the steps that go into making beads. One of the important steps is cleaning the beads.

Once the beads are cooled in the kiln, they need to be removed from the mandrels and the bead release needs to be cleaned out.

First I soak the mandrels in a cup of warm water to soften the bead release. Then I use a pliers to hold the mandrel as I remove the beads carefully. I usually like to let the beads soak a little longer but I sometimes will clean them at this point.

uThis is a picture of the beads just off the mandrels as well as the mess this can make. The mandrels have to be wiped off and redipped to be used again.

se a Dremel with a diamond bit to remove the bead release. Some beads take longer than others to clean. Especially the longer ones.

After they are cleaned, the beads need to dry. Once dry they can be used in what ever project they were intended for.