Copper Foil Is Coming Loose

I do my foiling exactly as you have explained, but sometimes when I get my project complete the foil starts coming off. It is so very frustrating so I take the entire project apart and then redo it, and it happens again. It hasn't happened to everything I have done, so I don't understand what I am doing wrong.

Answer

It sounds like one of two problems. Either your glass isn't clean enough, or you haven't burnished the foil well enough.

Wipe every piece with alcohol before you foil it. Just put some alcohol on a paper towel and zip around the edges, making sure there is contact on all three surfaces. It only takes seconds, but makes a big difference in the way the foil sticks.

Secondly, if the foil isn't tight on the glass, flux and or water can get under it and cause it to lift. Make sure you go around the foil on both sides with your burnisher, pressing the foil down very well.

Another possibility is that you could have a defective roll offoil. It does happen occasionally. If it's only happening since you started using a particular roll of foil, that could be the problem.

Lastly, although this is the wrong time of the year, if you live in the northern hemisphere, foil sticks better to warm glass than cold glass.