Glazing monolithic e-max

PavlosPamborides

PavlosPamborides

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Hello everyone!
I have been doing a lot of monolithic emax lately but I am still having trouble with getting the right glaze quality. I get them "shiny" enough but it's not that smooth satin surface one gets with ceramics. Even when I rubber wheel the crowns before glazing I still get a rough/pitted surface. Nothing like what I start with and a long way from the glaze I can achieve on ceramics.
Any ideas out there?
 
Baobabtree

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Hi Pavlos try rubber wheeling after your glaze bake with a pink rubber wheel. Have you checked out the restoration du jour thread on here, there are some great techs sharing hints and tips for achieving the surface you are after.
 
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GarryB

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Hello everyone!
I have been doing a lot of monolithic emax lately but I am still having trouble with getting the right glaze quality. I get them "shiny" enough but it's not that smooth satin surface one gets with ceramics. Even when I rubber wheel the crowns before glazing I still get a rough/pitted surface. Nothing like what I start with and a long way from the glaze I can achieve on ceramics.
Any ideas out there?
Are you using the emax glaze paste or an alternative glaze product to fire onto the emax?
 
Patrick Coon

Patrick Coon

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Hello everyone!
I have been doing a lot of monolithic emax lately but I am still having trouble with getting the right glaze quality. I get them "shiny" enough but it's not that smooth satin surface one gets with ceramics. Even when I rubber wheel the crowns before glazing I still get a rough/pitted surface. Nothing like what I start with and a long way from the glaze I can achieve on ceramics.
Any ideas out there?

Hi Pavlos,

I'm going to assume you're using the Ceram Glaze Paste. With that in mind follow these steps:

1. Express the desired amount from the tube on your pallet.

2. The habit here would now be to add some Stain and Glaze fluid to the Glaze Paste to thin it to the consistency you’re used to with layered ceramics. DON”T! The consistency is going to very thick and stackable. Use an instrument and mix the Glaze Paste for about 20 seconds. This will reconstitute it and it will become runnier. When it is at the proper consistency you should be able to dip your instrument into it and lift it about an inch before the string of Glaze Paste breaks. When it does snap it should fall back to the puddle on the pallet and then smooth out while still being in a puddle (kind of like Elmer’s Glue).

3. The brush you use is not important, but I prefer to use a Renfert Ceramicus Opaquing Brush. It has a short, flat, wide head. I pick up some of the glaze paste and starting at either the incisal edge or cusp tip apply the glaze to the crown in a gingival direction with a motion almost like I trying to wipe all of the glaze material off the crown. This will deposit a thin layer of this thick consistency glaze on the crown. This will look a little rough at first but should smooth within about a second or two.

4. Continue around the crown in this manner until all the axial walls are coated. Then on the occlusal of a posterior crown do the same thing starting in the depth of the central groove and move outward. The last thing I do is wipe the brush off and dab it into the groves to remove the excess.

5. Now when firing, ensure you have not shortened the time of the drying/closing portion of the firing cycle. It should be 6 minutes. It needs all this time to ensure all of the liquid is evaporated out of the glaze before the furnace head closes and the temperature starts to rise. If it does not get this time, the liquid in the glaze will boil out and leave small bubbles or rough patches on the surface.

When it comes down from the furnace you should have a very nice glaze in one step 19 out of 20 times. Once in a while with this method you will have to do a second glaze, but that will be the exception and not the rule.

I hope this helps.
 
PavlosPamborides

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Yes I am using Ivoclar's glaze paste.

Thanks for the instructions Patrick! I will have a go doing as you describe.
 
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Also have a good look at the surface texture after you remove the reaction layer and before you stain. If the reaction layer has been a bit heavy it will leave an uneven surface which you will need to smooth before you stain and glaze.
 
Tom Moore

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flower pumice then diamond rubber wheels with a higher shine on the high spots that would get natural tissue polishing with time.
 
biodentg

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Hi Patrick, what about Temperature and Holding Time? I noticed a few extra degrees and longer holding time makes the difference. Thank you
 
LA Ceramics

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I almost never use glaze. It's a texture killer. Stains should be internal with an incisal overlay which is then textured, characterized and polished. Glaze however is excellent for teapots and figurines. Just sayin,...
 
Hary

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I use 2 thin porcelain separating discs to give more shiny surface to my emax and Zr,( I stain and spray glaze in front of a vacuum the surface of my work becomes chalky white) then I put it in the furnace. 20130927_122536.jpg
 
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I almost never use glaze. It's a texture killer. Stains should be internal with an incisal overlay which is then textured, characterized and polished. Glaze however is excellent for teapots and figurines. Just sayin,...

This book has a great chapter on how water propagates cracks in glass. I'm sure we can all agree the oral environment contains water.
http://www.spectrumdialogue.com/book_list2.php?type=book&id=42&page=1

If you do a google search on silicate glass crack propagation and water you will find an exhaustive list of scientific material to read.


Glaze. It's not just for teapots and figurines anymore.
 
Patrick Coon

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Hi Patrick, what about Temperature and Holding Time? I noticed a few extra degrees and longer holding time makes the difference. Thank you

It definitely can make a difference, if you're getting enough glaze material on the crown. However, in most of our experience here, it comes down to getting the right amount of ceramic glaze material on the restoration. If you hav an oven that you haven't maintained (calibration, cleaning, decontaminiation) then it is very possible that it is not actually hitting the correct high temperature and an increase in said high temperature could be appropriate. But, my suggestion would be to actually maintain your equipment correctly, which will help your consistency in the laboratory and decrease your wasted time from remakes and troubleshooting.

I almost never use glaze. It's a texture killer. Stains should be internal with an incisal overlay which is then textured, characterized and polished. Glaze however is excellent for teapots and figurines. Just sayin,...

I can definitely agree with the stains being internal with an overlay of porcelain, when layering. But, this thread was discussing MONOLITHIC e.max restorations, and it's a little difficult to put internal stains in those. :D
 
keithw@vodamail.co.za

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Hello everyone!
I have been doing a lot of monolithic emax lately but I am still having trouble with getting the right glaze quality. I get them "shiny" enough but it's not that smooth satin surface one gets with ceramics. Even when I rubber wheel the crowns before glazing I still get a rough/pitted surface. Nothing like what I start with and a long way from the glaze I can achieve on ceramics.
Any ideas out there?

Hi Pavlos,

I do a bunch of monolithic Emax also, I normally skim the whole surface of the crown with a diamond before staining to smooth out any imperfections, add any surface textures, then I sandblast with alox, then steam clean.
I glaze each crown twice, once with the fluo glaze paste and then a second time with the regular glaze paste, on my second glaze application I do not apply to occlusion.
After glaze firings I use DVA Polish paste and a bristle brush to buff it up nice and shiny, job done!
Works for me.
 
PavlosPamborides

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So, here are the results of the Cypriot jury!

Just finished four monolithic emax.
I did not rubber wheel or sandblast prior to staining.
For final surface texture I used the fine grit (light green) stones from Shofu which give a surprisingly nice texture on emax.
I then carried out two stains firings and then followed Patrick's directions and applied my undiluted glaze with an opaquer brush. That did give a nice and even layer of glaze on the restorations (but it did look a bit thick to me).
I fired it with a 6 minute drying time to 770 Celsius for a holding time of 1 min 30 secs.
It certainly did not need a second glaze firing!
I got a smoother surface than before but not the one I like, which is what I get when I self glaze PFMs (i.e. same temp as first bake but half the holding time).
I made things much better by following Baobabtree's advice to use the pink rubber wheel. I does give a nice matte finish which you can polish with diamond paste and it does not remove your stains even though one is always scared to scrape off everything!

Emax does not behave like the dental ceramics we are used to and the glaze depends solely on the glaze material. The challenge is to have a way to control the surface sheen and texture according to the case in hand. Ideally we would have a way to deliver three levels of gloss and endless variations of surface detail.

Thanks for the advice everyone! Any more information and advice is welcome and I will keep you posted on my efforts! I will also try to get some photos.
 
Patrick Coon

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Emax does not behave like the dental ceramics we are used to and the glaze depends solely on the glaze material.

This is certainly true of the Monolithic e.max. If we were to heat the material to the point of being able to attain a self-glaze, you would not like the results with the shape and fit of the restoration afterwards. This is because there is not enough glass in it to get this without everything becoming very "loose."

When lalyering, the layered material will self-glaze very nicely at lower temps and get you results comparable to your metal ceramics.
 
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Very thin coat of thinned e.max fluoro glaze paste, just to moisten the surface and apply any stains. Fire, and then apply a more generous coat of InSync glaze, followed by light touch with ceramic polisher wheel 'step one of three' from Komet and a buff with Zircon-Brite.

badaBoom, badaBing.
 
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Ron.Ferland

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Hello everyone!
I have been doing a lot of monolithic emax lately but I am still having trouble with getting the right glaze quality. I get them "shiny" enough but it's not that smooth satin surface one gets with ceramics. Even when I rubber wheel the crowns before glazing I still get a rough/pitted surface. Nothing like what I start with and a long way from the glaze I can achieve on ceramics.
Any ideas out there?[/QUOTE
Check out this video on Youtube:
 
rkm rdt

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I almost never use glaze. It's a texture killer. Stains should be internal with an incisal overlay which is then textured, characterized and polished. Glaze however is excellent for teapots and figurines. Just sayin,...

Love to see your technique for fczs
 
rkm rdt

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This is certainly true of the Monolithic e.max. If we were to heat the material to the point of being able to attain a self-glaze, you would not like the results with the shape and fit of the restoration afterwards. This is because there is not enough glass in it to get this without everything becoming very "loose."

When lalyering, the layered material will self-glaze very nicely at lower temps and get you results comparable to your metal ceramics.

Patrick,it didn't take me too long to get the hang of the flouro glaze and I'm Canadian.;)

Monolithic should be the first choice we consider for posteriors these days. The advantages are worth it if we can master stain and glaze.
 

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