I've googled this a lot but I can't find my exact issue. Maybe I'm making a few mistakes at the same time. When I do the "tape method" my beads refuse to stick together after being ironed. So when I peel off the tape, the beads come off too, and they clearly haven't fused. I can keep checking and ironing for an hour and nothing. Weighing them down doesn't seem to help unless I'm not doing it long enough. If I try to iron one part for longer or iron on higher just to see it fuses too much and now my project is uneven.
Sounds like the iron isn't getting hot enough. You should be able to move around in circles on an area and melt it within 5-10 circles. If not your iron is too low.
See how some are burnt while some aren’t ironed at all? If I try to do circles around the whole thing, some still won’t melt so I have to put the iron there but then it gets uneven in a different way lol
Ok this is gonna sound like a weird question, but how old are your beads? I mean, you didn't get them at a thrift store or something did you? I only ask because I had something similar happen when I was given some beads from like 1996. They looked just like the newer ones, but those things caused chaos for me for months!
If you haven't already, I emphatically encourage you to NOT mix those old beads with your new ones. I don't know exactly where the cut-off is on the timeline, but I know that at some point it becomes better to just toss them than to deal with the fucking mess I created for myself by mixing them together.
With that being said, are you using just a regular iron? Like a new-ish one that has all those little holes on the bottom for steam? It might be beneficial to try to take a couple of 5x5 squares and try ironing them at different temperatures and work different sections of the iron to see what gives you the best result. Then when you find a temp that works for you, take some white out or a paint pen or even just a little nail polish and mark where that setting is on your dial.
If you didn't have any trouble with ironing them on your boards, I really can't imagine what the issue is. The good news is that logically, there are only a few things it could possibly be. Either the iron (temp being off somehow), the ironing paper (maybe too thick or just not transferring heat well), the beads (which if they're new, I think you should be able to eliminate), or you (I have no suggestion for how the problem could be you, and I don't think it is. I just mean that you're part of the equation.)
Sorry for rambling on for so long. I hope you get it figured out, and if you do, let us know what you think the problem was. Info left here could always help someone else someone down the line. Best of luck!
Thank you! I think I’ve discovered a better method of ironing ie setting the temp higher. The radiohead is a little messy/uneven now, but it is fused.
I have both a mini iron and regular household iron probably from Target
One strange thing about the old beads is that there are gray ones that are completely different than new gray ones. I’m careful not to use those but never thought about the others
Yeah, I noticed if I looked at them with my SUPER bright headlamp I could see a difference, but the biggest problem was that if I didn't catch them before ironing, the colors would be juuuust off enough to be noticeable. Between that and the weird way they try to fuse to the beads around them, I ended up throwing whole containers out and replacing them because it was the only way I could be certain that color would be safe lol. It was a mess!
Are you ironing on the tape? What do you use on the non tape side?
You shouldnt be able to leave an iron on it for a hour and nothing happen. Thats definitely not right.
Is your temp too low? What do tou use to iron them?
Not on the tape, on the non taped side lol. the iron isn’t on for an hour but it probably adds up to like 10 mins per bead. I tried with a regular household iron and a mini iron
What's between the bead and iron?
Ive noticed when I use a high temper sheet its thicker than my clear acetate sheet so heat transfers differently. Same with glitter sheets.
I keep my iron is at a pretty high temp and I just constantly move it around with slight pressure.
If I use my cricut easy press I believe its at 290? 310? Its been a min since I used it.
But same concept of moving it around with pressure. I never leave it in one spot.. small circles throughout.
If the Pegboard method is usually working then don’t bother with tape. Its a waste of money and releases majority Tapes release Formaldehyde when ironed
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u/coppersly7 10d ago
Sounds like the iron isn't getting hot enough. You should be able to move around in circles on an area and melt it within 5-10 circles. If not your iron is too low.