Foil Overlay

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Foil Overlay is a subset of Overlay specifically using copper foil as the base and then applying solder to it to achieve the look desired.

Uses

Foil overlay is great for complex shapes or even machine cut designs as foil can easily be found in large sheets. These sheets can easily be loaded into most craft/vinyl cutters and are thin enough to be cut with good accuracy. Otherwise a good Craft Knife will easily cut any foil if you don't have a cutting machine or prefer to do it by hand.

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Insert some examples of foil overlay.

Creating the Overlay

You have two options for starting with Foil, either use the standard foil you would use for Foil Method or buy whole sheets.

When using the standard foil, you should slightly overlap each strip so you have a continuous layer of copper as any holes will show.

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Add images of sheet or strip.

Then you cut out your design and apply solder to it.

Issues with Foil Overlay

Adhesive backing

As the vast majority of foil a stained glass worker will have access to will have adhesive applied, many will think that this adhesive is enough to keep it in place. You shouldn't ever rely on the adhesive backing on foil to keep your overlay in place. Attaching it to solder joints is prefered, but you can also use some glue to help keep it in place for things that need to float or are far away from a joint.

Overheating Glass

As foil overlay is made in place it can cause Heat Cracks to the glass below when the overlay is soldered. One way to prevent this is to create the overlay on scrap glass or heat resistant glass like a microwave turntable. Then once it's done, the overlay is removed from what it was made on and applied to the project.

Adhesive Cooking (Foil Strips Only)

When using strips of foil to make a sheet of foil, as overlay is often a high work area and will collect lots of heat it's easy to overheat the area. If you are using lots of strips you can easily cause the adhesive below to cook and squish out where the strips overlap. Once this happens the adhesive sticking out will need to be removed for a clean overlay as solder will not stick to it.