Overlay
Overlay is a process where embellishments are attached to the surface of the glass. These can be either glued directly to the surface of the glass or attached via soldering. This is similar to Plating where glass is stacked in layers for various effects within the panel. This does not include any type of Glass Paint though as this is a special area itself.
Uses
Overlay is great for small details that otherwise aren't reasonable to be made by breaking down the glass or in cases where the resulting pattern would cause the design to be lost. As overlay is attached to the surface nearly any material can be used, wire, foil and sheet metal are the most common.
Types of Overlay
There's three main types of overlay, Foil Overlay, Came Overlay and Wire Overlay. These types of overlay indicate the base material being used and should cover the vast majority of overlay done.
Adhesive vs Solder
Due to the nature of glass, adding anything to the surface that isn't glass like and physically melted or Fused to it can separate from the glass. This is where depending on what you are trying to attach and where you will need to decide on what method of attaching you want to use.
| Adhesive | Solder |
|---|---|
| Good for Floating elements like eyes. | Not possible to use on Floating elements |
| Easy to plan a design as anything is valid. | Harder to design as you need to touch existing Solder to attach it. |
| Weaker bond to the project. | Permanent bond to the project. |
| Limited adhesive options for decent bonds. | All solder options will work. |
| Works with essentially all materials. | Only works with Solderable materials, some heat resistant materials can also be used when wrapped with something solderable. |
| Could be difficult to repair. | Easy to repair. |
| Can't be used to reinforce or add structure to a finished project. | Can greatly reinforce or provide structure to a finished project. |