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3D Metallic Precut Sheet - Handy Man
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Quilling Resources
Miyuki Bead Finishes
Miyuki Delica beads and seed beads all begin with transparent or opaque glass. The glass is treated in a variety of ways to take one base color and end with a limitless array of finished beads. The beads are etched with acid, painted, lined with metal, coated with metal, coated with other glass and shaped in a variety of ways. The following examples show some of the standard categories of finishes that Miyuki uses as well as the abbreviations that identify them.
There aren't as many colors of beads as it seems. Miyuki starts with a fairly small range of transparent glass colors and opaque colors. By applying different finishes and coatings to these base colors of glass, they are able to produce hundreds of different beads.
Finish |
Description |
AB or R = Aurora Borealis |
A rainbow multicolored finish on bead |
D = Dark |
A dark version of one color |
F = Frosted (matte) |
A dull finish on a glass bead, so that it is not shiny |
FR = Frosted rainbow (matte AB) |
A matte transparent bead with an aurora borealis finish |
Galvanized |
The new durable galvanized finish is super durable |
|
L or LT = Light |
A light version of one color |
Luster |
A shiny finish that gives the bead extra shine. Often a gold luster |
Matte Opaque |
A solid glass bead with a matte finish |
Matte Opaque AB |
A solid glass bead with a matte aurora borealis finish |
Matte Metallic |
A dull metallic finish, sometimes with a patina. |
Metallic |
An opaque reflective metallic finish |
OP = Opaque |
A solid shiny nontransparent colored glass bead |
Picasso |
Flecked with earth tones to create a marbled finish. |
S = Silverlined |
A silver lined center to the bead which shines through the glass |
SF = Semi Frosted (half-matte)
|
A lighter matte finish, halfway from shiny to matte |
|
S/L = Matte Silverlined |
A frosted glass outside the silver lining of the bead |
Silverlined AB |
An aurora borealis finish over the silverlined bead |
SPK or SPKL = Sparkling |
A shimmering finish in the same color as the glass |
TR = Transparent |
See-through glass bead, with no additional finish |
