Before Slumping

• 1). Use a hair dryer to heat and peel the bottle's label off. Alternatively, place the bottle in a container of warm water, so that it can soak for a few minutes, and then scrape it off.
  
  
• 2). Clean the remainder of the bottle with soap and water and allow it to dry.
  
  
• 3). Spray the bottle with a devitrification spray, such as Fusemaster Superspray, to keep the glass from getting a cloudy or bubbly appearance.
  
  
• 4). Place fiber paper or kiln wash, available at ceramic and glass art suppliers, on your kiln shelf. This will keep the glass from sticking to the kiln when it melts.
  
  

Slumping the Bottle

• 1). Place the bottle on its side and, if desired, stick a piece of 20 gauge twisted copper wire inside the neck. This wire becomes attached to the bottle and allows you to form it into a loop to hang the flattened bottle as a glass art piece.
  
  
• 2). Set the kiln temperature to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit and hold this setting for 10 minutes. This holding time allows the complete bottle area to absorb the heat.
  
  
• 3). Raise the kiln temperature 250 degrees per hour until it reaches 1300 F. Once reached, increase the temperature to 1475 F, as fast as the kiln can attain this point.
  
  
• 4). Keep the setting at 1475 until the bottle has melted (slumped) as much as you want it to. Use your kiln's viewing window to check the bottle or else quickly open the door to see the level of flatness. It typically takes 10 minutes at 1475 for the bottle to go completely flat.
  
  
• 5). Quickly lower the temperature to 1100 F. The fastest way is to open the door (flash vent), so that the internal kiln temperature drops rapidly.
  
  
• 6). Cool the kiln back down to room temperature, at a rate of 150 degrees per hour or slower, to anneal the glass. If there is a digital controller on your kiln, you can set an anneal program to meet this requirement. Otherwise, closely watch the progress to manually adjust the temperature, as necessary.
  
  
• 7). Remove your flattened bottle and make sure there is no kiln wash sticking to the body. If there is, simply remove it with soapy water. The bottle is now ready to use for your art project.