A glaze spraying tutorial, online, in pdf form

[Belinda Willis]

Here is a link to a wonderful glaze spraying booklet produced by an Aussie, Roger Graham. It contains references to Australian companies, measurements are in metric and other such specifics that need translation for those in the U.S. but still gobs of good information, targeted to those who know little about spraying glazes:

 

http://www.luepottery.hwy.com.au/PDF/glaze%20spray.pdf

 

The following is from the intro to the booklet:

 

"The booklet is still copyrighted, but we have no problem if other potters make

printouts for their own use. For those who actually go ahead and try some of

the ideas, we’d be glad to hear of your results. And if you have other

creative glaze-spraying tricks of your own, we’d love to know. Easiest by

email:

[e-mail] "

[Nadine Mercader]

Thank you for posting the link to  this very informative pdf.  I read the entire thing.  I still have one question.  I just purchased an HVLP Gravity Feed spray gun with pressure guage from Harbor Freight.  I have played with it with water,  have not glazed anything yet.  I need to know what the pressure reading on the guage should ideally be.  Thanks everyone!

[Jeff Poulter]

Hi Nadine,

     I believe the limit is 65 psi, but I keep mine at about 60 psi.  Is this the purple one from Harbor Freight?

Just make sure you keep it cleaned out when you have finished spraying.  It is fairly simple to take apart & clean if it gets clogged.  Also I keep mine upside down after I clean it to let the water run out, but you can also hook it back up to the compressor to get the water out of it as well.  I have been using the same one for a couple of years now with no problems.  Let me know if you need any help.  jhp

[Nadine Mercader]

Jeff, 

Thank you for the information and yes,  it is the purple one with the pressure gauge.  I decided to just jump in and spray glaze and I was thrilled with what a good job it did.  I cleaned it completely by filling the container with water and spraying it empty 3 times.  I finally finished glazing and loading and I am now going to my well earned and needed shower!

[Jeff Poulter]

That's a good idea.  When I am done spraying, I take a wet towel & wipe my face & neck & arms.  It's as much for me as my toy poodle.  He's a licker & if I lay down on the couch(I usually do after spraying) he will proceed to give me a bath and I don't think it would be a good idea for him to lick all those chemicals.

[George Lewter]

I run 40 psi out of my compressor and don't use the on-gun gauge. I try to balance the fluid control and air mix to spray the largest drops at the least velocity that will give me good, even coverage. This is to reduce the amount of atomization and deflection of glaze particles away from the piece and out of my spray booth. I wear glasses. If I see no glaze droplets on them after a glaze session, and none on my arms, then I feel like I'm doing a good job with my pressure and mixtures.

[Nadine Mercader]

Thank you for the reply George,  I was running a lot less than that around 30 and I chose the same approach to run the largest drops.  I hope that my results will be good.  Now I have to solve the next problem!  My controller is having a big issue.  I am going to contact Skutt tomorrow to see if they can trouble shoot me through it on the phone.  I am praying that I won't need to send them the controller.  It was very discouraging not to be able to fire after having glazed everything...

[Denise Rainville]

Thanks Belinda,

This booklet has a lot of very good information.  I do not have a spray booth/gun yet but I am seriously thinking about moving in that direction.  Your information is very timely for me.

[George Lewter]

There is another extensive discussion on the subject of spraying glazes at http://cone6pots.ning.com/forum/topics/spraying-glazes (including a link to Graham's tutorial). This comment is just to link the two together to avoid too much redundancy.

[George Lewter]

Rebecca McMann posed this question to me. I'm passing it on to this topic.

I tried spraying glazes for the first time last night, but my hvlp gun sprayed intermittently, even though I sieved many of the glazes. It's a very sensitive gun and it sprays fine with water. I was wondering if my glaze is too thick for the gun. I tried pulling out the needle a ways to let more glaze out, but then I got such huge coverage, and my pots are small. Any ideas on how to adjust my gun? Do I need to thin my glaze more? Do I need a detail gun? I don't want to spray any more of my pots until I can get a consistent stream. Any help is appreciated! Thanks.