Electric Mid&Hi Fired Ceramics
Potters & Sculptors - Making Rock from Mud
Cleaning bisque
I bisque fired a couple of large pots at least six months ago.
Ordinarily these would have been either glazed quite soon or covered up for some dust protection.
Due to circumstances pretty much beyond my control neither of these things happened but I'm now in position to be able to glaze them.
They don't look dirty but they must have some dust on them and probably insect poo and who knows what else?
My thoughts are to just give them a good wash with warm water and a sponge,
Should I add anything to the water, like dishwashing liquid or white vinegar or even both?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Tom Anderson on
-
Ayjay:
diluted vinegar wash would be my choice. Organic, so it will burn off completely, plus the alkalinity of the clay will neutralize it quickly. Soap has phosphates, which I would be Leary off. If it leaves a film, may cause some application issues.
t
-
Permalink Reply by Ayjay on
-
Thanks Tom, that pretty much confirms my thoughts, I'm quite a fan of vinegar for cleaning most things, but wasn't sure about the soap.
-
-
Everything went well with this. I cleaned both pots with a sponge and warm water containing a generous splash of white vinegar. No problems with the glaze adhering anywhere, and no nasty surprises after firing.
-
Permalink Reply by Joseph Fireborn on
-
I just take my air compressor and spray them with air. Seems to do the job just fine.
-
-
Joseph Fireborn said:I just take my air compressor and spray them with air. Seems to do the job just fine.
That would be my normal procedure, but when the pots had been at the mercy of anything that flies, crawls, slithers and slimes its way around my garagio for six months, not to mention me moving the pots umptythree times I thought it better to play safe.
-
-
Yea I have no idea on your situation I was just weighing in on what I do. I just fired a batch of yunomi that had been sitting on my shelf for a good 4-5 months and I just blasted them with some air. But my garage isn't open sounding as your studio maybe? I also don't make perfect work either, so I don't mind if things are not exactly right.
Videos
Use These Links to Support Us
Low cost flat lapping disc can be used on you potters wheel if you, drill bat pin holes in it, and provide a trickle of water to cool it. At amazon.com, 120 grit for aggressive material removal. Click the image to purchase
Members have had great things to say about John Britt's new book, Mid-Range Glazes. Click the image to buy from Amazon.com
Purchase Glazes Cone 6 by Michael Bailey, The Potters Book of Glaze Recipes by Emmanuel Cooper, or Making Marks by Robin Hopper, all available at amazon.com. Mastering Cone 6 Glazes by John Hesselberth & Ron Roy is now out of print.
Harbor Freight is a great place to find unbeatable prices for better HVLP spray guns with stainless steel parts and serviceable economy models, as well as detail guns, all tested by our members for spraying glazes, as well as compressors to power the guns. As yet no one has tested and commented on the remarkably inexpensive air brushes at harbor freight.
The critter siphon gun is a spray alternative that is well liked by some of our members, and is available at amazon.
Amazon is also a competitive source for photo light tents for shooting professional quality pictures of your work. They also have the EZ Cube brand favored by several of our members. You might also want to purchase the book Photographing Arts, Crafts and Collectibles . . .
If you are up to creating videos of your work or techniques you might want to invest in a flip video camera
Following are a few scales useful for potters. Ohaus Triple Pro Mechanical Triple Beam Balance, 2610g x 0.1g, with Tare $169.00
And finally a low cost clone of the OHaus. The Adam Equipment TBB2610T Triple Beam Mechanical Balance With Tare Beam $99.62
ebay is a great alternative for many tools and the equipment used in the ceramics studio - kilns, wheels, extruders, slab rollers are often listed there both new and used.
Tips for Members
If you just want to spout off, it is best accomplished as a blog posting. If you want to get more guidance and ideas from other members, ask a question as a new discussion topic. In the upper right corner of the lists for both types of posting, you will find an "+Add " button. Clicking it will open an editor where you create your posting. 4/16/2014
© 2024 Created by Andrea Wolf.
Powered by
