David Asman on tue 23 jul 96
Hey fellow mud lovers,
I'm new to the group and have loved the wealth of information you
provide to me. Recently I bought my first wheel, and the other night as
I had just about finished cleaning after a good throwing night the phone
rang. It was one of those calls that make you forget everything else in
life. Needless to say, I didn't get back to the wheel until the next
night. I had left a lump of clay that I had been wedging on the wheel
head and when I removed it the wheel looked stained and black in some
areas. I used a non-abrasive cleaner to try to get the discoloration off
but was unsuccessful. What else can I try without harming the surface?
Thanks! Stephanie in Pittsburgh
Donald G. Goldsobel on thu 25 jul 96
At 12:44 PM 7/23/96 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> What else can I try without harming the surface?
>
>Thanks! Stephanie in Pittsburgh
>-----------------------------
|Stephanie: The stains on the wheel head are natural aluminum tarnish
stains. When you use any mildly abraisive clay (sand, grog) the stains will
vansih. They are very superficial. The wheel head is meant to be used, not
to be a show piece. It is a good thing to maintain the tools of the art, but
all wheel heads respond to use, develop the look that reflects the use to
which they are put. Polishing the wheel head is putting form before function.
Donald in the hot and dry San Fernando Valley, where the humming birds are
thirsty all summer long.
Carla Flati on fri 26 jul 96
Hi All,
I've have to be one of the world's worst when it comes to cleaning up after
myself, but even I couldn't go along with this one. Donald wrote:
>>The wheel head is meant to be used, not to be a show piece. It is a good thing
to maintain the tools of the art, but all wheel heads respond to use, develop
the look that reflects the use to which they are put. Polishing the wheel head
is putting form before function.<<
Well Donald, I have to strongly disagree here. If I spent a good bit of time
throwing a nice white porcelain bowl, the last thing I want is a bunch of dark
gray gook running through it. Yeah, it's still a bowl and still functional, but
I had another design in mind when I started throwing it......and the stuff
doesn't always fire out either. Of course we may be talking about different
things here. I'm not referring to a mere discoloration, I'm talking about a
layer of tarnish that's thick enough to do scrafitto and seeing where Stephanie
lives, there's a good chance that she's talking about the same thing. I also
live outside of Pittsburgh and my water is hard as a rock and depending on the
type of clay, it doesn't take long to develop a nice coal black wheelhead
complete with a few spots of calcium build up. You may experience a slight
discoloration or use a darker clay and never notice anything, but believe me, on
white clay it sticks out like a sore thumb. Beside, the stuff has a yucky metal
smell too.......sort of a cross between the way your hands smell after you've
been holding a bunch of change and a rotten egg. I don't think wanting to get
rid of this stuff is putting form before function.
So Stephenie, hold some real fine steel wool on the head and spin it. BUT,
REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE BAT PINS FIRST. I still have a couple nice scars from
forgetting this step. The gunk comes right off and leaves the wheel nice and
shiny. This is what I always do. Maybe that's why my wheelhead is translucent
now. Just kidding. It still looks great and personally I think there's
something psychologically beneficial in sitting down to a nice shiny wheelhead,
even if the rest of the wheel is caked with clay (which mine is 99% of the
time). Hope this helps.
Carla
Trying to dry out in PA (from the rain, not the drink)
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