John Tilton on fri 1 aug 97
I recently won some ITC products and have been somewhat reticent to
apply them to the inside of my gas kiln. Many years ago I coated my kiln
with a material called HUC and it flaked so bad that the kiln had to be
rebuilt. I'm extremely gun shy about this new material and would
appreciate any and all opinions and testimonials as to its efficacy. If
you have had a bad experience, or a great one, please share it with me,
probably off the list if this is not of general interest.
I'm not really interested in fuel savings, even though my firings are
expensive because the kiln is quite massive, but if the pots come out
with deeper and clearer glazes, then that is what I'd like to know. Most
all of the porcelain pots that I make are fired many times, up to 12,
but, usually 3 or 4. This is a very trying process, not only because it
is time consuming, and expensive, but I become discouraged when they
don't come out well.
The kiln in question is 13.5 inches thick, about 50 cu. ft. total
interior, with 26's as the inside layer and 2 layers of 23's. It is on a
car, a Minnesota Flat Top with an arch---sort of. It has had 130 glaze
firings and probably about the same number of bisques. It was built in
1988. There are cracked bricks, but basically it looks pretty good. The
fuel is propane. The kiln fires well except for the bottom shelf which
oxidizes.
Of course no one can say whether these pots might come out after fewer
firings, but if you notice that your pieces are much better with the ITC
coating that would be encouraging to me.
Thanks.
John Tilton
Alachua, Fl
John Tilton
Alachua, FL
Jeff Brett on wed 28 apr 99
Hi ClayArt,
I am interested in hearing from anyone using the ITC Ceramics products to
coat kiln interiors. How do they work? Are they durable? Anyone using them
in Soda kilns with success?
We have recently constructed a cast soda kiln based on a design in Ruth
Tudball's Soda book. It is a great kiln with excellent firing
characteristics. Our typical Alumina/Kaolin wash works okay but we were
hoping the ITC coating would give better protection from the corrosive soda.
...Jeff
____________________________________
Jeff Brett
Lab Assistant - Fine Arts, North Island College
2300 Ryan Road, Courtenay, BC, Canada, V9N 8N6
Phone: (250)334-5055
Fax: (250)334-5018
E-mail: brett@nic.bc.ca
Web Site: http://www.nic.bc.ca
| |
|
