Gail Nichols on mon 1 apr 96
Jack,
What do you want to use the sodium carbonate for? There are 2 types of the
sodium carbonate (or soda ash), which are both supplied as fine white
powder. Soda ash (light), and Soda ash (dense) tbey are called here, and I
find they behave differently in my soda firings. Trouble is, some ceramic
suppliers seem to mix them up and bag them under the same label. I buy mine
from a chemical supplier now so I know what it is.
Soda ash, particularly soda ash (light), becomes caustic when mixed with
water, so wear rubber gloves if you don't want to burn your hands when
mixing it.
I use soda ash (light) in my my soda firings because it makes the wet soda
mix set like plaster, and I can introduce it to the kiln as a solid. I
don't use a spray gun. Washing soda---which comes in clear crystaline
particles and can be bought in the supermarket---won't do this.
Gail
_________________________________
Gail Nichols
Sydney, Australia
gail@matra.com.au
http://www.matra.com.au/~gail/
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