Elizabeth Fusaro on fri 3 may 96
I would be interest in knowing what other people are
doing when working with children when it comes to waxing
the bottoms of their pots before glazing. Hot wax seems
too dangerous to use, and yet small children don't do a
good job of wiping glaze off if some sort of resist has
not been used.
We used to use a floor wax years ago, when we fired in a gas
kiln and didn't have to worry as much about fumes and
damage to the kiln -- never thought much about it. ..
But now, with all the discussion of various things damaging
the elements in electric kilns and venting of kilns, etc. I
wonder if this would be o.k. to use in an instutional setting.
Water-based wax resist is too expensive for their budget (so
they say.)
I have been reading the replies about the industrial
solutions -- dry footing, wiping on carpet scraps, etc. None
seem workable in my situation.
I would welcome suggestions.
Thanks.
Beth Fusaro
Sun & Moon Pottery
Tallahassee, FL
Christine Fennimore on fri 3 may 96
I have experimented with fabric softner as a wax resist alternative in
the past with fair results. The pots should be glazed right away and not
left to sit too long as the fabric softner looses something over time.
You will still need to do a little cleaning off of the bottoms, but it's
much less expensive than wax resist.
Lori Wilkinson on fri 3 may 96
At 07:09 AM 5/3/96 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I would be interest in knowing what other people are
> doing when working with children when it comes to waxing
> the bottoms of their pots before glazing. Hot wax seems
> too dangerous to use, and yet small children don't do a
> good job of wiping glaze off if some sort of resist has
> not been used.
> We used to use a floor wax years ago, when we fired in a gas
> kiln and didn't have to worry as much about fumes and
> damage to the kiln -- never thought much about it. ..
> But now, with all the discussion of various things damaging
> the elements in electric kilns and venting of kilns, etc. I
> wonder if this would be o.k. to use in an instutional setting.
> Water-based wax resist is too expensive for their budget (so
> they say.)
> I have been reading the replies about the industrial
> solutions -- dry footing, wiping on carpet scraps, etc. None
> seem workable in my situation.
> I would welcome suggestions.
>
> Thanks.
>Beth Fusaro
>Sun & Moon Pottery
>Tallahassee, FL
>
>Beth,
True the hot wax is dangerous for the young ones. What about you or one of
the aids simply dipping them yourselves? That is what is done at the
Roswell Museum and Art Center when it comes to the younger or less
coordinated and have never heard them complain yet. Even then you need to
check the bottom of the pot before firing. Sure beats scraping shelves.
Lori Wilkinson in Roswell NM where the weather is gorgeous and not windy
today - yet.
Fred Sweet on fri 3 may 96
When our budget got tight and wax emulsion was difficult to find
locally (was a winter term) we used Glory (clear non wax based) Floor
Polish tinted with food coloring. The food coloring aided visibility
during application, and the floor polish was easy to apply.
Problems arrived when the students attempted to apply thick coats of
this concoction as they had previously done with the wax emulsion.
Another was the need to use ammonia for cleaning brushes (noxious
and/or annoying fumes).
Assets included: Availability, ease of application, FAST and easy
wiping of glaze from polish (if needed at all!), and the ability to
apply it with almost any brush or sponge in the studio and then
quickly clean it for use with glazes or stains.
Opinions are my own, and I am uncertain about the fumes given off
during firings (we have a well ventilated, separate kiln area). I did
not notice any damage to either elements or switches over the year or
so that we had it in common use. We fired our six electric kilns
approximately 3 times each per week. As to odors given off during the
firing, I will state again that there were none noticeable, but then I
DO realize that does not mean that there were NO health damaging fumes
there. Caution should prevail!!! Perhaps someone else can better
speak about the health aspects.
Fred Sweet
Richland College
Dallas
Eric Lindgren on mon 6 may 96
At our pottery in St. Lucia, for resist, we use a locally available floor
polish called... Glaze !
For true,
Eric Lindgren
lindgren@muskoka.com
___________________________________________________________________________
Penny LaRocque on sat 11 may 96
I have no idea about whether this would work, but kids could easily
handle/manipulate a tube of chapstick! Or is this a no-no?
At 07:09 AM 5/3/96 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I would be interest in knowing what other people are
> doing when working with children when it comes to waxing
> the bottoms of their pots before glazing. Hot wax seems
> too dangerous to use, and yet small children don't do a
> good job of wiping glaze off if some sort of resist has
> not been used.
> We used to use a floor wax years ago, when we fired in a gas
> kiln and didn't have to worry as much about fumes and
> damage to the kiln -- never thought much about it. ..
> But now, with all the discussion of various things damaging
> the elements in electric kilns and venting of kilns, etc. I
> wonder if this would be o.k. to use in an instutional setting.
> Water-based wax resist is too expensive for their budget (so
> they say.)
> I have been reading the replies about the industrial
> solutions -- dry footing, wiping on carpet scraps, etc. None
> seem workable in my situation.
> I would welcome suggestions.
>
> Thanks.
>Beth Fusaro
>Sun & Moon Pottery
>Tallahassee, FL
>
>
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