Liz Lauter on thu 6 jun 02
What am I doing wrong when I try to use the expensive little bottles of
luster glaze?
I shake it, mix it and brush a layer onto a fired glazed surface. Then I
fire to cone 019 (or whatever it says on the bottle, I forget for the moment
because it's been awhile.)
The results are faint metallic, or once, faint pinkish, not rich solid
metallic luster.
Was the jar of luster not mixed all of the way, as in, "the best stuff had
settled to the bottom and I didn't realize it?" Should I have fired with
the kiln propped open?
I really would love to make up my own lusters so that I don't have to buy
those little bottles. I'm using an electric kiln.
I'd sure love to get some expert advice.
Liz Lauter
_________________________________________________________________
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Mercy Langford on thu 6 jun 02
hi Liz- I use lusters and it is a very meticulous process. I do not shake
the bottles- the luster does not separate. Secondly, it all has to be
extremely clean(room,piece you are lustering and brushes. I use their
liquid
cleaner for the brush and piece but you can also use their essence to do
that. Also when you apply it to the piece your end product should be a
light
to medium caramel(we are talking the gold) and it should flow easily. If
you
apply it too light it will be pinkish purple and if you apply it too dark it
becomes chalky and falls off. For the lustersyou have to apply it thin for
it to work. What I do when I want the color to be strong I apply thin fire
and then reapply and fire again. About your firing- the general idea is
anywhere from 17-22 cone.. it really depends on your kiln. My last electric
kiln gave me beauty at 17 and my newer kiln does it at 19. Yo have to test.
Also you have to leave the lid open till all the fumes are gone(well into
high temp.) and then close or else your piece will be smoked and that's no
good. If you have a kiln vent then you do not have to leave anything open.
the kiln vent is a heaven sent for lusters because lusters and gold arenot
only very smelly but the fumes are very unhealthy. Hope this info helps-
PS. Take note that gold and lusters are like a mirror effect. Your glaze has
to be a perfect shiny glaze for it to work. Any little defect that shows on
your glaze will show threefold on the luster and gold. Mercy
william schran on thu 6 jun 02
Liz - If you get "colors" rather than gold or silver metallic, then
it's simply too thin an application of the luster. Luster may be too
thin to begin with and you'll need more than one coat. For other
color lusters, cone 019 is too high.
Bill
Snail Scott on thu 6 jun 02
At 06:05 AM 6/6/02 +0000, you wrote:
>What am I doing wrong when I try to use the expensive little bottles of
>luster glaze?
>The results are faint metallic, or once, faint pinkish, not rich solid
>metallic luster.
Sounds overfired. Are you using witness cones,
or just the kilnsitter? With overglaze lusters,
better to err on the side of underfired, as
they will burn out if overfired even a little.
Make sure you calibrate your kilnsitter with
witness cones, too, and use them with every
firing. They're cheap insurance compared with
buying more lusters!
-Snail
Bacia Edelman on thu 6 jun 02
Liz:
Perhaps you were not painting the luster on heavily enough.
BUT, and this is important, you should have super
ventilation in your studio when you fire lusters.
Yes, you should also leave the kiln lid propped somewhat
until the kiln shuts off or you turn it off.
About the stirring the medium well from the bottom, that would make
sense, especially if they have been sitting around for
a long time.
Cheers.
Bacia
At 06:05 AM 06/06/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>What am I doing wrong when I try to use the expensive little bottles of
>luster glaze?
>I shake it, mix it and brush a layer onto a fired glazed surface. Then I
>fire to cone 019 (or whatever it says on the bottle, I forget for the
moment
>because it's been awhile.)
>The results are faint metallic, or once, faint pinkish, not rich solid
>metallic luster.
>Was the jar of luster not mixed all of the way, as in, "the best stuff had
>settled to the bottom and I didn't realize it?" Should I have fired with
>the kiln propped open?
>I really would love to make up my own lusters so that I don't have to buy
>those little bottles. I'm using an electric kiln.
>I'd sure love to get some expert advice.
>Liz Lauter
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Bacia Edelman Madison, Wisconsin
http://users.skynet.be/russel.fouts/bacia.htm
http://www.silverhawk5.com/edelman/index.html
Jim Bozeman on thu 6 jun 02
Hi Liz, Write to me directly to
remind me; I have recipes on how to make your own lustres.
Jim
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David Hewitt on fri 7 jun 02
Liz,
I use a mother of pearl lustre on some bowls and vases and a gold lustre
line on the rims.
For the outside surfaces the lustre needs to applied thinly but evenly
and all the surface covered. This I find best achieved by using a 1/2
inch or wider brush. This means pouring some of the lustre into a small
bowl as the brush is too wide for the small bottles in which lustres are
supplied. I apply with the item spinning on a banding wheel.
I fire to 800 C, which is Orton cone 015 not 019. I do not bother with a
cone, just set the kiln to cut out at 800 C.
there is no need to fire with the lid propped open. It is sufficient to
leave the vent plug out until say 400 C.
If you wish, you can see some of my results on my web site
http://www.dhpot.demon.co.uk
Hope this helps.
David
In message , Liz Lauter writes
>What am I doing wrong when I try to use the expensive little bottles of
>luster glaze?
>I shake it, mix it and brush a layer onto a fired glazed surface. Then I
>fire to cone 019 (or whatever it says on the bottle, I forget for the mom=
>ent
>because it's been awhile.)
>The results are faint metallic, or once, faint pinkish, not rich solid
>metallic luster.
>Was the jar of luster not mixed all of the way, as in, "the best stuff ha=
>d
>settled to the bottom and I didn't realize it?" Should I have fired with
>the kiln propped open?
>I really would love to make up my own lusters so that I don't have to buy
>those little bottles. I'm using an electric kiln.
>I'd sure love to get some expert advice.
>Liz Lauter
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
--
David Hewitt
David Hewitt Pottery ,
7 Fairfield Road, Caerleon, Newport,
South Wales, NP18 3DQ, UK. Tel:- +44 (0) 1633 420647
FAX:- +44 (0) 870 1617274
Web site http://www.dhpot.demon.co.uk
Ron Collins on fri 7 jun 02
I've been trying out luster recipes, so if you send some out, could you =
please send them to me also? I would really appreciate it.....Melinda =
Collins, Antigua, Guatemala
Miriam Steele on fri 7 jun 02
Very different here in Fla. due to our humidity...The
formula here, is 50% Luster & almost 50% thinner..
massive venting..
Cones work fine if all else is done..no need for guide
cones...Did Luster work for 10 or so years, b4 I
discontinued the line.. I ordered Luster direct from
mfgr. in Calif..Med=Mar...
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
Saic1984@AOL.COM on sat 8 jun 02
Hello,
I've done a lot with Lustres, and it almost sounds like you are not
applying=
=20
them properly. When they appear "faint" it is sometimes because there is=20
poor "coverage" on the ware.
I also clean the surface of any oils, dust, and fingerprints with alcohol=20
before I apply them.
Lastly, when firing, be sure that you vent the kiln for at least 15
minutes=20
in "high" and then close the kiln until the cone drops. Also, be sure to
us=
e=20
the right cone, these materials fire out if overfired.
Andr=E9
Carole Rishel on mon 10 jun 02
I use overglazes on occasion. I've had both the mother-of-pearl and the =
gold rub off after firing. They looked ok - bright sparkly etc., but I c=
ould rub them off with my finger. Is this normal, or were they under or =
overfired? I fire to 018 - 020.
Carole Rishel
kallahcee@msn.com
Smithville, TX =20
=20
----- Original Message -----
From: David Hewitt
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 8:51 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: LUSTER FIRINGS
=20
Liz,
I use a mother of pearl lustre on some bowls and vases and a gold lustre
line on the rims.
For the outside surfaces the lustre needs to applied thinly but evenly
and all the surface covered. This I find best achieved by using a 1/2
inch or wider brush. This means pouring some of the lustre into a small
bowl as the brush is too wide for the small bottles in which lustres are
supplied. I apply with the item spinning on a banding wheel.
I fire to 800 C, which is Orton cone 015 not 019. I do not bother with a
cone, just set the kiln to cut out at 800 C.
there is no need to fire with the lid propped open. It is sufficient to
leave the vent plug out until say 400 C.
If you wish, you can see some of my results on my web site
http://www.dhpot.demon.co.uk
Hope this helps.
David
_________________________________________________________________________=
_____
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclin=
k.com.
Mercy Langford on mon 10 jun 02
Hi Carol:You underfired. When it rubs off you underfired and when it gets
crack line you over fired. Mercy
Snail Scott on mon 10 jun 02
At 03:54 PM 6/10/02 -0500, you wrote:
>I use overglazes on occasion. I've had both the mother-of-pearl and the
gold rub off after firing. They looked ok - bright sparkly etc., but I
could rub them off with my finger. Is this normal, or were they under or
overfired? I fire to 018 - 020.
Nope, not normal. The stuff will eventually come
off with a vigorous Scotchbrite scrub (an effect
I use on purpose over texture), but will last
quite a while even with regular handling. Try
firing a smidge higher, and use witness cones
to check the firing temperature. I personally
think that sitter cones are especially unreliable
for these low-temp firings, since a kiln (and the
tiny cone) can heat up quickly to a higher level
of heat-work than a thick piece of clay. Since
the luster layer is very thin, it doesn't need
the 'soak time' that some regular glazes do, but
it may not get as hot as the sitter indicates,
since it's sitting on top of a big heat sink -
your piece.
-Snail
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