Nick Molatore on tue 7 jan 03
I just got a new electric kiln and am about to start glaze firing in it =
(cone 6). Is the Ztec kiln wash different, better, ??? than the 50-50 =
EPK, silica I have used for years? I have never used Ztec. Also, what =
about using ITC coating on the shelves? Would that work as kiln wash? =
Could I put it on both sides so I could flip the shelves each time to =
minimize warping or would it flake off onto my ware. I have a gas kiln =
with ITC on the inside top, and I got a little flaking on the first =
fire, but after that, no problem.
-Nick
...in Portland, Oregon where the eternal winter grey drizzle has given =
away to a rare sunny day!
Dave Finkelnburg on tue 7 jan 03
Nick,
The ITC may help extend the life of your kiln shelves, but in my
experience it is NOT an effective substitute for a good kiln wash. Glaze
will still stick to the ITC, or go right through it into the shelf.
Yes, you can put ITC on both sides of your shelves and it should stick
without flaking. At least, it does for me, and I flip my shelves regularly.
They are mullite.
Regards,
Dave Finkelnburg, also soaking up sunshine, in southern Idaho
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nick Molatore"
I just got a new electric kiln and am about to start glaze firing in it
(cone 6). Is the Ztec kiln wash different, better, ??? than the 50-50 EPK,
silica I have used for years? I have never used Ztec. Also, what about
using ITC coating on the shelves? Would that work as kiln wash? Could I
put it on both sides so I could flip the shelves each time to minimize
warping or would it flake off onto my ware.
Anne Wellings on wed 8 jan 03
I have been using Z-tec kiln wash for a few months and like it. It does not
flake or get glassy like the old 50-50 mix did. I don't know how it behaves
with glaze drips because I don't get them, but I do get glaze halos from
cobalt blue, which are annoying, because they can show up on the bottoms of
other pots, but it seems to work to just paint more wash over them. I do
think you might be able to paint Z-tec on both sides of a shelf, though I
haven't tried it. There might be some slight powdering off. But I do find
it much preferable to the 90% zircon/10% kaolin kiln wash recipe that was
published on the list awhile back, which was quite powdery and left white
rings on the bottoms of pots. The Z-tec does not do this, or it is easy to
sand off, which the other wasn't. One thing I don't know is how easily the
Z-tec could be removed if one wanted to, which I haven't so far. I have
also had success painting it over other wash that I could not remove.
Anne, in Olympia, WA, where I get Z-tec from Clay Art Center in Tacoma
On Tue, 7 Jan 2003 09:17:52 -0800, Nick Molatore wrote:
>I just got a new electric kiln and am about to start glaze firing in it
(cone 6). Is the Ztec kiln wash different, better, ??? than the 50-50 EPK,
silica I have used for years? I have never used Ztec. Also, what about
using ITC coating on the shelves? Would that work as kiln wash? Could I
put it on both sides so I could flip the shelves each time to minimize
warping or would it flake off onto my ware. I have a gas kiln with ITC on
the inside top, and I got a little flaking on the first fire, but after
that, no problem.
>-Nick
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