Robert Klander on tue 20 may 03
Greetings=20
I have just had my first successful cone 10 firing of this old and tired
kiln that I have been struggling to resurrect from decades of hard use
(previous owners were quite busy, apparently). Previous attempts =
produce a
great deal of ambient heat in the room, lots of fumes, uneven heat
throughout the kiln, and not reaching temperature anywhere but at the =
kiln
sitter itself...
The fumes, I think were not only caused from the clay and glaze of items =
in
the kiln, but also from old residue on the surface of the IFB walls, =
floor
and lid.=20
I installed a Bailey kiln vent. This kiln sits on blocks, and I was not
interested in incurring the cost of having a stand fabricated to enable =
me
to use the Orton or the enviro-vent. Plus, with the cost of the Bailey =
just
under 2/3 of the other options, it was obvious I had to try it. Seems to
work wonderfully. =20
Then ITC. I could not do the elements this time around, as I had 3 new
elements already installed, and they had been fired once, so I was =
advised
that the likelihood of the ITC popping off on glazeware was highly =
increased
if I were to apply it over once-fired elements. Maybe yes, maybe no. I =
did
not want to take the chance, so I did not spray them this time...
Mel sent instructions on how to apply the ITC. I followed them as best =
I
could. Scrubbed the inside of the kiln with a stiff brush and lots of
water. I was shocked at the amount of residue that came off. Vacuum =
didn't
touch it. Scrub-a-dub-dub. Scrub again. Next day, wet it down and =
sprayed
a thin coat of ITC 100. Let it dry a day or two. (Raining here lately). =
=20
Ground and sandblasted the shelves top and bottom as best I could with =
the
equipment I had. When dry, I fired to cone 010. There was a very small
amount of flaking on one or two of the shelves. Don't know why, but it =
was
probably my trying to beat the rain, and not stirring as frequently as I
should have when I was spraying them outside...
So, thank you Mel. And thank you Feriz. Great instructions, great =
product.
The ambient room temperature is much, much more tolerable. The walls of =
the
kiln used to wiggle a little bit. NO MORE. Tightened that right up.
Decreased the cone 9 firing time from 12 hours to 7-1/2. This has got =
to
help the bottom line! Plus, the cone packs in various parts of the kiln
show the cone 10 cone at about 1:30 o'clock. Before this, cone 8 was =
barely
bending. I'm happy.=20
Now, though, I have a question about how to maintain the shelves. I had
tried a couple of new glazes this firing, and sadly there were a few =
runs.
They were very solidly attached to the shelves, and when I chiseled them
off, part of the shelf came up attached to the glaze run in a place or =
two.
I'm pretty new at mixing glazes, and no doubt this glaze was maybe a bit =
too
thick, or applied too thick, or whatever. I'll figure it out as I get =
more
familiar with things. Suggestions are welcome on this, of course, but my
main Questions are:
- Did I do something wrong on the application to the shelves? Too thin =
a
coat? Not properly mixed? If so, how do I remedy the situation?
- what to do to properly maintain the damaged areas to the shelves for
future firings? (Mix mini-batches of ITC100H and apply with a brush as
needed? Recoat the shelves with a second coat or a coat of the ITC top
coating? OR??
If you don't like ITC, or haven't tried it and think it's a bad idea, or
applied it yourself and didn't have any luck getting things to stick, =
you
have my sympathy, but please don't re-send all of that to the list. The
stuff has saved this kiln, and my investment. I'm happy, and just =
looking
for a few little tips to stay that way. =20
Thanks for reading!
Robert =20
LindaBlossom on wed 21 may 03
ITC doesn't work consistently as a kiln wash/glaze release. I found that it
released from some glazes easily and others not at all. I still spray all
refractory with it and kiln and elements. (I had no problem with elements
that I sprayed after many firings before spraying) I use a piece of
refractory or 8" x 8" x1/2" shelf coated with kiln wash under anything that
I think might run.
Linda
Ithaca, NY
I'm pretty new at mixing glazes, and no doubt this glaze was maybe a bit too
thick, or applied too thick, or whatever. I'll figure it out as I get more
familiar with things. Suggestions are welcome on this, of course, but my
main Questions are:
- Did I do something wrong on the application to the shelves? Too thin a
coat? Not properly mixed? If so, how do I remedy the situation?
- what to do to properly maintain the damaged areas to the shelves for
future firings? (Mix mini-batches of ITC100H and apply with a brush as
needed? Recoat the shelves with a second coat or a coat of the ITC top
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Klyf Brown on thu 22 may 03
First, spray the shelf with water and get the entire surface evenly
moist, put a good amount of water on it. Mix the ITC exactly to the
directions and mix it every time you dip in your brush, or every couple
of minutes with the pick up rod if you are spraying. Two thin coats are
better than one thick coat. For brushing, apply quickly and evenly in
one direction only, allow it to dry some then brush a second coat in a
90 degree direction to the first coat, that fills in brush marks and low
spots from the first coat. The sides can be done at the same time if
you prop the shelf on top of a couple of bricks.
I have had good results from the ITC, and it doesn't flake off so you
can flip your shelves and not have all that kiln wash fall into that
beautiful platter and ruin it. Runs have all popped off with no problem.
Fill the hole left on the shelf with a dab of ITC and sand or grind a bit
when it has dried for a perfect repair.
I like the stuff.
Klyf Brown in New Mexico usa
>- Did I do something wrong on the application to the shelves? Too
thin a
>coat? Not properly mixed? If so, how do I remedy the situation?
>- what to do to properly maintain the damaged areas to the shelves
for
>future firings? (Mix mini-batches of ITC100H and apply with a
brush as
>needed? Recoat the shelves with a second coat or a coat of the
ITC top
Klyf Brown in New Mexico usa
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