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preparing bisque

updated sat 4 sep 04

 

Mark Strayer on wed 1 sep 04


I have heard and read some contradicting information about water and bisque
before glazing and would like some more feedback. I have believed that to
simply wipe off a piece of bisque with a damp cloth to remove dust was the
most you should consider wetting a piece. I am now hearing that by totally
sumerging a piece in water is totally OK, especially if you want to help
control amount of glaze being absorbed. Comments?

Snail Scott on thu 2 sep 04


At 06:23 PM 9/1/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>...I have believed that to
>simply wipe off a piece of bisque with a damp cloth to remove dust was the
>most you should consider wetting a piece. I am now hearing that by totally
>sumerging a piece in water is totally OK...


It's just water; it'll dry. How dry it is when
you finally glaze it will affect the thickness
of the glaze coat, as well as related phenomena
like how smoothly brushed linework will flow
and how deeply oxide washes will penetrate.

Let it sit underwater for a week if you like.
I can't think what you'd gain by doing that,
but it won't hurt anything, either.

The point is, if you want consistent results,
use a consistent method. It doen't really
matter how wet it gets, as long as it's at
your preferred level of dryness when you
apply your finishes.

-Snail Scott

Ron Roy on fri 3 sep 04


Hi mark,

I would never advise wetting bisque - a damp sponge at most - unless there
is a good reason for doing it.

Getting glazes applied so they come out the way you want them is tricky
enough without adding a variable like wetting the bisque. If there were
some way to control the amount of water - so the clay would absorb a
predictable amount of glaze maybe - but it's hard enough to get the right
amount of glaze on dry bisque without making it less absorbent in a more or
less random way.

Better to add the water to the glaze if a thiner application is what you want.

RR

>I have heard and read some contradicting information about water and bisque
>before glazing and would like some more feedback. I have believed that to
>simply wipe off a piece of bisque with a damp cloth to remove dust was the
>most you should consider wetting a piece. I am now hearing that by totally
>sumerging a piece in water is totally OK, especially if you want to help
>control amount of glaze being absorbed. Comments?

Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513