Alyssa Ettinger on tue 19 sep 06
when i was in college, a hundred years ago, we always used the paraffin
method and were pretty snotty about the liquid wax resist.
of course, things have changed in the centuries since i graduated and i'm
thinking the paraffin method might shorten my waxing time in half.
i heard from someone that the paraffin is no longer the preferred method...
thoughts? facts?
thanks!
alyssa
www.alyssaettinger.com
Dave Finkelnburg on tue 19 sep 06
Alyssa,
Hot waxing works.
Hot wax can be dangerous--not just a fire hazard but
fumes can contain carcinogens.
I use cold wax when it's most efficient, and also
hot wax, but I do that outdoors...well ventilated,
nothing to burn but the wax and pan if I forget to
turn the pan off.
Some will argue paraffin is safe, not a carcinogen.
May be. But wax is not pure paraffin. Lots of other
hydrocarbon molecules are present in small quantities,
like toluene and benzene. I'm no toxicologist so I
don't know whether the quantities pose a hazard. I do
favor excellent ventilation...and...I don't wax all
day every day, so my exposure is limited.
Good waxing!
Dave Finkelnburg
--- Alyssa Ettinger wrote:
> i heard from someone that the paraffin is no longer
> the preferred method...
> thoughts? facts?
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Steve Slatin on tue 19 sep 06
Dear Alyssa --
The paraffin method was, and remains, the very best method of
inadvertently burning down your studio. Liquid resist, by comparison,
can't do anything truly exciting unless you buy it by the full barrel-load,
store it in the rafters, and have it fall on something delicate
(sculptural piece, studio cat*, etc.)
-- Steve Slatin
*(The author disavows all deliberate harming of sculptural pieces,
studio cats, spouses, etc.)
Alyssa Ettinger wrote:
when i was in college, a hundred years ago, we always used the paraffin
method and were pretty snotty about the liquid wax resist.
of course, things have changed in the centuries since i graduated and i'm
thinking the paraffin method might shorten my waxing time in half.
i heard from someone that the paraffin is no longer the preferred method...
thoughts? facts?
thanks!
alyssa
Steve Slatin --
The angel lay in a little thicket. It had no need of love; there was nothing anywhere in the world could startle it ...
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Alyssa Ettinger on wed 20 sep 06
well, you've convinced me. no electric skillet, a bottle of resist instead.
i will say that it's gotten far better than it was back in the day when i
was first a potter, before i took a hiatus for my first career.
now, during the mid-life crisis i'm learning all about all sorts of
newfangled things: kilns with electronic computers so you don't have to sit
with them all day and look through peepholes for slumping cones!!! woo hoo.
i'd have had a lot more drinking time in college if i hadn't had to kiln
sit. (ok, so this really isn't a "woo hoo!"... but it certainly makes life
easier.
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