20
votes
Trying to turn a vintage wash basin into a vessel sink. How can I get rid of this standing water?
If you don't object to a transparent substance in the bottom of the basin, you can use acrylic casting resin, aiming for a product which specifically advertises itself as clear, as some of the ...
- 7,231
7
votes
What is this handmade ceramic good for?
It looks very much like a potpourri holder. It is certainly a lovely little piece. I would recommend that you look after it carefully, and make sure that it comes to no harm. The ceramicist appears to ...
- 171
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a way to cast solid ceramics?
What you want to do is to make paper clay. Basically, you shred toilet paper (cheaper the better) in warm water and use a paint mixer on your drill to make it into pulp. Then add the slip and beat ...
- 2,812
5
votes
Accepted
Can you use wall and ceiling texture as plaster slab for drying and wedging clay?
The texture powder is very different from plaster. Plaster changes its chemical form all the way through to become a solid mass of material. It hardens while it's wet and then dries out.
There are ...
- 11.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Tips and Tricks for Sealing Ceramic Coffee Mugs
I would wrap a line of masking tape around the edge of the cup on the outside at the top, because this modgepodge gloss appears not to be food safe. I would also wrap at the bottom for aesthetic ...
- 2,812
4
votes
Re-branding ceramic tea/coffee mugs
If you have a vinyl cutter, or are patient enough and talented enough to manually cut out your new brand from adhesive vinyl, there are several which are both dish-washer and food safe.
There are ...
- 3,235
4
votes
What is this handmade ceramic good for?
To me those holes look like something you would see in an incense holder. I used to have one made of terra cotta that looked like an adobe house, that I purchased on my very first trip to Santa Fe, ...
- 1,576
4
votes
Trying to turn a vintage wash basin into a vessel sink. How can I get rid of this standing water?
There is nothing you can do, except to put in another drain. You cannot tilt that bowl in any direction that will but the hole you have at the bottom, so there is no way to avoid the standing water ...
- 302
4
votes
Which material should I use to fix broken glazed ceramic lamp?
From personal experience I can say that this is a complicated project. You want all the pieces to stick together safely and in perfect position to avoid gaps that weren't there before.
I once "...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
4
votes
Should a ceramic cup gain this much weight after this test?
Should a ceramic cup gain this much weight after this test?
Good ceramic, probably not. Properly coated good ceramic, surely not.
Bad ceramic with a joke of a coat? Maybe possible. Especially if the ...
- 1,768
4
votes
Should a ceramic cup gain this much weight after this test?
Ceramics are made of clay and inherently clay is porous. When the clay is first fired it goes from greenware to biqueware. At this point your mug would still be porous and allow water to be absorbed. ...
- 337
3
votes
How were these tiles made?
They probably covered the tile in white glaze and then used a paint brush or sponge stamps to apply the blue glaze on top of the dried (but not fired) white glaze.
Unfortunately the only source I ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
3
votes
Do kilns get hot enough to fire their own bricks?
Firebrick are thermally stable for the temperature range they are specified. However , some materials may cause chemical changes in certain types of fire brick and develop lower melting phases. I am ...
- 1,245
3
votes
Trying to turn a vintage wash basin into a vessel sink. How can I get rid of this standing water?
You could make another little flat hole on just one side of the round plate and have a little plumb to converge from there in the main central plumbing, so as the main hole will got the direct water ...
3
votes
Porcelain brush pen does not stick to ceramic ring
From the "usage" section of the pen website (my emphasis):
Daily cleaning: avoid friction, rubbing and scrubbing by positioning the item in the dishwasher so that it is not in contact with other ...
- 3,159
3
votes
Are there tell-tale signs that clay will crack when fired?
There are no tell-tale signs that a piece will crack, but there are definitely certain things that can lead to a piece cracking when fired.
Significant variation in thickness from the thickest to ...
- 151
3
votes
Are there tell-tale signs that clay will crack when fired?
Yes. Look out for "veins" in the clay as it is altered and manipulated from its original resting state.
Veins might also look like threads or mini cracks.
- 31
3
votes
Multi-unit pottery kiln - how hot can it go?
If the kiln is rated for 1950 degrees Fahrenheit, then that's about the highest you should fire it to. The number of rings you use isn't a function of how hot it gets but more a function of how much ...
- 51
3
votes
How can I decorate on a mug or plate with paper?
You can use mod podge (decoupage glue) to decoupage your paper designs onto the mugs and plates - there are many tutorials for decoupage all over the he internet.
Once your decoupaged mugs / plates ...
- 623
3
votes
Accepted
What is the easiest way to wax the bottom of a ceramic pot before glazing?
If your pottery all have exactly the same size and shaped bottoms, you could make a shield out of cardboard or acrylic with an opening in the center which exactly matches that bottom. You could then ...
- 3,235
3
votes
Accepted
How do you apply sodium silicate to a ceramic bowl to achieve a cracked effect?
When you pull your clay into the cylinder you want, scrape off the excess moisture/slip on the outside of the cylinder with a rib. Apply the sodium silicate solution with a paintbrush (to your turning ...
- 146
2
votes
How can I decorate on a mug or plate with paper?
You're not going to be able to adhere paper to any piece that will be kiln fired.
Alternate options include adding those paper clippings to fired pieces and then sealing them with some kind of ...
- 151
2
votes
How do I go about sealing tiles painted with acrylic ink?
Both methods should work; polyurethane varnish seems to be a fairly standard way of sealing acrylic paint on ceramic (see this thread on potters.org for example) and Art Resin* claims that 'the heat ...
- 2,325
2
votes
Kiln elements keep burning out
The problem could be the Kanthal ( Fe, Cr, Al ) elements. Although they will tolerate a little higher temperature , they are "delicate" compared to the Nichrome type elements. Most consumer heat ...
- 1,245
2
votes
Accepted
Kiln elements keep burning out
When the elements are connected directly to power, the only limitation is the inherent resistance of the elements. Ohm's law states that current is inversely proportional to resistance. The elements ...
- 7,231
2
votes
Accepted
Do kilns get hot enough to fire their own bricks?
Your firebricks will already have been fired, I'm not sure anyone makes kilns with green firebricks, they would move around when firing.
On the other hand if you have used fire clay , fire cement, or ...
- 206
2
votes
What brand/type of acrylic paints is recommended to paint ceramic pots without leaving brush marks?
A few options:
Watering down the paint (as mentioned in the comments) Acrylic paint can be thinned by adding water until brush strokes self-level. If you want to be uptight, use distilled water. ...
- 261
2
votes
Best adhesive to use for rubber gaskets inside ceramic column?
Spent five years in the hand tool industry, working with hardware, and working with glues, and adhesives. Also looking at options that are specifically for ceramic. There are a few things to keep in ...
- 1,771
1
vote
Handmade ceramic plate cracking after putting hot food on it
It is the glaze and the lack of annealing the piece. In lampworking, glass needs to be annealed to decrease any stress in the glass so it will not crack. Ceramics that are glazed are glass covering ...
- 76
1
vote
Silver nitrate added to clay body
TAKE EXTRA CARE WITH SILVER NITRATE {SN} - IT WILL STAIN YOUR SKIN brown/black and can takes days/weeks for your skin to shed a few layers and return to its original colour.
Personally I wouldn't add ...
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