*If you have already read this post in the Kiln News thread you are caught up, I’m making a new thread for the situation in case anyone misses the post over there.
Hello friends, I wanted to let the community know that I mistakenly fired a load of greenware to cone 6 without a bisque firing. These pieces are now fully vitrified and it may make glazing difficult, but not impossible.
What you need to know :
- Affected pieces will be placed on the special firing shelves (the very top of the “ready for firing” glaze shelves). See image.
- Due to the pieces now being fully vitrified, glazes may not adhere properly.
What you can do :
- Prepare Surface: Try using a fine grit sandpaper to lightly texture the surface, encouraging the glaze to stick better. Remember to be gentle as to not risk damaging the piece. As well make sure to clean the surface thoroughly before glazing.
- Heating: Heat the piece carefully and evenly with a hairdryer/heat gun/oven before glazing to help with adhesion. Not so hot that the glaze bubbles though.
- Hair Spray: Lightly dusting the surface with hair spray (cheaper the better) can create a surface that will better hold wet glaze evenly in place while drying.
- Thin Coats: Multiple thin coats that are allowed to thoroughly dry in between applications is better than one thick coat. It is also recommended to brush on glazes as dipping glazes may not adhere successfully.
- Glaze Choice: Consider glazes that are less likely to run as the glaze adhesion will be weaker. Avoid risky multi- glaze layering.
what I will be doing
- in full transparency and to ensure I am following the correct order of operations for every load in our kilns, I will be making a hard copy of the kiln loading steps with me and likely in the kiln team shelves as well to maintain accountability with myself and the process.
I deeply apologize for any pieces that you may have had in this kiln cycle, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for any additional questions and to Christy Cooper @cmcooper if you have questions about glazing vitrified pieces she is very knowledgeable!
Please look at the following photos to determine if your piece may have been affected. I’m including photos of the signage and where they are located as well.
