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how do you multiple fire

updated thu 2 mar 06

 

Stephani Stephenson on tue 28 feb 06


Mary
not sure what temperature you fired the platters to the first time, but
it seems like you are saying that you fired them higher the first time
and with different glazes than you would use on the re-fire , yes?

this sounds iffy to me.. I would think that the two glazes at two temps
will...appear somewhat different and not make a seamless blend. It is
possible, the repainted area could stand out more than the original boo
boo.



Technically there should be no reason that you could not re-fire to a
lower temp, cone 06, but do realize that re-firing to a lower temp
may change the appearance of the higher fired glazes .
Is there some reason you could not re apply the original glaze and
re-fire to original temp?

With large forms such as platters , and with some claybodies, cracking
is possible on refire.

Whenever I consider re-firing I assess whether I am willing to lose
what I have in my hands for some possible improvement . Sometimes it
is yes, sometimes no. Sometimes a trade off. Sometimes great success,
other times , not worth the trouble.


Many times a piece coming out of the kiln simply does not meet our
expectations.
If I am unhappy with results for aesthetic reasons, I will often let
the piece sit a few days at least, so I can forget some of my
expectations and look at it with fresh eyes. . Maybe it is time to
just start a new one and let the old one be, or , then again, maybe it
is time to learn about refiring!

Good luck!
Stephani

Mary wrote: I have a couple of platters that are beautiful in design
and the glaze
worked fine (MC6G's) but they have a couple of marks where the spray
wore
off. Darnnnnnnnnnn! So, could I now put a design over that with a
lower
fire (06) glaze and fire in 06? Has anyone any experience or advice to
offer on multiple firing?

Rob on tue 28 feb 06


Why not just touch up the glaze and refire to ^6? I do it all the time;
flakes of kiln wash get into, say, bowls glazed with copper green, and then
look real bad. I just grind 'em out, scrape a dab of thicker glaze off the
inside of the bucket, touch it over the blemish, and put it back in my next
glaze firing...comes out really nice. Some glazes even seem to improve with
the extra heatwork.

Make sure your clay isn't prone to expansion problems from cristobalite
generation, tho. There's some discussions in the archives on how to
ascertain this in a rough-and-ready fashion.

Rob Van Rens

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Adams"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 2:52 PM
Subject: how do you multiple fire


>I have a couple of platters that are beautiful in design and the glaze
> worked fine (MC6G's) but they have a couple of marks where the spray wore
> off. Darnnnnnnnnnn! So, could I now put a design over that with a lower
> fire (06) glaze and fire in 06? Has anyone any experience or advice to
> offer on multiple firing?
>
> m
>
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Mary Adams on tue 28 feb 06


I have a couple of platters that are beautiful in design and the glaze
worked fine (MC6G's) but they have a couple of marks where the spray wore
off. Darnnnnnnnnnn! So, could I now put a design over that with a lower
fire (06) glaze and fire in 06? Has anyone any experience or advice to
offer on multiple firing?

m

Dannon Rhudy on wed 1 mar 06


Multiple firing can have interesting results. Or not.

Sometimes you can refire to a lower temp, but
keep in mind: the original glaze may alter in color
and/or texture, AND - you may get small blisters for
a variety of reasons. You could simply reglaze the
affected areas with your original glaze and refire to
temp. If you really want to keep these pieces, it is
worth a try. You might prefer to just make new pieces-
there are a lot of advantages to doing so.

regards

Dannon Rhudy


> worked fine (MC6G's) but they have a couple of marks where the spray wore
> off. .....So, could I now put a design over that with a lower
> fire (06) glaze and fire in 06?
---
---

Michael Wendt on wed 1 mar 06


Mary,
This sometimes happens to me and refiring
to the same cone is no problem with large
platters is you retouch the bare or damaged
areas, let dry and refire in the midsection of
the kiln with taller layers directly above and
below the platter. Ring the platter as closely
as practical with kiln posts to create a type
of thermal barrier similar to a saggar so that
the platter edges are protected from rapid
heating and cooling and slow the firing
rate to prevent breakage of the refire piece.
Regards,
Michael Wendt
Wendt Pottery
2729 Clearwater Ave
Lewiston, Idaho 83501
USA
wendtpot@lewiston.com
www.wendtpottery.com
Mary wrote:
I have a couple of platters that are beautiful in
design and the glaze
worked fine (MC6G's) but they have a couple of marks
where the spray wore
off. Darnnnnnnnnnn! So, could I now put a design over
that with a lower
fire (06) glaze and fire in 06? Has anyone any
experience or advice to
offer on multiple firing?

m