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Cleaning Kiln Shelves


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The kiln wash on my shelves has been flaking off recently, sometimes one layer, in some places 2 layers right back to the shelf. I'd like to remove it all and start over. What's the best way to fo this? Is a sanding/grinding disc the only option? I don't want to end up with gouges in the shelf surface.

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I use an old piece of kiln shelf (a hard brick or soap works too). Slide it back and forth over your shelf like a scrub brush. It takes a little longer, but makes a nice smooth flat surface. Personally, I never go right down to the shelf, I just scrub until loose bits are gone and surface is flat. Then put on a new layer of wash and lightly scrub that back. But I like thick kiln wash cuz I like runny glazes....

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I learned to do it with a handled pumice stone. Works pretty well. Also, my friend was using a commercial kiln wash mix and it was coming off in huge flakes down to the shelf and she got a recipe that solved the whole problem. Before, the shelves had to be done pretty much with every firing. Of course, this never happened so her stuff kept getting ruined.

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Iwent to the hardware store and got a floor scraper. Its about 18: long very heavy duty has a removable blade that is about 1/4 inch thick at the back , non sharpened end. it's intended to remove adhesive and linoleum from a floor before you install new flooring...  It works SO WELL it takes  all of the kiln wash off easily in one pass usually. Works so much better and with less dust than when i used to sand then use a wire brush and a smaller less industrial scraper.post-58560-0-93467100-1438572958_thumb.jpg

post-58560-0-93467100-1438572958_thumb.jpg

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