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What Can I Put On The Bottom Of Pots To Prevent Scraping Surfaces


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Obviously the bottoms should be smoothed enough during leather-hard stage to prevent scraping surfaces, however there are a few very groggy clays I have been using and I swear that even after sanding to the smoothness of a baby's butt on bisque it still comes out somewhat rough on the bottoms. Thus, I have been told not to put my ceramics in the cupboards because they are a custom wood they do not want scraped up. 

 

We fire at the class ^6 reduction, and I noticed that the ^6 oxidation firings do not have this problem of regaining grain after the final glaze firing. Is there some product I can put on the bottom of the pots to prevent scraping up the wood? Or is my only option to sand....

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I use diamond sanding pads: http://www.toolocity.com/diamond-hand-polishing-pads.aspx

 

After glaze firing, I dip the pad in water, "wax on, wax off" to paraphrase Mr. Miyagi, and get a nice smooth bottom -- maybe 20 seconds a pot. By sanding wet, you minimize dust. I use these after electric, wood, and salt firings; on porcelain, porcelaneous stoneware, and grogged clays. The 50 grit is my go to for really rough, mostly use the 100 and 200 grit pads.

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If you are looking for neoprene self stick pads for the bottom Axner and Aftosa sells them.They are called no skids at Axner and neoprene at Aftosa. They come in all different sizes.

I use them on my sponge holders and Trucker mugs (no skid motion mugs)

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Wet sand with 220 grit silicone carbide sand paper.

 

And there is PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) sandpaper discs that could be placed on the wheel. You can find it at a Big Box Store that has floor sanding supplies

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I use diamond pads same as Bruce. I start with a 200 grit one and move to 400 then 800. It is butter smooth by then. 200 is usually good enough, but for some of my more expensive pots I like them having the super smooth foot ring so when the customer opens it,they can feel the difference. One day when I actually start making pots and selling them again I plan to upgrade to a wheel based system with 3 bats, 200 400 800, and running water over the disk. This way I can take 20 pots run them over the 200, then the 400 then the 800. 

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regarding rough bottoms of stoneware pots:
Sydney Posted 25 November 2016 - 02:06 PM :

... Is there some product I can put on the bottom of the pots to prevent scraping up the wood? Or is my only option to sand....

I solved this problem by burnishing the bottoms of the pots when at the leather hard stage and maybe again at the bone dry stage for the cone 10 clays used in the local college studio, including the 'Raku clay' which I fire to cone 10.  You can add a coat of 'grog-free' clay or terra-sig at the burnishing step to provide a surface that has no grog.  [To make grog-free clay, make a watery slip, run the slip through a screen, and then leave slip uncovered for the water to evaporate to a nice thick yogurt to paint on with a brush before burnishing. I make a pint of this and it lasts forever].

 

Mostly, I just burnish the bottom of the foot rings with the metal ferrule on the trimming tool, or with the smooth part of a plastic pen kept in my trim tool box.  Some times I rub the leather hard pot foot against the metal work table to burnish the surface.  Occasionally, I get distracted and allow a unburnished pot make it into bisque and really regret doing so after the final firing.  It is easier to solve the issue while the pot is still soft. 

LT

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regarding rough bottoms of stoneware pots:

 

I solved this problem by burnishing the bottoms of the pots when at the leather hard stage

 

Mostly, I just burnish the bottom of the foot rings with the metal ferrule on the trimming tool, or with the smooth part of a plastic pen kept in my trim tool box.  Some times I rub the leather hard pot foot against the metal work table to burnish the surface.  Occasionally, I get distracted and allow a unburnished pot make it into bisque and really regret doing so after the final firing.  It is easier to solve the issue while the pot is still soft. 

 

 

I use a soft rubber rib, (red, *Mud*) straight after I've finished turning the foot ring, often with a squirt from a hand water sprayer. If a pot still needs some attention after bisque firing I'll use some Aluminium Oxide paper and if I've missed anything by the time it's glaze fired a 100 grit diamond pad.

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I work with clay with a lot of iron filings in them, so when it is glaze fired all of the iron oozes out and on the bottoms it ends up making it rough again (as well as the grog). I do burnish when leather hard, sand again when bisque, but always the glaze fire brings out that iron!

 

Next semester maybe I will just work with porcelain :rolleyes:

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