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Gold stains on unglazed fired porcelain


IJS

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Hello and merry Christmas everybody !  :-)

I hope someone can help with the following issue. I just fired some porcelain beads, which I glazed on the outside and left nake on the inside, as I put them on a rack in the kiln. After wearing one of them for just one day on a rose gold chain, I noticed that the unglazed inner part of the bead got heavily stained.  Do you think that glazing the inside would solve the problem? If so, how could I prevent the piece from sticking to the wire? Thank you :-)

Fran

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My guess is your clay is not vitrified-meaning not fired to whatever its rated to.Hence its soft and taking on whatever rubs on it. Are you firing it to its rated temp?

As to glazing the inside -thats not going to happen on a wire rack.

Give us the details on the clay body firing range and what temp you are taking it to.

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37 minutes ago, Mark C. said:

My guess is your clay is not vitrified-meaning not fired to whatever its rated to.Hence its soft and taking on whatever rubs on it. Are you firing it to its rated temp?

As to glazing the inside -thats not going to happen on a wire rack.

Give us the details on the clay body firing range and what temp you are taking it to.

I think you nailed it! I'm using Southern Ice and I fired  it a bit lower than its rated temperature. I'll try again soon at its max temp. Gonna keep you updated...thank you!

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4 hours ago, neilestrick said:

I think any unglazed fired clay is going to have the metal rub off, regardless of how high it's fired. Raw clay is abrasive. I would make the hole smaller so you can't see it.

This too sounds likely, alas...still I have to keep that hole size the same 

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On 12/26/2017 at 9:19 AM, Mark C. said:

How about a metal sleeve that fits the hole for the chain to slide thru?(gold or silver)

This is a better idea if you must run a chain through a bead. The roughness of even smoothest  porcelain is abrading the metal from the chain and could eventually remove quite a bit of a soft material like gold.  What looks like a stain is rubbed-off gold. 

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So-sounds like a sleeve--or good quality cord or leather is the way to go.  I am doing porcelain beads and pendants but haven't decided on the neck hanger material yet.  A sleeve probably looks great, more classy,  but sounds like a "pain" to do/fit properly.) Hope to see pics! 

 

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