Mary H Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Hi All, I'm hoping someone can offer some insight into an issue I started having in my studio. Students were using Amaco wax resist during two different glaze firings and each time the kiln started emitting a chemical/ burning plastic smell and the pots came out with burned looking bottoms where the wax had been. Each time I had turned off the kiln once the smell was noticed and the pieces being glazed were different each time. Has anyone had an issue with this brand of wax? The students all said they only used the wax and didn't contaminate it with any other materials. Of course, it could have been contaminated by accident. I'm going to tighten up studio rules just to be safe but was hoping someone could offer insight from a similar issue. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Sounds like it's just the wax burning off. Is your kiln vent working okay? Welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 I don’t know anything about the specific brand of wax resist you are using, but I do know that the combustion products of wax resist in a firing process are not healthy. If you or your students are smelling anything then your ventilation process is inadequate and you should really refrain from using wax resist until the ventilation is fixed. At the very least I would advise against being in the same space with the kiln when it is firing. The burnt stuff on your pots is just the partially burnt wax since you shut the kiln off mid-firing. Maybe stop using the wax and just sponge off glaze instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Mud Research Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 I would just put the pots back in the kiln and fire to maturity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Magnolia Mud Research said: I would just put the pots back in the kiln and fire to maturity. Yes do this . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary H Posted March 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 Thank you for all the insights! It's strange to me that only some of the pots were burnt on the bottom as most of the pots had the wax totally melted off. I'll certainly check the vent, although there was a glaze firing with wax resist in between the two firings that produced the strong smell/burned bottoms. That middle firing produced no burning and no smell. There are two jars of wax resist floating around the classroom so maybe I'll test each to see if one jar is contaminated and the other isn't. Or maybe I'll just stop using it... Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 If you're talking about student work, I think maybe the pots that had burnt spots on the bottom may have started with more wax on them than the ones that appeared clean. Especially since you mention turning the kiln off once you noticed the smell. Out of curiosity, why is there wax in the bisque? Are they decorating leather hard or greenware? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary H Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Oh sorry, I may not have made that clear. The wax was used during the glaze firing to keep the bottoms of the pieces glaze free. I’m firing to maturity now so fingers crossed there’s no issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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