Lbegley Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 I made a bathroom sink and though I love it, the toilet now looks shabby in comparison. Would it be insane to try to reglaze the toilet? I have a hot box that stays just shy of 200 degrees F. Would leaving it in there for a week or two drive off any water it has absorbed and insure no explosions? Anyone have any experience or advice? Am I about to ruin my kiln and my toilet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 Maybe you can make a new tank cover for it to get it to match without firing an entire toilet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 Well LB; guess we get to be stupid together. I have a small collection of toilets I saved from remodels. I have been testing on small 4" wall tile! cheap stuff at Lowes. I have acid etched the glaze, rinsed well- seemed to work. Be very very careful if you acid etch.. Outdoors, eye protection, rubber gloves, etc. tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 OK nerd! you must put up a photo of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 @oldlady I was going to fire one this summer. Oh how I wish I had talent in toll painting. Would love to fire a Rembrandt toilet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 lbegley, if you are determined to do this, may i suggest that you buy a new toilet, keep the receipt, keep it in the box and see if your original one explodes. if so, you have a replacement ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 I'ld try a tank lid first, see if you can scrounge one up at a used building supply place or even just buy a tank lid and experiment on that. Soak it in water for a week or two then dry it out for a couple weeks, I'ld go 185F unless you are sure your drying box doesn't go over 212, then experiment with that. I wouldn't try it unless you have lots of clearance around the piece and fire it at a crawl. I would also shield the elements with some kind of buffer between the toilet and the elements in case it blows up. I'ld be looking at low fire glazes. (you must really love your old toilet!) Are you looking to change the overall colour of the toilet or ? Also, do you have access to glaze spraying equipment or are you planning on doing overglaze brushwork or ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Thats a large piece-I would test the tank lid 1st. If you decide to do the whole toilet -you will need to dry it very well-200 degrees is a start- My guess is about 50% chance of survival . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabby Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 Is the existing toilet handmade? I would weigh the cost of your effort against the cost of a new toilet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbegley Posted March 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2019 Ha! I do not particularly love the toilet, just thought it best to recycle when possible and there’s nothing wrong with it, aside from it being boring and white. I guess I could buy a new toilet and refire it to match my sink, but even then, maybe it’s too risky, since my spraying skills suck, and my back is going out just thinking about loading in a toilet. The more I think about a toilet exploding in my kiln, the less the toilet color bothers me, so maybe I’ll find another kooky idea to keep me busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted March 27, 2019 Report Share Posted March 27, 2019 Just post pics of the sink and the commode and I will give you my firm opinion. Which is likely to be "Spring for a new toilet". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted March 29, 2019 Report Share Posted March 29, 2019 China paint and decorate the lid and tank top, also around the sides..... Or, just buy one https://www.bathroomplanet.com/product/burlington-english-garden-close-coupled-pan-with-horizontal-outlet.html?variant=102377&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhPfkBRD0ARIsAAcYycFp8ynKf-0t52weGdq4GYdiCTfgEHFKEnvgjbG27AFYT05W6jKIL7YaArvvEALw_wcB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted March 29, 2019 Report Share Posted March 29, 2019 LB: think we are surrounded by nay- Sayers!!!! Now I will have to fire one this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrim8 Posted March 29, 2019 Report Share Posted March 29, 2019 Go on a tour at Kohler and spy out the cone they fire their porcelain to. The factory is in Wisconsin. Unless you have a similar factory in St.Louis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted March 29, 2019 Report Share Posted March 29, 2019 Last I heard their fixtures were fired to cone 14. Can’t remember the source though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 30, 2019 Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 I did some decorative glaze on some commercial porcelain plates, it was a C6 glaze I thought it might work. It seemed to have worked, but about a year after the firing I started hearing a pinging sound. The plates I had reglazed was shooting slivers of glaze all around my studio, the plates were standing up behind a plate rail. I got the heck out of there until the pinging stopped, I went back in and clean up the mess and threw the plates away. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbegley Posted March 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 4 hours ago, glazenerd said: LB: think we are surrounded by nay- Sayers!!!! Now I will have to fire one this summer. Right?!! You wouldn't expect a forum of ceramic artists to discourage experimenting and be so quick to suggest being satisfied with a factory's aesthetic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbegley Posted March 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 Whoa Denice! This is good to know! The thought of a toilet shooting glaze slivers is scary indeed!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted March 30, 2019 Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 7 minutes ago, Denice said: I did some decorative glaze on some commercial porcelain plates, it was a C6 glaze I thought it might work. It seemed to have worked, but about a year after the firing I started hearing a pinging sound. The plates I had reglazed was shooting slivers of glaze all around my studio, the plates were standing up behind a plate rail. I got the heck out of there until the pinging stopped, I went back in and clean up the mess and threw the plates away. Denice So all that talk of glaze fit and if it is enough of a misfit then it will craze or shiver at some point Is true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbegley Posted March 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 3 hours ago, terrim8 said: Go on a tour at Kohler and spy out the cone they fire their porcelain to. The factory is in Wisconsin. Unless you have a similar factory in St.Louis? I would love to visit Kohler, but I'm in CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbegley Posted March 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 2 minutes ago, Bill Kielb said: So all that talk of glaze fit and if it is enough of a misfit then it will craze or shiver at some point Is true? I once tried a standard glaze on a low expansion claybody and it was enough to reduce the whole pot to shards! Surprising that it would take a year to fail. Any thoughts on why that would be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 30, 2019 Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 That is what I learned that day, I was glad I hadn't sold any of those plates. I was a mad tester back in those days trying to take things to the edge. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted March 30, 2019 Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 @Lbegley Well known if the misfit of coefficient of expansion is great enough between the glaze and claybody it WILL eventually craze or shiver. Tests for the when part are not exact and consist of taking a heated pot and subject it to freezing etc.. usually glaze fit issues result in crazing which is far less dramatic. At least delayed crazing that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 30, 2019 Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 I never knew what set them off, there wasn't even any crazing on the design. The glaze flew off in flat pieces such a petal from a flower. It was a nice spring day, I didn't have the heater on in the shop. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted March 30, 2019 Report Share Posted March 30, 2019 5 hours ago, Bill Kielb said: Last I heard their fixtures were fired to cone 14. Can’t remember the source though. Bill: I have a ten page article on sanitary ware I am trying to find. Read it about 5-6 years ago: although the article was mainly based in the reduction of failures on the assembly line. They did get into firing temps however: as I recall it was around cone 1-2....But it has been too long. Next time I get up to the warehouse, going to cut up a few tank lids and take them on a test drive. Denice: back in the 40-60's, absorption test were done in autoclaves with 100 psi of 350F steam injected. There are numerous journals from those days on atmospheric moisture causing delayed crazing. They autoclaved glazed pieces as well, in an effort to pinpoint that problem. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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