polishing porcelain

[madi beattie]

hi guys, I've got lots of great tips on my decal probelms, I have also heard that polishing my porcelain before I apply decals will help. Does anyone know the best way to do this? I read somewhere than a fine grade sandpaper can give great results. My porcelain is bisque fired to 1300 degrees centigrade and I am applying my decals to unglazed wares. I'd really appreciate any advise you could give me x

[Mark C.]

That Porcelain will be very hard at that temp and sandpaper will need to be the kind for metal work not wood.Try the auto body types of paper that are grey and do wet or dry sanding.I only have done decals on glazed surfaces myself.

Good luck

Mark

[Marcia Selsor]

I use diapads from 3M with water.they are scrubby pads with diamond grit. They come in different grit size.

They are a stone carver's tool.

 

Marcia

[Diana Ferreira]

We used a normal wet&dry sanding paper today in the studio. (Silicon Carbide) for a client who wanted decals on unglazed porcelain. she was dancing around after a quick rub. the surface felt like satin. I sand my work both after the bisque and glazed firings (I only half glaze my work). It is easier for me to work wet, and there is no airborne ceramic powder either with the wet work. I normally use a 320 grit for my work, but for a final rub on a hight fired surface, you can go smoother.

[bciskepottery]

Here's a link to the Diapads . . . I get mine from here, but others sell them also. http://www.toolocity.com/diamondhandpads.aspx

 

I've been using these for the past several years -- a combination of 50, 100, 200 and 400 grit. I dunk the pad in a bucket of water before sanding/finishing. I've found that the few extra seconds invested in finishing off foot rings and bottoms of platters and trays so they are smooth really makes a difference. The pads are quite durable, too.