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repairing grenware?


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I was in a handbuilding class with Alfredo Ratinoff and watched him repair a student's greenware earthenware bowl that was broken in several pieces . . . he misted/wrapped the edges with damp towel until they were soft enough to work with, then scored and slipped, then reassembled . . . one piece at a time. Over the course of about three hours, he rebuilt the bowl. Was fascinating to watch (I got no almost no work done that night but learned a lot watching). Not sure if it can be done in your case, though. When Alfredo was studying in Italy, he did statue restoration . . . so he really knew how to do such a repair.

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Use a toilet paper /paper clay patch. Mix it up in the blender.

Mix

your clay in dry powder form, dash of vinegar, drop or two of sodium silicate

toilet paper that has soaked overnight

stir in the blender. Use about 15% tp to your volume of powdered clay.

dampen the edges before applying.

Marcia

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Use a toilet paper /paper clay patch. Mix it up in the blender.

Mix

your clay in dry powder form, dash of vinegar, drop or two of sodium silicate

toilet paper that has soaked overnight

stir in the blender. Use about 15% tp to your volume of powdered clay.

dampen the edges before applying.

Marcia

 

 

Marcia, I am sorry to be such a novice but would you mind explaining about powdered clay? Do you just save the dried up clay powder (that I thought I should avoid because its not safe to breathe) or is there some process to make it? Also, is there any particular type of vinegar- wine, white, etc.? And last but not least, what is sodium silicate and where do you get it? Thanks. Morah

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Morah,
The easiest way to mix your patch without excessive water is to take dried crumbs of the clay being repaired, crush it with a rolling pin,a mallet, the back of a spoon so that your end result is powder. Hope this explains it. you don't want to use watery slip because there's too much water with the clay.

Marcia

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One other choice you have that has worked well for us in small repairs is an Amaco product called SP -mender for greenware as well as better luck with

Aztec-high fire mender as you mix it with your dry clay body.It works up thru all cone temps.

Mark

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This is what you want for greenware repairs.It is called spooze.

1 Several tablespoons of your clay body, CRUSHED AS A DRY POWDER.

2. two tablespoons of white vinegar.

3.Caro syrup-a tablespoon or some other cheap syrup.

Mix it up like a paste. Repair the work. Do not store it as it stinks from the syrup rotting.

Good luck.

TJR.

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This is what you want for greenware repairs.It is called spooze.

1 Several tablespoons of your clay body, CRUSHED AS A DRY POWDER.

2. two tablespoons of white vinegar.

3.Caro syrup-a tablespoon or some other cheap syrup.

Mix it up like a paste. Repair the work. Do not store it as it stinks from the syrup rotting.

Good luck.

TJR.

 

 

Thanks TJR. Caro syrup sounds a lot more familiar then sodium silicate! Do you also put toilet paper into this mixture?

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Wow thanks for all the replies!

 

This forum is a lifesaver, Im going to try the suggestions on a few scraps of greenware before

attempting the actual piece. i think I will have to tell her that it broke whatever the outcome.

Hopefully it will be a good one! Thanks again, will post how I got on.

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

This is what you want for greenware repairs.It is called spooze.

1 Several tablespoons of your clay body, CRUSHED AS A DRY POWDER.

2. two tablespoons of white vinegar.

3.Caro syrup-a tablespoon or some other cheap syrup.

Mix it up like a paste. Repair the work. Do not store it as it stinks from the syrup rotting.

Good luck.

TJR.

 

 

Hi !

 

I have problems with very small cracks appearing on a piece which isn't completely dry yet. They appear there where two parts join and I am suspecting one wasn't as soft as the other while joining them ... classic beginners problem :-S ... I fear that it will completely crack while bone-dry.

I tried scoring, humidifying, consolidating the area with soft clay, but after leaving it to dry slowly (wrapped in plastic), they still come through (smaller, but still).

Your solution seems worth trying. Is this a good way to proceed : scoring, humidifying, putting on some of the paste and than later on sanding off the excess ?

 

Thanks for your help !

 

Chris

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  • 2 years later...

Marcia, you're saying to just add toilet paper to the spooze recipe from TJR?

 

(This is what you want for greenware repairs.It is called spooze.

1 Several tablespoons of your clay body, CRUSHED AS A DRY POWDER.
2. two tablespoons of white vinegar.
3.Caro syrup-a tablespoon or some other cheap syrup.
Mix it up like a paste. Repair the work. Do not store it as it stinks from the syrup rotting.

 

 

 

Spooze is the best recipe IMHO. Just go easy on the corn syrup.
I like vinegar instead of water. and yes on the toilet paper.


Marcia

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Yes. soak in water overnight. Squeeze the water out of it. And start mixing your spooze. You may have to add a little vinegar to stir it up.

Thank you!

And by the way, I'm actually having the exact same problem as Chris above: crack at a joint (and probably even for the same reason!).

I'm posting a picture to better illustrate it. The thickness of the wall and bottom is 1/2".post-11816-0-54035200-1445297646_thumb.jpg

I'm not too clear on how to go about applying the mixture to it, since it's not a case of joining two separate pieces. How much to moisten and how, with an eyedropper right over the crack, for instance? And then push the mixture into the crack? I don't want to make it worse... it would be great to salvage this piece.

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To make it better, you might have to make it worse.  The crack is very thin and you will likely have a hard time getting the mixture in it.  Use a sharp tool (x-acto knife) to make a vee channel on both sides -- you might have to go almost half way through from each side, then put the mixture in.  Not too big of a channel, but big enough to get the mixture completely in with no trapped air space.  That will make sure it goes into the whole crack, not just the surface.  Unless you get the full crack filled with mixture, it will crack during firing. 

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Yes. soak in water overnight. Squeeze the water out of it. And start mixing your spooze. You may have to add a little vinegar to stir it up.

 

 

I try to avoid adding any type of water into the mix.  So instead of soaking the tissue in water, I soak it in the vinegar, that will go in the mix anyway.  

 

The vinegar alone softens the paper up quite well, and a quick mix with an immersion blender creates a nice mush.  Then I mix in the dried clay, syrup, and a teaspoon or so of hydrogen peroxide, to keep the bacteria at bay.  I've kept some of the mixture over the summer, in a sealed container, and it didn't smell a bit when I came back.  It did grow a bit of mold, that I just scooped off.  

 

I'm a big fan of this stuff.  It works far better than the "Ceramic Enhancer" I mentioned earlier in this thread.  It's also a whole lot cheaper...

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Does anyone use magic water/magic mud/paper-vinegar-sodium silicate etc. concoctions as a matter of course when joining slabs? I mostly see it suggested for repairs or specific attachments, but any reason (besides hassle and expense) not to just use it for all joining?  Seems like it would be extra insurance even when constructing a simple box with moist clay - why not?

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