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Sealing Porcelain


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Hi there

I'm after some advice please. Currently I'm working with vintage China dinnerware and have been turning it into wearable pieces, I'm looking for a permanent way to seal the cut parts of my pieces and was wondering if a clear glaze would be an option ? Can old China be refired? I had been using an epoxy resin but I'm not very happy with the results . Thanks in advancepost-66613-0-08960200-1426418050_thumb.jpg

post-66613-0-08960200-1426418050_thumb.jpg

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I agree with Marcia about simply sanding them until they are super smooth.

Re-firing them could be a problem as some of the decoration on them could be decals, China paints or gold lusters which are fired very low ... Like cone 018-023. You would lose them or they would change color or fade.

I personally don't know of an over glaze that fires at that low of a temperature, but someone else might.

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>>>Maybe sand with a diamond pad.  I will smooth the edges. Marcia<<<

I agree with Chris and Marcia for a couple of reasons...

1.  Your porcelin doesn't need to be food safe.

2.  The epoxy might cause someone somewhere to have a reaction to said sealant.

3.  I think this is one of those cases where "less is more".  And if anyone takes that to mean "more better" thats fine.

Alabama

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Refiring them could be a problem you don't know what the original temp or the glaze formula.  Just for fun I reglazed some china plates and they looked fine when they came out of the firing.  Six months later I am working in my studio and I here bing, bing, bing,  I look up and the plates I had standing on edge was shooting off the glaze across the room like shards of glass.  Denice

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Thanks heaps for the advice . Defiantly not keen to have glaze pinging off like glass shards!! Yep I've sanded them down to remove all sharp edges and make them smooth but I'm finding some of the China and especially the retro stoneware items are still quite porous so when you wear them body oil etc is staining the cut edges . All I could think of was maybe glazing but I'll look into grout sealer. Thanks again :)

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  • 5 years later...

Did you ever find a solution? I am teaching myself to make jewelry from broken china so that I can make keepsakes for my Mother, Sister, & myself - my Grandmother painted china and a couple of her pieces are broken beyond repair. I want to protect the paint & increase durability (the pieces are at least 50 years old). Looking for a clear coat that will not yellow. Wondering if clear nail polish will work well. I can't find anyone on the internet who makes broken china jewelry who is willing to answer the question, share tips, or 'divulge their secrets'.   Thanks :D

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@BoyMomif you have a look at the OP’s profile, they haven’t been back to the forum in 5 years, unfortunately. 
If your grandmother’s china was bone China or porcelain, your best bet is probably the sandpaper methods mentioned. You should be able to polish the edges to a glassy finish if you use increasingly smaller grits, like the kinds used for automotive finishing. If you were to do do a lot of it, some diamond sanding pads could be worth tracking down. 

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i have seen some pendant pieces of old china covered in what looks like gold on the edges.   maybe some kind of came like that used by stained glass artists would work.   old work was done with lead, today there must be something else available.

 

was sure i typed "came"  but it came out "cane".

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  • 3 weeks later...

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