Kristen Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 When I smashed up my green, bone dry failures to recycle, I smashed them on a table outside our school where we also clean our kiln shelves. I had thought I had gotten rid of all the little bits of fired kiln wash off the table but I guess I missed some because it is turning up as I wedge my recycled clay. (we don't have a pug mill). I can get most of the bits out with wedging, they're easy to see in a dark clay body, but I'm sure there would be small particles that I can't see. Will it be a problem working with the clay? I can't remember what kiln wash is made up of. I hope it doesn't have plaster in it. Do I have to scrap it all? Or maybe it'll just be similar to added fired clay or something? Please let me know. Kristen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Herb Norris Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 It's been my experience that "foreign bodies" in clay show up at the worst times. Because of my reclaim methods, I get stuff in the clay, which don't appear until I am forming a delicate part of a thrown piece, and then they have to be dug or pulled out, leaving a problematic crater. At least with organics, if they are not in a a bad place, I can leave them and they will burn out in the kiln. Problem solved. Not so with kiln wash, however! Of course it will never burn out, and it will certainly never melt. Kiln wash is mostly EPK and alumina hydrate, and has no plaster in it, so you will not get "lime pops", but neither will it hold glaze either. Also, it is probably going to show up in the tiniest, most delicate areas of one of your pieces. causing trouble. Luckily, it's in a dark clay body, making it easier to see and remove. You could: Keep using the clay and wing it, and see if and when it turns up. Use that clay for thick slab work, in which case the wash may just end up in the middle of a thick slab, encapsulated, and no problem. Use that clay only for mold making, in which case firing/glazing is never an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristen Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 awesome, thanks! I wedged it like crazy and got everything out that i could see, so now I'll work with it and see how it goes. Slab work is a good idea. Too bad i have another batch on plaster, waiting for me to wedge that too. Oh well, lesson learned. At least there's no twist ties! thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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