Hulk

Hi Mel,
Welcome to the Forum!
You might have the piece appraised before starting restoration work?
Any road, even the new paint removers* do a decent job of softening old paint to the point where it lifts off and/or liquifies somewhat.
It might take several applications and some time; even then, the paint may have discolored the clay, and the agitation necessary to remove the paint may damage the clay.
Spot test before going all in!
 
*The newer products don't work as quickly, however, they are less toxic.
Even so, adequate ventilation, gloves, eye protection and organic vapor respirator (with new cartridges)...
Beware, the paint may contain lead!
 

+ Kelly's suggestion for other clay(s), particularly if your vendor(s) can point to a clay they know crazes less than the one(s) you're using.
In my craze journey, that's what happened! I'd scrapped several recipes, started over, re-formulated - getting closer, larger pattern - then went with a different white stoneware, problem solved.

+ Kelly's suggestion for other clay(s), particularly if your vendor(s) can point to a clay they know crazes less than the one(s) you're using.
In my craze journey, that's what happened! I'd scrapped several recipes, started over, re-formulated - getting closer, larger pattern - then went with a different white stoneware, problem solved.

Concrete floor with a drain. Very satisfied with ease of cleanup. Vacuum (HEPA filter), flood with water, squeegee it all down the drain, then flood the drain for good measure. I have a couple of puzzle mat squares in places I stand a lot, but not at my wheel. I throw semi-standing: elevated wheel and a tall stool with an angled foam cushion (Big cushion!). It makes the transition from sitting to standing much easier and I’m mostly off my feet in that spot. 
While I’m at it…L4&5 on some days (lifting), C5,6,&7 others (decorating and trimming), and shoulders whenever they decide to hurt (usually wedging). It hits the day after. Occasionally they’ll all go at once. Tylenol days. 

I bought a kiln that looks like this one,  it also had glaze running down the walls.  I paid $100 for it because it had 2 good shelves and 100 stilts that were still in the boxes.  I got it home and saved the lid and stand demolished  the kiln.    Denice

Was going through old files, when I came across the papers Marcia Selsor wrote on crystalline glaze back in the 1970’s. I know she does obvara and raku now: so that bought up a question. 
Q: Did your passion about a certain form, glaze, or technique change, and what caused that change?
 
Tom

It all depends on the fit between your glaze and your clay.  So, someone can recommend a glaze that works for their clay, but it may not work for your clay.
If mixing your own glaze is not desirable, I suggest trying various other commercial clear glazes and just doing some testing.
An effective way to test for crazing/fit is to take a test piece after it is glazed fired and alternately plunge it into boiling water and then ice water. Do this for 3-to-5 minutes in each bath and repeat the process 3 times. Dry the piece and then rub some India ink or dry erase marker on the piece and wipe off the excess. The ink will stay in the cracks making them easier to see, but you should also  closely inspect, using a magnifying glass to see if there is any crazing.  This test will accelerate any crazing that might otherwise only show up later (it's called delayed crazing).
If you want to tackle this by mixing your own glaze, you should become familiar with the Stull chart and how recipes land within it's different areas predicting crazing, etc. You can find some good tutorials online for that. Then, look at some recipes and where they fall on the chart. If you use glazy.org and input a recipe there, the site will plot the recipe on a Stull chart for you.
 

Thanks for your valuable replies.  At least you've set me straight on what the problem isn't.
I will do more testing at higher temps before I get the can opener out! 

I agree with @Bill Kielb, glaze fit is notoriously hard at low fire temps. It’s easy to imagine quick cooling is the culprit, but it’s unlikely that’s the cause. Industrial producers have astonishingly fast firing cycles, literally three or four hours from green to glaze fired, no crazing. It’s not deep magic, it’s because the glaze fits (they do have some tricks, but they’re mostly centered around avoiding other defects).
I’m happy to confirm that most of the things you’ve tried will have no bearing on your problem, none. The one thing you mentioned that might is trying a variety of clays. The glaze is shrinking a lot more than the clay. 
The other avenue to explore is temperature. In the range you’re firing at glaze fit can change radically within a cone, even half a cone. I say that from experience because I fire my work to cone 03, low fire. The clay is unique, and the glaze is formulated to fit, but a cone lower and it’s going to craze, a cone too high and the pots will dunt. This narrow range is true for many red earthenwares and clays designed to vitrify at low fire temperatures. Also, I should note that one of my kilns is fiber board and cools very quickly. It’s recently retired, but I fired dozens of glaze loads in it. Shut off at 10:00 pm and cool by morning. No crazing. That’s another reason I’m confident quick cooling is not the root of your problem.
I suggest you approach the two variables of clay body and glaze firing temperature (Some people fire their bisque quite high and do a lower glaze firing, I can’t speak to that with experience so won’t suggest it. It may well work.). Your cone 06 glaze might do fine at cone 04 and actually fit. I regularly fire commercial cone 06 glazes to 04 and 03 without problems.
There is the avenue of glaze formulation, but that’s an entirely different can of worms.

Glazes almost always craze because they don’t fit the clay. Especially delayed crazing. I would say most likely that glaze does not fit the clay.

Shop is two kinds-main glaze room and clay wegding area and sink size of room 11x22 measurement of room , is  2x 12  inch wide redwood plank I installed the 1st month I bought my property June 1073. The throwing room is 3/4 tongue and groove floor  plywood painted with special foor paint (now worn thry in spots) this was a add on about 20-25 years ago-and there is a 66 foot wide opening between (no doors). I like wood on the feet. The kiln area out side is a new cement slab as well as medium crushed rock mix.all under large metal roof area-hoods chemicals clay 3 gas kilns and 2 peter puggers and an electric kiln with a 8 foot  wide gate to road-enclosed on three sides.

It's small, not ideal for anything but mugs and small vases. It's underpowered for its size, too. I would put it at a cone 8 kiln rather than a cone 10 at only 21 amps, so element life won't be great. But you could always swap out with elements from Euclids elements to bump up the power a bit. Does it include a stand? Is the floor or lid cracked?  The kiln is sitting upside down, so all those broken brick will need to be replaced or the elements will flop out when you flip it over. I'd pass on it unless you want to do a bunch of work and spend an additional $400 on parts.

That is the exact kind of info I am looking for. I am new to pottery, so I don't have the info, and the person selling it inherited it when they bought the home so they know nothing about it too. I don't want to put a bunch of work into it and wasn't sure if this was selling cheap because of the work needed or selling cheap because the person didn't know what they had. I will pass on it and keep my membership with the studio. Thank you for the help

Understood.  Thanks for your reply.

New and former Studios, cement slab flooring.
I'm wearing crepe sole mid-high work boots when it's cold, somewhat supportive flip flops (Sperry Top-Sider) when it's hot, slip-ons with groovy insoles when it's medium.
I work more sitting than standing. I get purple toe (Raynaud's) fairly easily, so keeping the feet happy is important for me. Wool socks, an extra layer at the ankle (cut off the feet part of worn socks, voila! ankle warmers), watch cap (warm head->warm hands and feet, try it), and insulated foot pedal all help.
Yep, the heavy cast alloy foot pedal draws off A LOT of heat! I've taped a layer of bubble wrap to the foot pedal, voila ii! right foot gets much less mad ever since.
I'm having pain in the L 4-5, a bit better yesterday, much better today.
Hope you are feeling better soon Min.

I also use the floor puzzle foam mat,  my pathway is a big rectangular in my studio.   If I have a area that gets extremely dusty and dirty I will pull  them up to clean.   If one particular area starts wearing thin I can easily replace them.  I  had a bedroom in the basement my son used as a hangout,  rowdy boys,  soda and carpet don't mix so I covered it with foam mat.   When we polished the concrete I moved them upstairs to my studio.  Now I have a lifetime supply.  I even stand on one in the kiln room when I am loading the kiln.   I don't leave it there when I am firing.  My husband is working on his wood shop and I found a  big heavy  duty  dense mat on clearance.  I think it will help his sore feet.   Denice

New and former Studios, cement slab flooring.
I'm wearing crepe sole mid-high work boots when it's cold, somewhat supportive flip flops (Sperry Top-Sider) when it's hot, slip-ons with groovy insoles when it's medium.
I work more sitting than standing. I get purple toe (Raynaud's) fairly easily, so keeping the feet happy is important for me. Wool socks, an extra layer at the ankle (cut off the feet part of worn socks, voila! ankle warmers), watch cap (warm head->warm hands and feet, try it), and insulated foot pedal all help.
Yep, the heavy cast alloy foot pedal draws off A LOT of heat! I've taped a layer of bubble wrap to the foot pedal, voila ii! right foot gets much less mad ever since.
I'm having pain in the L 4-5, a bit better yesterday, much better today.
Hope you are feeling better soon Min.

Cement floor in all areas I work in. I use a really good quality anti fatigue mat when standing on for throwing. I wear supportive  shoes with good insoles, think that helps. It's T-7 - T-9 that I'm getting a lot of pain with for the past few weeks.  

I have a plywood floor--inch thick tongue and groove.  my studio is an add on to an existing building, and we put some cement pillars in the ground and then built a 2 x 10 framework on top of those and then 2 x 6's (maybe 2 x 8's) and the plywood on top of that.  It was a little chilly right at first last winter, but we realized we needed to close off the opening around the pillars and once we did that, it has been quite toasty.  this is Texas after all, so it is not going to ever be frigid, unless we have another 2 week ice storm and the power goes off for 9 days.
It has been comfortable to stand on, and i do have a foam mat at the stand up wheel.  I like to think that I am keeping my 72 year old arms in some sort of shape with the wedging!!

There has been quite a bit of discussion lately among the mods and others about aches and pains. Specifically back pains of late. This got me to thinking about the things we as potters can do to alleviate back pain or to prevent it. . .So I will start the discussion off with:
QotW: What type of floor or floor coverings do you have in the shop?
Myself, I have concrete a floor that is over an underground river. This floor in the winter is Ice cold, and in the Summer often damp from moisture below. I have covered much of the wedging area with puzzle locking foam, as it is relatively firm, and yet shock absorbing. It also separates the floor area around the wedging table and work areas from track areas or the areas where wheeled dollies will roll. I believe it does help when wedging rather than on the bare floor.
best,
Pres

Ron, that's interesting. We know that NTYAL was run out of business for that reason. Geologists tell us that talc deposits and asbestos deposits are sometimes close together and sloppy mining practices can result in asbestos contamination of the talc output. It was alleged that NYTAL was thus contaminated, though Vanderbilt (the company that owned the mine) denied it. The cost of litigation to prove their case was too much and so they cut their losses and shut the mine. The AMTAL mine in Texas was purportedly clean, and so it became a major North American source for our talc. Your sources are now suggesting it wasn't so clean after all. We do know from the business world that Daltile, the huge wall and floor tile producer headquartered in Dallas, TX, was a significant customer. A few years ago, Daltile bought the mine from AMTAL, supposedly to improve their vertical integration controlling everything from raw materials sources to sales, but at least they continued to service the rest of the AMTAL customer base (including us mere potters). However,  in 2021, Daltile reduced the customer list to exactly one, itself, and the North American ceramics world has been scrambling ever since.
So, what your sources are suggesting, it was not merely Daltile buying out one of its materials suppliers to improve its own profitability, but AMTAL was happy to sell its looming liabilities. Interesting.

I heard that the American Talc Company (Texas) sold out because there were hundreds of their workers  suing over asbestos type disease. Some talcs have those needle like fibers that cause lung disease. Be aware that every talc has a different analysis and clays and glazes have to be adjusted to get the same results - RR

Well...try as I might, there was no way to remove the wheel head without doing major damage to the assembly. Since the wheel head is some sort of plastic (almost like Bakelite), I took a sander to the high spots and attached a Corian bat to it. Now the wheel head runs true.

thank you everyone for the tips & info.  skutt sent me some info and a link as well.  it all went smoothly!  now she will be in "drydock" for awhile until my space is usable.  
Happy Potting!
Ann

Hi Dick and all,
I would be willing to do the research and write another article if I can gather enough samples of the latest Custer. Anyone willing to send me some just get in touch.  My best advice is to switch to another spar - g200 EU looks like the best alternative for a potash spar.
Cone 10 bodies were affected when the low P2O3 Custer started shipping around 2000. That resulted in cristobalite production and shivering problems and underfiring in some glazes.
Ron Roy ronroy@ca.inter.net