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I got such good responses from the CAC (ceramic arts community) that I thought I would pose another question and possible solution for those dealing with rust and corrosion specifically from salty, ocean air. Being by the ocean is beautiful but it is true that pretty much everything metal rusts and is subject to corrosion. I am hoping not to have to abandon my dream of having my own kiln (and instead continue to let the community kiln owner deal with ongoing salt air challenges and added maintenance costs. ) But part of the reason I want my own kiln is because the community kiln has been giving wildly different results and has been over firing. I have been reading the forums and see that a rule of thumb is for a kiln firing to cone 6 in "normal" conditions gets about 100 firings before the elements need replacing. Now I am figuring that a kiln operating 100 meters from the ocean would not fare so well. It is my practice to cover electronics, to use absorbent materials like silica packs and kitty litter to deal with excess moisture in the air and this helps a lot. Recently I discovered that floor paste wax can do wonders to protect metal surfaces and retard the rusting process. Obviously this is not viable on most components of the kiln, but whatever suggestions any of you have for prolonging the useful life of my-hope-to-be-kiln are most welcome.

I am looking for a new wax for my horse hair pottery. I currently use a good carnauba paste wax, but it turns a slight off white. I would like a clear wax over the white terra sig. Any ideas?

Since there has not been a new question posted of late, I will ask one of my own. Do you resist in any way when working? Take it however you want in these times, but for me I will stick to using a resist when working with decoration or glazes on my pots. In the past I have used wax over glazes before spraying on more colors, used latex or shellac over leather hard clay before washing the pot with a sponge to carve a relief design, used wax on the bottom to protect bisqued areas from glaze for glaze firing, used paper resist to spray through designs, and used multiple layers of resist with spraying to create more complex designs. I have applied resist materials with a brush, a roller, fingers, aluminum foil, doilies, lace fabric, and other items. best, Pres

Hello I've started tinkering with gold leaf and wax finishes for some street art tiles. They seem great at finishing fine detail and add a good pop of colour that you cant get with glazing. The fake gold leaf is super cheap these days I got 300 sheets in 3 colours for £5 on ebay, so seems rude not to. Being a complete newbie I would love to know other members experiences of using them and any hints and tips. Thanks in advance. Darran

Hi guys, I have some pieces I want to cast in plaster for a mould. The pieces will not be particularly flexible and I worry they wont release properly. Its a basic vase shape that narrows in at the top like a pair- this taper part is a 6cm diameter x 8cm long pipe that I feel the plaster will grip too tightly to release and slip out. I haven't had much luck with soft soap and I'm wondering could I rub a candle on my piece to give it a shiny and slightly slippery surface for the plaster to cast? I worry it will ruin the porosity of the mould though. Has anyone done such a thing? Other solutions are welcome but I'm mostly wondering if wax will ruin plaster or there are similar products that wont. Cheers!

I'm just getting set up to try my hand at working with clay. I have read about using wax resists when glazing. Are these waxes specially formulated for clay or will anything do? The reason I ask is that I have plenty of wax emulsion that I use as a woodworker for sealing wood during drying. It is a white water based liquid that is painted on and turns clear as it dries. I'm hoping this wil do as it will be one less thing to buy! Derek

I have a hate-hate relationship with using wax resist on the bottom of my pots; It tends to get it everywhere (fingerprints in the oddest places) and often it runs down the sides of my pot. It's also expensive. I was reading that some folks have had success with Mop N Glo floor polish. I stopped by the grocery store on the way to work and noted that the one Mop N Glo product they had was a cleaner with lots of weird ingredients and didn't seem to have much in the way of wax it in. I looked over and saw a can of Johnson Paste Wax. The ingredients are carnuba wax, micro-crystalline wax and some paraffin with one solvent that shouldn't be in high enough quantity to cause a problem in the kiln. I want to try this for two reasons; I think I'll have more control/less drips wiping a paste on, and once the glaze is dry, I might be able to wipe most of it off limiting the burnout in my kiln. Has anyone tried this?