moh Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hello! Has anyone worked with sandblasting 1) bisque; and 2) unglazed ^6 surface (porcelain)? With my work I sand the entirety of the piece, so looking to use sandblasting for overall satin smooth feeling (320 grit) when said and done. I purchased a sandblaster but lost on which sand I should get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitchmss Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 When you say that you sand the entirety of the piece; I assume you mean sanding when the pots are bone dry. I do the same, but just to remove blemishes, fingerprints, etc. My pots get glazed over. Are you looking for a satin finish of your glaze? I see where you say unglazed ^6 porcelain, but not sure if you're looking to make unglazed functional wares or decorative objects? I think I understand that you want a satin finish to unglazed wares, but unless you were just "slighlty" abrading the surface with a gentler media, you'd just expose more vitrified porcelain substrate. Im not sure it would be very easy to get a consistent surface. Seems it would be way easier to formulate a satin glaze rather than having to perform an entire extra step to your process. If you like the look of a porcelain finish, you could formulate a clear or colorless slip/glaze that would have the finish you want. As well, if you dont have a very good dust control/filtration system, you're going to be kicking up a lot of unhealthy dust around your shop. Ive seen plenty of folks who have sandblasted ceramics (of all different stages from bone dry to fully fired), using different blasting media, resists, etc. Ive never done it myself on ceramics, but any sandblasting Ive done has been wet, with plain ol silica sand (like the play sand from big stores). Probably could get it cheaper at a landscape supply store, but would have to order it by the yard probably. A quick google search turned up this page which has a lot of good information regarding different media, shapes, sizes, etc. Might help clear up some questions for you. https://www.graco.com/us/en/contractor/solutions/articles/how-to-choose-the-right-blasting-abrasive.html Im keen to see what your results turn up. Interested to know if you can mechanically create the surface you seek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 I did a bit of sandblasting in grad school on fired stoneware, and we just used silica sand. I cannot, however, remember what mesh it was. Some part of my brain says 70 mesh, but I cannot be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 We use aluminum oxide at work for blasting metal, works good on porcelain too, but we use silica on porcelain when we are being careful not to take too much off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 ceramics monthly, december cover story, 1982 about chris gustin. remember seeing huge yellow jars that had been sandblasted. beautiful. one had pieces of leather tied around the neck. cannot remember maker, dates sometimes in the 1980s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Mud Research Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 The sandblasting industry quit using silica sand as the blasting medium long ago because of the health effects of the submicron particles of silica produced by the blasting technique. Other blasting media are commercially available to produce the same blasted product effects without using silica sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 15 minutes ago, Magnolia Mud Research said: The sandblasting industry quit using silica sand as the blasting medium long ago because of the health effects of the submicron particles of silica produced by the blasting technique. Other blasting media are commercially available to produce the same blasted product effects without using silica sand. Our silica for sandblasting is labeled "glass beads" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moh Posted January 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 @liambesaw @magnolia-mud-research Yes, that's what I found as well, but apparently they come in different size....will keep asking around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted January 16, 2019 Report Share Posted January 16, 2019 You might try talking to a business that does sandblasting. My husband has had cars sandblasted, there are many different medium, I know walnut is one they use. They would probably sell you some and might be able to suggest what type of surface you could get with each medium. You should buy several and do some testing. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curt Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 Garnet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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