Jessicak Posted June 24, 2020 Report Share Posted June 24, 2020 Hello! I am fairly new to throwing and have just bought my own wheel, a Rhode HMT 500. First few weeks of throwing everything was greet, but now whenever I throw directly on the wheel head I am getting this black substance that feels gritty. It’s actually really abrasive and hurts my hands after a while. I thought it may be residue from some more heavily grogged clay I was throwing, but I have cleaned and cleaned the wheel head. On a totally clean wheel, if I wet my finger and let it run over the wheel head I can see and feel this black gritty substance build up. Does anyone know what it might be or how I can get rid of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted June 24, 2020 Report Share Posted June 24, 2020 It's probably aluminum oxide, pretty common on older wheelheads. You can sand it off or use something like steel wool and vinegar. Barkeeps friend or a powdered abrasive cleaner works too. You need to get a nice polish on it after so don't use a rough grit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessicak Posted June 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2020 I thought that might be the case too, but it is really gritty and I couldn’t find anyone else having issues with the substance making their wheel feel super rough. Thanks! I’ll look into the powdered abrasive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebekah Krieger Posted June 26, 2020 Report Share Posted June 26, 2020 Its also possible you are just getting extra grog separating from the clay from over working it on the wheel. I often see new throwers "hold" the clay as it spins. Try only touching the clay with intention to see if that helps. If not, its probably the older wheel head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambrin Posted November 3, 2020 Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 Hello, I just got a new pottery wheel (Venco no.3) and also have the issue of black gritty grime when throwing. My clay ends up with little particles like coffee grind stuck in it. It's a new wheel and I am worried about using steel wool as I can only see it scratch the entire aluminium surface. Does anyone have any other ideas what it could be? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted November 3, 2020 Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 So sad to hear all these issues with aluminum wheelheads, I have never had an issue with mine. Vinegar may be strong enough to strip off any sodium aluminate, leaving a protective oxide layer but it should not be coming off as hard chunks in your clay, that doesn't sound normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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