Kudu Ceramics Posted August 17, 2022 Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 I decided to burnish some pieces for a pit fire I'm planning on doing soon and I've been checking on them as they dry and I've found that the burnished surface has dulled significantly with the time that it has dried! Anyone have any idea why this is happening? I thought maybe the reason is because I'm using recycled clay but I really have no idea. I've always used the same technique but it was also always on fresh clay that hasn't been recycled. The clay is white stoneware but again, same technique and same kind of clay I've burnished before with good results.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly in AK Posted August 17, 2022 Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 (edited) It may well be the change in clay body if your technique and the stage you’re burnishing at hasn’t changed, but generally if you burnish things when they are leather hard they will dull as they dry. Brush the pot with water (after it’s completely dry) then burnish it again, it’ll stay shiny. The surface has to be damp to burnish but the pot should be dry. If you do more pots get them as smooth as possible in forming and trimming stage (a non groggy body is best), let them dry, and then rewet the surface and burnish. Also you should know that regular bisque temperatures, 06-04, will dull the pot too. I can’t say exactly when that starts to happen, but I think it’s around cone 016. If you use terra sigillata you can go higher before you start to lose the surface. Terra sig from OM4 will stay shiny at a higher temp than that made from Redart. Edited August 17, 2022 by Kelly in AK Callie Beller Diesel and Rae Reich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted August 18, 2022 Report Share Posted August 18, 2022 I agree with Kelly that the most likely culprit is technique and timing. IF the issue were related to fresh clay vs reclaim, the only way I could see reclaimed clay being less shiny is if it was used for throwing practice, and the throwing slop wasn’t added back into the clay. Your throwing slop is where a lot of the finest clay particles wind up, and the lack of them could affect a burnished surface. You’d also maybe notice your clay being short if this was the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil0110 Posted August 31, 2022 Report Share Posted August 31, 2022 sometimes they add all sorts of impurities to good clay to keep the price down, maybe because of that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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