Burning out candle wax in kiln?

[dawn neusinger]

Used normal candle wax on pottery, it burnt black and caused major black smoke. Switched off electric kiln and removed all burnt pottery. Shelves are now blackened and likely have trace elements of wax, how can I remove the blackened marks? And can I then empty fire shelves to remove all possible elements. Or are shelves now permanently blackened where objects burnt.  Thanks dawn

[Bill Kielb]

These are the things that burn away in a bisque fire, so  if you can sufficiently ventilate and given enough time and prox. 2000 f (1000c) the organics burn completely out.

[Pres]

I have edited the title here @dawn neusinger.  This will allow more direct traffic to your question, and allow our search engines to pinpoint the question in future searches by others looking for the same information.

 

Welcome to the forum. . . lots to learn here, and a good community!

best,

Pres

[dawn neusinger]

Bill should I wash first to remove the dark burn stains or just fire as is.

 See pic with dark burnt patches 

[Bill Kielb]

IMO I would fire them unless you are convinced you have a way to remove the stains without simply driving them deeper into the shelf. It should be mostly carbon so hopefully burns away to a clean finish. Whatever remains if any should be very inert moving forward. I would run a regular medium speed bisque - 10-12 hours. It likely will disappear sooner but a full bisque run ought to pretty much burn out just about anything of significance.

Edited October 22, 2023 by Bill Kielb

[Babs]

It will just burn out when you bisque properly. I use candle wax all the time. A local church gives me candle ends. What it has shown you is probably your poor ventilation. If the candlewax is dyed the fumes may be more toxic.

[neilestrick]

Dark spots are probably just carbon, and they'll burn out. Too much wax can easily overpower a typical  kiln vent.

[oldlady]

after many, many years of using used candles, i have learned a thing or two.  #1  do not use any added decorated candles with "snow".    toss them!!     #2, read #1.  or, you may end up with a mess spread all through the entire kiln load by the fumes.   read #1.

i find that mixing a red into the usual clear or white melted wax allows me to see exactly where the wax is and how far up the edge it goes.   i single fire nearly everything so scraping off any splashes or whatever is easy since the clay is removed with the mistake.  if done on a bisqued piece, re-bisquing removes the wax.

wiping the bottom on the interior edge of the hot pan immediately removes enough wax that the burn-out smell is hardly noticable.  my hot pan is set at 350, and i wait until it is that hot to attempt to wax bottoms.  the amount used is just enough to cover the foot.

the best part of using hot wax is that it is almost instantly dry.   some brush on wax needs hours to dry.

Edited October 26, 2023 by oldlady
add