QA

Quick Answer: How Do You Use Wax Resist

The basic technique of resist inlay is to coat the surface of your piece with glaze or underglaze, paint a layer of liquid wax resist over the glaze or underglaze, scratch your design through the wax and then brush a second color of glaze or underglaze over the incised design.

How long does it take for wax resist to dry?

Allow wax to dry completely before glazing. This can take 15-30 minutes. Wax can be great as a decorative tool, especially on top of one glaze to create a resist effect in combination with a second coat.

Do I need to wipe glaze off wax resist?

Thanks to wax resist, you don’t have to struggle to wipe the glaze off the bottom part of pottery, the glaze wipes off clean and easy. Besides the dirty, unfinished look that dripped glaze can give, it will also cause the pottery to stick to the kiln shelf during the firing process.

What is wax resist How does it work?

Wax resists, wax emulsions, and actual melted wax itself are all used in pottery. The function of the wax resist is to keep liquids, such as raw liquid glazes, from adhering to the clay body of a pot. Therefore, most potters apply wax resist to the bottoms of their pots before beginning the glazing process.

What is wax resist used for?

Wax Resist is a waxy substance used to prevent slips, engobes, or glazes from adhering onto the clay body or a prior coating of slip, etc. The resist can be used both under or over underglazes, glazes, and slips to create designs.

Can I put wax resist over glaze?

Using Wax Resist Over Glaze Use Wax over glaze to create patterns when layering glazes. Let your wax dry for several hours (when applied over glaze) before layering a second glaze. Often it is best to apply wax the day before you will dip the second glaze. Cover the wax jar so it doesn’t dry out.

Can you remove wax resist?

No matter how small, this spot will resist the glaze during firing leaving you with an unsightly blemish. The only way to truly get rid of the wax is to vaporize it with temperature high enough to burn the wax off. Burn it off by bisque firing.

Can you thin wax resist?

People having trouble applying wax resist often are using it too thick. Try taking some into a separate container and thinning it with water. It will dry faster and may work better for you. Once you use a brush for wax resist, don’t use it for anything else.

Can you fire wax resist?

Once it has touched your pot, it will resist anything you paint over it, including more wax. 3. If it isn’t thoroughly dry, it won’t resist. After applying wax resist over glaze, let pieces dry overnight before doing resist-inlay decoration.

What temperature does wax resist burn off?

Many potters melt old candles or gulf wax (commonly used in canning) in an electric skillet to use as a resist. These types of wax begin to melt as low as 99°F (37°C) on up to 165°F (74°C) depending on their composition.

Does wax resist burn off in the kiln?

Mayco recommends the brush or sponge be preconditioned with a brush cleaner to allow easier clean up. Condition the brush by saturating the hairs. Then remove any excess Brush Cleaner before using the Wax Resist. Wax Resist is removed by firing in kiln.

How do you make colored wax resistant?

Mix ½ teaspoon cobalt carbonate with 1 teaspoon Gerstley borate and a small amount of water to blend. Then add 6 to 8 tablespoons of wax resist and thin as necessary for a blue wax. Blends of oxides or stains can make some great colors: rutile and iron produce an orange surface similar to a soda firing.

What is wax resist made of?

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.

How do you use black wax resistant?

Aftosa Black Wax Resist Can be painted on with a fine brush or slip applicator bottle. Use black wax resist to outline drawings and fill in your work with glaze. Can also be thinned with water. Allow to dry for a minimum of 2 hours before glazing.

How do I clean wax resistant brushes?

I found a quick way to make it come perfectly clean again. I took a small glass jar and put a little water and dish soap in the bottom. I stuck the brush in it and put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds, until the water was slightly boiling. I pull it out of the microwave, swished around in the solution.

How do you get wax off ceramic?

Scrape off excess wax. Lay a damp, lint-free white cloth over the wax and apply medium heat with an iron; the wax will adhere to the cloth. Use rubbing alcohol to remove residue. Or freeze the wax with an ice pack, then shatter the frozen clump with a blunt object, like the handle of a kitchen utensil.

What does greenware mean in ceramics?

Greenware is unfired clay pottery referring to a stage of production when the clay is mostly dry (leather hard) but has not yet been fired in a kiln. Greenware may be in any of the stages of drying: wet, damp, soft leather-hard, leather-hard, stiff leather-hard, dry, and bone dry.

What is sgraffito technique?

Sgraffito, (Italian: “scratched”), in the visual arts, a technique used in painting, pottery, and glass, which consists of putting down a preliminary surface, covering it with another, and then scratching the superficial layer in such a way that the pattern or shape that emerges is of the lower colour.

What temperature does wax burn off in Kiln?

300–800˚C: Carbonaceous materials (impurities in the clay along with paper, wax, etc.) burn out. The kiln requires ample air during this stage since after 800˚C sintering begins and the clay surface begins to seal off, trapping unburned materials and sulfides, which can cause bloating and black coring.