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The Country Potter- Make your own Wax resist

The Country Potter- Make your own Wax resist
Wax resist is used to cover areas on pottery you dont want Galze or Slip to get on when you dip the peices into your vat of chemicals. Commercial wax resist is avaialable, but at 20$ a pint, im too cheap to go that route. this procedue will make about 1/2 gallon of wax resist for about 10$

this also works well as a saw lube and a tool waterproffer, not to mention one of the best fire starters ive seen

WARNING! These chemicals are Flammable. do this outdoors and do not use open flame.
 
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Step 1The materials

the materials
you will need,
a glass jar with a tight fitting cap
a box of canning parrafin
a can of mineral spirits
a metal parts brush

a can larger than the glass jar, and boiling water( i use my tea kettle I have to heat the throwing water)

optional, Food Colour (blue or red woks best)
if you dont like the smell of Mineral Spirits, you can add a drop or two of vanilla or cinimon extract to the mix.


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7 comments
Mar 13, 2012. 10:32 PMsnowluck2345 says:
the wax looks nice but is actually very poisonous?
Jan 12, 2010. 12:53 PMlemonie says:
You paint this on the ceramic, the glaze doesn't stick and it burns-off in the kiln?

L
Sep 5, 2010. 10:01 AMrichardsan says:
simply...yes that's what it does. wax/oil are not water soluble and do not allow water-based substances to coat an object that has wax/oil on the surface. just like using a crayon on a egg before dipping in colour for, easter.
Sep 6, 2010. 12:00 PMlemonie says:
That's what I thought, thanks.

L
Sep 6, 2010. 6:56 PMrichardsan says:
glad to help, albeit quite a bit after the fact.
i used painters tape today to 'block out' an area on some mugs i was glazing. i came here to learn how to make wax resist, answered your post and used something different...i did get some stain blocker spray to try it as a resist...it 'should' work...we'll see,
Jul 11, 2010. 12:37 PMpaise says:
My professor who taught the advanced pottery I took as a refresher course after being away from my pottery for a while used a plug-in cooker with lid that has the temperature dial on the part that plugs into the cooker where the other end plugs into the electrical outlet. He only kept enough paraffin wax in the pan to cover the bottom of the pots although we had plenty of brushes & sponges if we wished to cover other areas so glaze wouldn't stick in those areas. It was kept just warm enough to keep the wax melted yet not so hot the wax smoked. The lid was always on it but cracked a bit to make sure the wax wasn't getting too hot. This worked out perfectly and allowed us to simply dip the bottoms of our pots in the wax without having to use a brush or anything. The wax dried between clear and a white depending on the number of wax coats applied.

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Author:Moose Gueydan
I am currently single, and have been a maker all my life. I currently work as a technician for a comercial Laundromat company. I and my friends have built a nascar simulator, and lot of other stuff, ...
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