Kiln Repair Cement Help

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Randy W
Posts: 91
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 6:19 pm
Location: Racine, Wisconsin

Kiln Repair Cement Help

Post by Randy W »

The front edge of my kiln is a bit torn up from me jammin stuff in there to prop the lid open when I'm drying my kiln shelves. I'm pretty sure that's where the white crumbs are coming from that end up on my pieces. I bought a 1 pound jar of kiln repair cement to smooth over the rough spots. It mentions in the directions that you can dilute the cement with water and apply to the lid to keep dust from falling. It doesn't mention how much to thin it or how to go about applying it and drying it. Just let it air dry? For how long? Or close the lid and turn on the kiln to dry it? Does anyone have any experience with this stuff thry're willing to share?

Thanks, Randy
Cynthia

Post by Cynthia »

I diluted mine to be thin enough to apply with a brush....so it was pretty darn watery. It is cement, so the gook will separate out and you need to keep stirring while applying. Keep it off of your elements. I've heard some say they put newspaper over the elements to protect them, then just fired the paper off. I simply avoided getting it on the elements.

I let mine dry for a day, then fired up to 500 with a hold just like for primer to drive out what water remained, then fired as usual. I did this well over two maybe three years ago and haven't had any more problems with brick bits falling into my work.
Darrin Strosnider
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2003 10:33 am
Location: Desert Southwest

Post by Darrin Strosnider »

Interesting. I wonder if this would work for the element grooves in the lid too... I'm tempted to pull my elements out of my lid and apply it to the grooves- this is where my "crumbs" come from.
Kitty
Posts: 444
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:12 pm
Location: Gig Harbor, WA

Post by Kitty »

i've got a front-loading cress, and have repaired the front edge of the bricks with kiln cement a few times. the cement works, but eventually it breaks down and crumbles off. for that reason i wouldn't want to put it on the lid. impending doom. there was a post in the last month or two about other materials to encase elements and correct the problem of particles falling. maybe someone else remembers that thread more precisely. it might have been about a foam spray that hardened up ... sorry i can't recall the details. kitty.
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