WarmGlass.com

Hi All,

I dislike coating molds, and kiln shelves, with a Hake Brush....orthodoxy says use one.....without ever explaining why.....nor how to avoid the endless shedding these things put out, much like a long haired dog.

Questioning Authority leads me to ask, WHY ?

I understand from Googling other site sources that Hake Brushes hold a boatload of water, which gives good results puddling kiln wash, onto said mold or kiln shelf, also their fine-ness prevents dislodging previous layers of material as multiple layers are needed to effectively coat a shelf or mold.

I wonder if back in the day , this was a good cheap solution to getting good coverage without crumbling off the previous layer on successive coatings.

Does anyone know of a technologically advanced manual alternative ( thus not air brush, etc ) be it a type of paint brush , or alternative method that would accomplish this task without endless holidays and the requisite picking out of stray hairs....maybe I should just use a long haired dog though that would introduce a whole new set of problems , what with squirming and all. <G>

There are endless varieties of these type brushes available in Japan, and they are used to paint with....(houses) and for the life of me I don't know how they manage....

thanks,
Randy

You can spray it on with a mouth atomizer or it's automated cousin the Paasche 62 sprayer.

The mouth atomizer is what I call " a cheap thrill."

They manage because they use high quality brushes. Really, most of the brushes we get are inferior.
You can spray batt wash on with a mouth atomiser if you like. Need to mix the separator more thinly, and so apply more coats. But it works

If they are falling out in the store then they aren't the ones you want to use. Try a pottery supply place and pay the premium. Synthetics will work but if you like to apply the wash to a pre-warmed shelf, they may just melt and cause other problems.

Potters use Hake brushes to brush transparent glaze onto bisqued fired ceramics.

They trim the hake brush bristles down to 1/2 the original length.

You could use sharp scissors or a sharp blade to trim the bristles.

I'm planing to try this soon and I will let you know the results.

Pete

I use a high quality paint brush for all my shelves and molds. Works great with no shedding.

I use the cheap foam brushs you buy at any hardware store and they work fine. Leave them in the kiln wash and they last a long time. Which ever brush you use if you want a smoother finish on the shelf use an old pair of nylons and rub lightly.
Bob

I used to use a small paint roller to apply wash to shelves.
Then I switched to spraying on with a garden sprayer.
(With both methods, I needed to smooth the wash a bit when it was dry.)
In past years I've gone back to the brush, deciding it's simpler. I simply wipe off the few stray hairs when the wash is dry.