Hake Brushes

[RHunter]

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

[Bert Weiss]

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."

[Stephen Richard]

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

[Kevin Midgley]

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.

[Peter Angel]

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

[Yardic Glassworks]

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

[bob proulx]

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

[Valerie Adams]

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.