kiln wash

[Pat Donaldson]

I know this is probably a useless question, but..........as I was hating having to scrape kiln wash off the shelf, and not being able to afford an "apprentice", I was wondering if anyone has a magic procedure or new invention. Is there an easy way to remove kiln wash from a shelf????

Pat
pat@aslowfuse.com

[Valerie Adams]

For years (with Bullseye kiln wash) I simply scraped it off with a razor paint scraper. It came off quickly and without effort.

But in the past couple years, I've found it's much harder and takes quite a bit of effort. It no longer seems to separate easily from the shelf, it used to almost flake off. Now, I start with the razor paint scraper and use an electric hand sander for the stubborn bits.

[DonMcClennen]

I've always just used a piece of fresh cut glass to scrape dry kilnwash.

[vblue]

Pat,
Try drywall screen. Works quickly and lasts forever. When the holes get full.......just thump it.

Vernelle

[lbailey]

I use both, razor type scraper followed by drywall sanding mesh. Gives a good smooth surface for the fresh kiln wash.

However, I've wondered if I could skip the scraping and simply sand the shelf with the mesh, not completely removing the old wash but just taking off the top layer of the old and smoothing it out. This would leave layers of old wash with 2-3 fresh coats on top. Am I asking for trouble? Would those old layers push up or flake the new ones on top? Maybe Ok for normal fusing but maybe not for high temp work?

Always playing the angles........

[charlie]

if the coating is smooth, i just put on a couple layers of new wash. i only remove it if there's divots that i can't work around.

[Valerie Adams]

I've always just used a piece of fresh cut glass to scrape dry kilnwash.

Yep, me too. Either a piece of glass or my razor paint scraper, whichever was handiest. But something in the formulation has changed, I believe, because now much of the wash simply won't scrape off. That's why I've had to resort to sanding. I use hardware cloth sometimes too but I'm usually doing four or five shelves, so the power sander makes it quick work.

[Bert Weiss]

I like to make my own kilnwash using 75 or 80% finely ground alumina hydrate and 20 or 25% EPK. This comes off easily. Your standard wash recipe is 50/50. The EPK is a high alumina clay that is used as a binder. I don't do a lot of work on hard shelves. I do make my sushi plates on these shelves. I paint the wash on in a wavy pattern, which comes out on my glass. I start from scratch for each firing. Because I am firing float glass, tin side down, I can get away with a very thin coating. You need more for the stickier fusing glasses.

[Pat Donaldson]

Thanks to all for the suggestions!

Pat

[Laurie Spray]

I use a small inexpensive hand sander. Takes 2 minutes for a large shelf....clean and smooth! I use rough sandpaper.

[KaCe]

Always something to learn on this board. I like the "fresh cut glass" suggestion for scraping and the sander and the open mesh. Wow. I've learned a lot by reading today. Thanks!
I love Bert's suggestion of planned texture in the application of the kiln wash. Great idea.