Firing on ceramic fibre blanket

[vsilvered]

Hi,

I fired a few small pieces made with PMC3 in my new kiln (900 deg C, 2 hours) on a small piece of ceramic fibre blanket, and when I took them out, I noticed that instead of being white, as I would expected, the pieces came out silver in colour, but with a sparkly coating.

Does anyone knew if this appearance is normal when firing on a ceramic blanket?

I did pre-fire the blanket on it's own before usage for about 15min.. I think I read somewhere that this should be done.. can't remember where though :|

Regards,

Vi

[vsilvered]

Hi,

I fired a few small pieces made with PMC3 in my new kiln (900 deg C, 2 hours) on a small piece of ceramic fibre blanket, and when I took them out, I noticed that instead of being white, as I would expected, the pieces came out silver in colour, but with a sparkly coating.


I found out more about the glitter effect on silver metal clay, and what what causes it from Vickie Hallmark's blog.
(http://fiberartglass.blogspot.com/2009/11/glitter-effect-on-silver-metal-clay.html)

As well as being a being a gifted artisan (check out her website (http://www.vickiehallmark.com/index.html) - her work in glass, metal and fibre is truly stunning), she also holds a doctorate in physical chemistry/chemical physics for studies on silver surfaces, so her explanation on the cause of this problem and possible solutions are well founded.

Regards,

Vi

[MuranoSilver]

Mine always come out sparkly too (I fireat 900)
nic xx

[vsilvered]

Mine always come out sparkly too (I fireat 900)
nic xx

Ah relief.. and glad it's not just me experiencing this! I thought maybe I was running the kiln too hot.

Regards,

Vi

[MuranoSilver]

Normally it's a good sign as the metals well scintered :)
Nic x