| AN INTRODUCTION TO ENAMELLING | ||
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Wash the powdered enamels as follows, whether the means of application is to be by dry-dusting or wet-packing: Add sufficient enamel powder to a tall glass container (e.g. a fruit preserving jar) to fill about the bottom 1/8 of the jar. 3/4 fill the jar with water and stir vigorously until any lumps are broken down and the enamel is in suspension in the whirling water. Allow to settle for a short time (10-30 seconds generally) and decant the still-suspended `fines' into another glass container. These 'fines' are sometimes of use for non-critical operations requiring very finely ground enamels, but should generally be seen as rubbish and turfed out. If you want "painting enamels" buy the real stuff from Amaco or Thompson etc.Their materials are formulated specifically for the task and are available in a variety of vehicles including oil and acrylic. Repeat these operations until the water above the settled enamel grains is clear. Pour off the remaining water, spoon the damp enamel onto a plate and spread it out in a thin layer. Soak up as much moisture as possible with paper towels or clean cloths. Cover the damp enamel with a fresh dry paper towel weighted to contact as much of the enamel as possible. Capillary attraction will remove almost all of the remaining moisture via the absorbent towel. Allow to dry completely and store dry in a clean lidded container. GRIND and REWASH the enamel just prior to use, particularly if it is a transparent, as follows: Add about a tablespoon of enamel to an agate or hard porcelain mortar, just cover with clean water and grind with a moderate pressure for 30-60 seconds. |
Swirl the contents, pour off the milky water and repeat the grinding/rinsing process until the water is clear. If you really must, the last couple of rinses can be with deionised or distilled water, but my personal experience has been that this is unneccesary..
Transfer to a clean glass container and either use immediately, or dry and store for later use. NB: All groundwaters including those treated by water authorities contain varying amounts of dissolved salts and suspended solids (organic and inorganic, alive and/or dead) which if sufficiently high in concentration can cause `watermarks' or cloudiness in the finished enamel. However, anything other than gross water mineralisation is not a problem as long as care is taken to blot up as much water as possible from the work prior to drying it out completely. The absolute amounts of contaminants in the trivial amount of moisture that remains on each grain of enamel after effective blotting is vanishingly small and contrary to urban myth, has no observable effect on the transparency of the finished enamel. Anneal the copper base (electrolytic grade copper) to dull red heat (650-700deg C) to remove rolling oil and other surface contaminants. Remove the oxide film (firescale) formed during annealing by either acid pickling and/or abrasives Neutralise the residual acid if pickle was used, (with baking soda, cloudy ammonia etc) and then brighten the metal with abrasives and detergent under running water. Wipe dry and thereafter handle as far as possible by the edges of the panel to avoid contamination of the clean metal surface. (Contamination shouldn't be a problem unless you are in the habit of using hand creams or oils). Al Heywood |
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