Firing&EnamelingArtClayCopper

AidaChemicalhasrecentlyintroducedCopperClaytotheirproductlineup.Ofcourseforme,thefirstquestionwas"CanI
enamelit?"Theanswerisyes,buttherearesomeadditionalstepsyouneedtotaketoensureagoodresult.

FiringArtClayCopperiseasycomparedtootherbrands,althoughitdoeshaveit'sownquirks.Nocarbon,nofuss,no
mess.ItcanbedoneinanSCkilnverysuccessfully.
Thefollowinginstructionsareaverybasicoverviewoftheprocess.Forindepthinstructions,withphotographic
illustrations,pleaseseemytwopartarticleinMetalClayArtistMagazine,Vol#1,Issue#4andVol#2,Issue#1.
FIRINGARTCLAYCOPPER
1.

Prepareyourkilnbyplacingfoursmallkilnposts(1"to2")inthekilnandpreheatingitto1780F(971C).Puta
pieceoffiberpaperonthefiberkilnshelf,butdonotputshelfinatthistime.

2.

Oncethekilnhasreached1780F(971C),placethedryArtClayCopperpiecesfacedownonthefiberpaper.Usea
pairofverylongtweezersorpliers,andaheatglove,toplacetheentireshelfinthekilnonthekilnposts.

3.

Firethepiecesfor30minutes.

4.

Whenthefiringiscomplete,usethelongtweezersorpliersandtheheatglovetoremovetheshelffromthekilnand
veryquicklydumpthecontentsofftheshelfandintoabucketofcoldwater.Thefasteryougetthepiecesfromthe
kilntothewater,thelessfirescalewillform.

5.

Afterquenching,placethepiecesinheatedpicklesuchasSparexfor15minutestoanhourdependingonhowmuch
scaleformed.Whentheblackscalehasturnedtoabrownishcolor,itwillbrushoffeasily.Onlyusecoppertongs
inyourpickle,andrinseyourpiecesincleanwater.

6.

Useawirebrushwithsoapandwatertobrushyourpieces.

Ifiremypiecesfacedown,becauselessfirescaleformsonthefrontofthepiecethatway.Iusethefiberpapertoprevent
thepiecefromstickingtothekilnshelf.Iliketoplacethepiecesonthefiberpaperonthekilnshelfoutsideofthekilnto
reducetheamountoftimethekilnisopen.Byhavingthemsetupontheshelfandthentransferringitintothekiln,youcan
putallyourpiecesinatonetimeveryquickly.Thekilnpostsmakeiteasiertotaketheshelfinandout.Likewise,Iremove
allthepiecesatonetimebytakingthewholeshelfoutanddumpingthepiecesoffintothequenchingbucketratherthan
pullingthepiecesoutonebyone.Bydoingitthisway,yougreatlyincreasethespeedwithwhichyougetallthepieces
quenched.Ifyoutakethemoutonebyone,thefirstpiecemaynothavemuchfirescale,butbythetimeyouremovethelast
pieceitwillhavecooledtoomuchandtherewillbealot.
PREPARINGTHEMETALFORENAMELING

1.

Simmerpieceinammoniasolution(1cupwaterto1/2cupammonia)forfiveminutes.Idothisonmykitchen
stove.Youcanalsoputthemixtureinanultrasoniccleanerifyouhaveone,ratherthansimmeringonthestove
top.Itriedthestovetopmethodtohelpoutthefolkswhodon'thaveasmuchequipmentanditworkedjustfine.
Rinsewellwhenthrough.

2.

Tumblethepieceforaminimumof2hours.Longerisfine.NOTEthattumblingcomesAFTERneutralizingthe
acid.Youwanttoneutralizetheacidwhiletheporesofthemetalarefullyopen.Tumblingburnishesthesurface
andclosesoffthepores.

3.

Cleanthepiecewitheitherammoniaandaglassbrush,orPennyBriteandaglassbrush.Ifyou'vejusttakenthe
pieceoutofthetumberandit'sbrightandshiny,youprobablydon'tneedtousePennyBrite.Ammoniawillwork
finetoremoveanyfingeroils,dust,soapsorotherimpurities.Ifthepiecehasbeensittingaroundandhas
darkened,youmayneedthePennyBritetocleanofftheoxidation.

4.

RinseWell.Aftercleaningwatershouldsheet,notbead,onthepiece.Ifthewaterisbeadingtherearestillsurface
oils.Thiscaninhibithowtheenamelsadheretothepiece.Ifyouhavetroublegettingittosheet,tryspittingonthe
peiceandrinsingitagain.Spitbreaksdownjustaboutanything.

5.

Drythepiecewithacleanpapertowel.

Enameling
1.

PreHeatkilnto1550Fdegrees.

2.

Applycounterenamel.IuseThompsonLiquidCounterEnamelandoversiftitwith80meshenamel.Thenspray
withalightmistofklyrfiretosetit.Thiswillkeepitfromdroppingoffwhenyouturnthepieceovertoworkon
thefront.Setthepieceonatrivettokeepfromknockingoffthecounterenamel.

3.

Front:Ifyouareusingtransparentenamels,thefirstlayershouldbeeitherclearoraverypalecolor.Mediumto
darkcolorswillturnverydarkdirectlyoncopper.Alightfluxisneededtostartwith.Igenearllyuse2020Clear
forunleadedenamels,andN1forleaded.Ifyouareusingopaqueenamelsitdoesn'tmattersomuchwhatyoustart
with.Eithersiftorwetpackasyourapplicationcallsfor.(formoreinformationonapplyingenamels,seemybook
EnamelingonMetalClay.

4.

Firethepiecefor1.5to2minutes.Forthisfirstlayer,theenamelnotonlyneedstofullyfuse,thecopperunderthe
enamelshouldappearcleanandbright.Ifthecopperundertheenamelappearsdarkorreddish,youhavenotfiredit
longenough.Eventually,theoxidesthatmakeitdarkwillabsorbintotheenamelleavingitbrightcoppercolor
underneath.

5.

Afterpullingthepieceout,letitcoolcompletely.Cleanitwithhotwater,atoothbrush,andPennyBrite.DONOT
returnittothepickle!ItWILLsoakinandgetundertheenamel.Andit'snotnecessary.Youcangetenoughofthe
firescaleoffwiththePennyBrite,andyouavoidtheriskofdestroyingyourenamelwiththepickle.

6.

Reducethetemperatureofthekilnto1475F.Thehightempisonlyneededforthefirstlayerofenamel.Afterthatit
doesbetterifyouworkinginthemorenormalfiringrangeforenamels.

7.

Repeattheenamelingstepsuntilyouhaveachievedtheeffectyouwereafter.Finishasdesired.Finalbitsof
firescalecanberemovedwithpickleatthispoint,butONLYifthepieceisNOTgoingbackintothekiln.The
piececanbetumbledtobringthemetaluptoashinewithoutharmingtheenamel.

8.

YoucaninhibittherateofoxidationonexposedportionsofthecopperbyapplyingathincoatofRenaissanceWax.

IMPORTANTNOTE:Unlikesheetcopper,Metalclaymayhaveairtrappedinsidethatmustescape.Thethickerthepiece,
themoreairtobeexpressed.Ifthishappens,itcancausebubblesinyourenamel.Theonlywayfortheairtobereleasedis
througha"gassingout"process.Youwillseebubblesforminginyourenamelandcomingtothesurface.Ifyoupullthe
pieceouttoosoon,thesebubbleswillbetrappedintheglassandshowupaspitsorholesthathavetobefilled.Ifyoujust
leaveitinthekilnabitlonger(justanother15or30seconds)thebubbleswillcometothesurface,pop,andtheenamelwill
fillinbehindthem.Watchtheenamelfusingifatallpossibleandwaituntilthebubblingseemsmostlyoverwithbefore
pullingthepiece.IfyourenamelfusescompletelyanddoesNOTbubble,thenyoumaynothaveanissuewithgassingout
onthatpiece.Thisprocesscanrepeatthroughthefirstcoupleoflayers,butshouldsubsideonthefinallayers.Eventually
therejustisn'tthatmuchairstillinthemetal.