I’ve got one of those multi-herb pots, and it is not sealed. I’d like to seal the clay to minimise the water loss, as it’s not a very thick clay.

Any suggestions?

Dinetta said:

I’ve got one of those multi-herb pots, and it is not sealed. I’d like to seal the clay to minimise the water loss, as it’s not a very thick clay.

Any suggestions?

Ever done a raku firing?

can make a simple outdoor kiln out of old bricks. You ned to glaze it.

http://www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cgi?Patio_Paint

What’s your opinion of this?

Also, no I haven’t done a raku firing…have plenty of bricks…never seen a kiln in my life…

Dinetta said:

http://www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cgi?Patio_Paint

What’s your opinion of this?

Also, no I haven’t done a raku firing…have plenty of bricks…never seen a kiln in my life…

Well the paint may be good for a while. Maybe even the life of the tin walled pot but the glaze would also improve the pot’s life.. or break it.. in the kiln. ;)

Here is one link http://www.corvusmoon.com/kiln.htm but I have seen my wife knock one up to do stuff for kids in the school yard. They are dead easy and harmless if done properly. Don’t really need the ceramic blanket. Mrs roughbarked set them up with bricks and covered the lot with earth.. traditional raku style. Fired with wood and charcoal, allowed to cool before digging the pots out

American raku uses high tech garbage cans.
http://www.4thbox.com/4thBoxPottery/pBlog/Entries/2009/1/26_Raku_From_Bernard_Leach’s_A_Potters_Book.html

Thanks RoughBarked, but I might stick with painting the pot…having never seen a kiln in action it would take me too long to grasp and adapt the principles…

Dinetta said:

Thanks RoughBarked, but I might stick with painting the pot…having never seen a kiln in action it would take me too long to grasp and adapt the principles…

I’m sure I’ve seen someone on GA – I think Josh or St Pete – painting on a clear sealant to a terracotta pot. I dunno what it was – it’s the kind of thing that my dad just always has in his shed, so I dunno where you buy it from – nursery or City Farmers maybe??

Oh, here is the story I’m thinking of!

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1681444.htm

“Clay pots are delightful. But it’s a good idea to seal inside the pot with a non toxic pot sealant, available from most hardware stores.”

Me GF says that an art supply store should be able to help you, if you tell them that you want to seal a terracotta pot, then they will sell you the paint/sealant.

With a Raku firing, you need a gas burner in order to get the firing to at least 800C… prolly not recommended for the first attempt at home.

But there was another forumer from the old ABC days who went to Art College with my GF who lives in your hometown Dinetta0 and she’d maybe able to fire the pot with a glaze???

Is there a Pottery Association club in your town?

no need for gas fired kilns.. if you have access to Yarran and Mulga

roughbarked said:

no need for gas fired kilns.. if you have access to Yarran and Mulga

Gidyea

pain master said:

Me GF says that an art supply store should be able to help you, if you tell them that you want to seal a terracotta pot, then they will sell you the paint/sealant.

With a Raku firing, you need a gas burner in order to get the firing to at least 800C… prolly not recommended for the first attempt at home.

But there was another forumer from the old ABC days who went to Art College with my GF who lives in your hometown Dinetta0 and she’d maybe able to fire the pot with a glaze???

Is there a Pottery Association club in your town?

Mudhen?

There was a Pottery Association… I’ll check The Little Green Book tomorrow…we are talking of the town I’m living in now, right?

My hometown (town where I was born) is an hour away…

bon008 said:

I’m sure I’ve seen someone on GA – I think Josh or St Pete – painting on a clear sealant to a terracotta pot. I dunno what it was – it’s the kind of thing that my dad just always has in his shed, so I dunno where you buy it from – nursery or City Farmers maybe??

Oh, here is the story I’m thinking of!

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1681444.htm

“Clay pots are delightful. But it’s a good idea to seal inside the pot with a non toxic pot sealant, available from most hardware stores.”

Nice photo of Josh there…

Dinetta said:

Nice photo of Josh there…

LOL. For Lucky :D

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Nice photo of Josh there…

LOL. For Lucky :D

Those hands are strategically placed, but hey, I’m getting like the person I live with when I think along those lines LOLOL!!

Whether a substance is toxic or not is only relevant to what we actually know.. not what we are told.

every picture tells a story.. photoshopped or not.

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Nice photo of Josh there…

LOL. For Lucky :D

Yummo

yup Mudhen.

I’m going to go with the sealant. Do I just wash the pot with water and a scrubbing brush, leave in the hot Qld sun for a couple of days to dry out, then bring under the shade to apply the sealant?

sounds like a good plan….

but back to Raku firing… this doesn’t vitrify the clay so it isn’t a guarantee against waterproofness, most Raku glazes will craze and the remaining clay will still be porous. For Clay to become waterproof and this goes for Terracotta, the clay needs to get to a temp where all the fluxes are burnt out and the clay starts to vitrify, around 1120 – 1160C, not the 800C that a Raku firing may get to.

pain master said:

sounds like a good plan….

but back to Raku firing… this doesn’t vitrify the clay so it isn’t a guarantee against waterproofness, most Raku glazes will craze and the remaining clay will still be porous. For Clay to become waterproof and this goes for Terracotta, the clay needs to get to a temp where all the fluxes are burnt out and the clay starts to vitrify, around 1120 – 1160C, not the 800C that a Raku firing may get to.

It sounds as though you know someone who knows a thing ot two about pottery. LOL.

pain master said:

sounds like a good plan….

but back to Raku firing… this doesn’t vitrify the clay so it isn’t a guarantee against waterproofness, most Raku glazes will craze and the remaining clay will still be porous. For Clay to become waterproof and this goes for Terracotta, the clay needs to get to a temp where all the fluxes are burnt out and the clay starts to vitrify, around 1120 – 1160C, not the 800C that a Raku firing may get to.

Please tell GF, thanks for that very informative post…I have read it and re-read it…I didn’t realize “firing” clays was as much a chemical process for the clays as it is for “setting” the glaze…

pomolo said:

pain master said:

sounds like a good plan….

but back to Raku firing… this doesn’t vitrify the clay so it isn’t a guarantee against waterproofness, most Raku glazes will craze and the remaining clay will still be porous. For Clay to become waterproof and this goes for Terracotta, the clay needs to get to a temp where all the fluxes are burnt out and the clay starts to vitrify, around 1120 – 1160C, not the 800C that a Raku firing may get to.

It sounds as though you know someone who knows a thing ot two about pottery. LOL.

I think Roughbarked is in the same situation as I and his info is spot on also. My push bike ride yesterday happened to past the NQ Pottery Association as seeing as the door was open, I wandered in for a chat.