I spotted some interesting chemicals (for low-purity applications) advertised on a typical ceramics supply store web site. Prices will vary, and
please pick them up at the store. Shipping charges will eat you up!
[Edited on 2007/5/23 by MadHatter]16MillionEyes - 25-5-2007 at 06:09
How pure are these compounds?tupence_hapeny - 25-5-2007 at 06:59
you too?
They ain't reagent grade or tech, but for what they are they are pretty good (simple art supply stores are also pretty good, especially for those with
an aversion to getting too many chem's sent through the mail). The added benefit of being able to buy in considerable quantity for fuck all makes me
happy - especially as I am sure to fuck up at least two or three times whilst trying anything out.
tupnot_important - 25-5-2007 at 07:11
Quote:
Originally posted by __________
How pure are these compounds?
Depends on which ones you refer to. They have to be fairly pure, because small amounts of coloured cations will tint or discolour ceramics and glazes,
making it difficult to obtain the desired results or to be able to consistently get the same result.
For the colourless cations it's a little different. With Li, Na, and K even a few percent of another of the alkali metals isn't going to make a big
difference, even a little of the alkaline earths might not cause problems. However soda ash is made from the bicarbonate, which is one of the purest
substances made on a large scale. From my experience the alkali carbonates are pretty pure, lithium being the least but easy to purify further.
Manganese compounds often have a little iron in them, the colours from manganese are strong and dark, and a trace of iron doesn't through them off.
Copper will sometime have a trace of iron too, the sulfates crystallise together; you can test for it and purify if need be.
Overall they run from say 98% to 99.9% pure. If you make soluble salts from the carbonates, oxides, or hydroxides, crystallising the product often
cleans it up nicely. Note that crystallising does not be evaporate to dryness.16MillionEyes - 26-5-2007 at 07:26
I remember when I was taking pottery most of the glazes were thick and seemed rather useless. At the time I wasn't as heavily interested on chemicals
as I am now so I payed little attention to what they contained. So when you talk about all these different compounds I'm guessing they sell it in
powdered form or are you talking about those thick (almost paste) materials used for the glaze?not_important - 26-5-2007 at 20:22
Fired glazes are glasses, the pre-firing glazes are generally water suspensions of glass formers, colouring agents, and suspension aides. You can buy
premixed glazes or make your own from simpler raw materials.
Ceramic raw materials can be complex, such as the clays, feldspars, or frits - ground glasses for making glaze mixtures, or simple - soda ash (Na2CO3)
and pearl ash (K2CO3), aluminium hydroxide and oxide, and transition metal compounds.
Almost everything in that list in the starting post are simple compounds, except for fireclay and flint (mostly SiO2). You can also find rare earth
oxides, magnesium oxide and carbonate, many of the soluble sulfates of metals in that list, and others. Suppliers that sell to "art" ceramic workers
may carry more toxic compounds such as lead oxides and silicates, selenium, and cadmium selenosulfides.
I'd suggest reading up a bit on pottery and ceramics in general before using such stores as a supplier. Understand what the materials are and how
they are used before buying, store personal usually don't get questions about the detailed analysis of something they sell, rather they get "how do
I..." and "what clay is good for..."16MillionEyes - 28-5-2007 at 18:35
I've never been to a ceramic supply store nor have I ever used prime raw material for the glazes. As everything else in highschool. glazes come ready
for use without much of a mess.
Before I take up on your advice on how to use this materials I better find one such stores first. phangue - 28-5-2007 at 19:09
Harmless, the chemicals are dry and ground very fine. They come in paper bags--some plastic lined, but they must be transferred to air-tight plastic
pails as soon as you get them homenot_important - 28-5-2007 at 19:40
Quote:
Originally posted by __________
Before I take up on your advice on how to use this materials I better find one such stores first.
Originally posted by phangue
Harmless, the chemicals are dry and ground very fine. They come in paper bags--some plastic lined, but they must be transferred to air-tight plastic
pails as soon as you get them home
I think his name is __________ not harmless... that's just his status right now.
[Edited on 29-5-2007 by alancj]tito-o-mac - 3-7-2007 at 07:31
are these in US currency or what?
U.S. Currency
MadHatter - 3-7-2007 at 09:16
If the sites are U.S. based then yes it is in U.S. currency. The site I go to doesn't ship by
mail anyway. They're strictly pickup or shipped by truck to Maryland and nearby states.
Hogwash
Bromide - 3-7-2007 at 12:03
Quote:
Originally posted by tito-o-mac
are these in US currency or what?
With all due respect, MadHatter, you should not mislead this poor fellow. You know as well as I that retail establishments in the state of Maryland
generally only accept payment denominated in Zanzibar Rupees; although if you search carefully, you might also find a few shops willing to take
Chuck-E-Cheese tokens.12AX7 - 3-7-2007 at 13:22
