HOW TO

HOW TO PAINT BJ'S RED CHILES

1. Before beginning ANY project, make sure your hands are free of any lotion and that your area is clean.

2. Clean greenware carefully. After thoroughly cleaning your greenware, wipe off the entire piece with a damp sponge.

3. Working with greenware, apply three (3)coats of dark green underglaze (Ceramichrome #117 Mapleleaf Green) to the stem of the chile allowing each coat to dry completely.

4. Fire to Cone 04. (Make sure your kiln is firing properly-a test firing is recommended).

5. Working with bisque, apply four coats of red specialized underglaze (Ceramichrome #151 Fire Engine Red) to the entire body of the chile with a soft, clean brush. On the bottoms of the pieces, you need to apply only three coats to prevent any bubbling when stilting the piece for firing. I have special brushes that I use solely for reds. The brushes I use are always soft bristle brushes. It is very important that each coat be completely dry before beginning your next coat of paint.

6. Apply clear glaze (food safe) (Ceramichrome #003) to the inside of the pieces.

7. Apply two coats of Eggnog glaze (Ceramichrome #026) or clear glaze to the stem of the chile. The Eggnog glaze makes the green of the stem look darker.

8. Apply two (2) coats of clear glaze over the red specialized underglaze. Be sure to let each coat dry completely. If the piece will come in contact with food, make sure the clear glaze you use is food safe.

9. Stilt and fire the pieces to Cone 06.

HELPFUL HINTS

When firing reds, I only fire with other reds or pieces that are clear glazed. Reds are easily contaminated and therefore I do not take chances firing reds with other glazes and/or greenware.

When placing your reds in the kiln to be fired, make sure you leave plenty of room between each piece to allow adequate air flow. I have found that if I put my pieces too close to each other that I will have dark spots on the piece.

When I get gray spots on my reds, I find that I should have put more color on the piece.

When I get bubbling on the bottom of the pieces from the stilt marks, I find that I should have applied three coats instead of four.

If your piece has sharp edges, in order to prevent the sharp edges from being lighter than the rest of the piece, simply put a little extra red underglaze on the sharp edges.

The most important hint is that you let each coat of red underglaze dry completely before applying your next coat.

All designs are copyrights of B.J. Mold Company.

Questions or problems regarding this web site should be directed to bjmolds@comcast.net

Last modified January 2008