Expert: Leisha Hiester - 1/23/2010

Question
Ihave painted porcelain for years, but never what is called ceramic. I have overglaze paint, etc. I have kilns with sitters for small cones.
I want to paint a ceramic netti pot. Do I use my usual paints and fire as usual and to what cone? I have cones from 19 through 14, but have never fired hotter.
Thank you.

Answer
Catherine,

The first thing to do is check your kiln for how high it is made to fire. Ceramics are fired much higher. Bisque (the 1st firing) is fired to cone 04. Glaze firings to cone 06. These are actually considered low-fire. Some glaze firings go to cones 5-7 for mid-range and 8-10 for high fire. China paints are very different from glazes. You'll want to investigate obtaining a glaze for this project.
Leisha