Expert: Sam Kelly - 3/13/2010

Question
We are thinking about buying a chess set said to have been fired once, they called it greenware, do we have to fire it again. We were thinking about painting it with ceramic paint.

Answer
Laura. follow these steps.

1)Greenware: soft unfired, it can be scratched with your fingernail.

2)Apply underglaze color

3)Bisque(bisk): First firing.

4)Apply a clear glaze over the pieces, not on the bottoms where they will sit on the kiln shelves.

5)Glost Firing: last firing to matured temperature of the type of clay and glaze used.

Different clays have different maturation temperatures for the firings. When purchasing greenware it is important to know this.

Sam