|
Great Results with Red China Paints
If you are china painting with any red china paint, whether it’s for overall coverage, detail facial color or decorative, keep a few things in mind to achieve your desired results every time. We have addressed questions with red colors rubbing off, fading and turning a light blue/gray color.
Question:
I fire to witness cone 018. The cheek blush color rubs off on the dolls cast in colored porcelain, but does not rub off on the dolls cast in white porcelain upon which I have applied an overall wash. Why does this happen?
Answer:
The doll head in white porcelain and with an applied overall wash has help in fusing the color by means of Flux, which is an ingredient in all china paint. When the additional cheek or lip color is applied upon the overall wash, the Flux in the wash is re-melting and so helping the color to adhere – almost like a 2-part contact glue. The colored porcelain doll has no such advantage when you paint, unless you have fired on an overall tint color. Most likely, the porcelain has been polished to a mirror-like surface, thus making it even harder for color to adhere. A polished smooth surface is a lot harder to paint on smoothly than a slightly rough surface. A light sanding of the porcelain prior to painting is preferable to a prolonged polishing.
Other possible scenarios for red colors not adhering, fading or changing color:
1. If color is spread very thinly (as in cheeks or blotted and dried lips), then the Flux per square inch is so slight, that no matter how high you fire, it will rub off. Simply, there is not enough “glue” to get the color to adhere. So the answer is, polish colored porcelain lightly only, and add a small amount of Flux to the paint to help it adhere, say 5 parts of china paint to 1 part of Flux.
2. If your cheek color, or any other red color rubs off, it also may be underfired. Check your kiln to make sure that it is firing up to temperature. If you are using Seeley's china paints, we recommend that you fire to witness cone 018. Check your kiln to make sure that the kiln is firing properly. This is the coolest you should fire so that they do not rub off or be underfired. If you are using one of the Decorator Line china paints, feel free to fire to a cone 017 or 016 (but you may want to do a test firing first in your kiln.)
3. Pay attention to whether the red paint you are using is leaded or lead-free. Lead-free paints tend to fade when they are underfired. Leaded paints (such as Cardinal Red and Really Red) tend to fade when they are over fired and may lead to a bluish/graying color. Check the vial label for information on whether a color is leaded or not. Adjust your firing temperatures accordingly.
As with any red, you may have to do multiple firings to achieve the exact shade of color you desire.
If you have any other questions about firing reds, please contact: Karin Goulian at Doll Artisan Guild, PO BOX 1113, Oneonta, NY 13820
Happy china painting!
|
|
