Feb
13 Avoiding fire scale on your Creative Copper Clay

The great thing about Creative Copper Clay is that you don't need to use a kiln pan and carbon, both of which reduce the life of your kiln. Here are some tips to help you avoid fire scale building up and how to remove any left behind.

1. As there is no way of avoiding fire scale altogether it is best to use 2mm thick spacers. This way your pieces will still be strong after the thin layer of firescale has been removed on either side. 

2. Wrap your pieces in a piece of kiln pillow.You can cut/tear the kiln pillow to size and re-use it many times. 

3. Fire in a preheated kiln. (Both our Evenheat and Creative Metal Clay Kilns have preset programmes to make it even easier!). Let the kiln reach the 900C firing temperature before placing your pieces in the kiln. 

4. Once the firing programme has finished, remove the fired pieces straight way. Do not let them cool in the kiln as this is when a thick crust will build up making your pieces more fragile and make you have to remove more fire scale.

5. Have some hot Picklean ready for the fired pieces. Leave your pieces in the Picklean for about 10 minutes to get the full effect.   

6. You can siphon off some of the Picklean solution and place it in your tumbler (use a separate barrel for copper/bronze and silver/gold) with some mixed stainless steel shot. Run you tumbler for 10 minutes. You find find the fire scale comes off very quickly and you will need to change the solution regularly.

These tips should help you make strong pieces with no manual polishing!