I need to support the ellipses properly. I've tried improvising with the trivets I've already got but it's not working so I need to do something a bit better.
I had a commission to paint four paintings onto elliptical-shaped enamel plaques. This category records anything to do with that project.
RSS feed of Elliptical Enamel Plaques
I need to support the ellipses properly. I've tried improvising with the trivets I've already got but it's not working so I need to do something a bit better.
Now I've done a bit of testing, I'm a lot happier and more comfortable with what I've got to do. The test rectangles showed there was a small improvement with rounding the edges so I decided to do that.
After the ground-coat it's time for the white opaque enamel. It's pretty much the same process as for the ground-coat.
Yes!! Time to get enamelling!
In order to successfully enamel steel, it needs a layer called ground-coat (sometimes called grip-coat or base-coat) to form an interface between the steel and the enamel. The ground-coat contains adhesion agents that promote redox reactions with the iron and carbon, found in steel, at the high temperatures involved when firing the enamel. A thin coat is required and then the opaque white enamel can go on top.
Enamel adhesion is improved if the steel's surface is roughened. I need a homogeneous roughness, a sort of even unevenness.
OK, so it's time to do some sandblasting!
I need to make sure the steel is completely free of oil and grease before I enamel it. A good test, to see if it's grease-free, is to run water down the steel and see if the water pulls away from anywhere on the steel surface.
Before I enamel the ellipse I wan't to do some tests. For this I'm cutting out some small rectangles 74mm x 52mm (this is A8 paper size).
To get a good even coating of enamel I've elected to spray wet-process enamel onto the ellipses. Here's my wet backed spray booth...
Yes, it's an old dishwasher!
I got a commission to do some paintings onto an elliptical enamel plaque. The major and minor axis of the ellipse are to be 150mm by 90mm, respectively. The paintings are to be of a house in each of the seasons, so four paintings in all, and each one is to be inset into the seat of handmade bar stool.