62. Dust, Brush and Polish - how to finish Pitfired Pottery

When your Pitfired Pottery comes out of the fire it is very dusty. Full of ashes and materials that may have created crusty areas.
First step is to get rid of the dust. Now you are left with a somehow matte pot. Some will like it like that but most want a more shiny surface. Also, inside sealing is often needed.
So next we have to do some kind of polishing. But how do you do that and what materials is best to use? And what do you use for inside sealing?
In this video I will show it all to you. So lets go ahead - Dust, Brush and Polish
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INDEX:
00:00 Welcome to Dust, Brush and Polish (of Pitfired Pottery)
01:10 The Dusty stage- right out of the kiln
01:40 How to Remove the Dust from Pitfired Pots
03:03 How to Brush your Pitfired Pots
03:32 Do you get crusty spots?
04:09 Do not use water to clean your pots
06:06 Tools to clean your Pitfired Pots
07:28 Cleaning the Pitfired Pots
08:10 Using Steel Wool to polish your pots
11:26 How to remove the most Crusty parts
13:14 Use very little water to clean your pots
15:40 The cleaned Raw Pots
15:56 The Final Stage - The Polishing
16:05 Why Polish Your Pitfired Pottery?
17:10 Why Seal Your Pots?
17:54 How to Seal and Water Proof Pitfired Pottery
19:26 How to make your Pitfired Pottery Food Safe
28:50 Photos of The Finished Pottery

[@David-uv7hz]

Thank you so much! I've just done my first pitfire after watching all your videos for the last year! The pots have come out spectacular!! Thank you so much for all the tips and detailed videos on pitfire!!

[@deMibPottery]

Thanks. So good to hear! ❤️

[@denisenoble4010]

Thankyou for the how and what to do, the whole process, the pieces are beautiful 😊

[@deMibPottery]

Happy you like it ❤️

[@gigi3242]

Beautiful work, as always. The second pot, in the photos at the end, looks like a canyon in Arizona. Thank you for the videos. Be well.

[@deMibPottery]

Thank you very much! :-)

[@jsmythib]

I have been watching Andy Ward for a few months and had a blast making primitive pottery from my local clays. Your pit fire finishing methods and recipes have been an outstanding bridge for me to evolve to more complex finishes. Your candor and presentation are excellent. I really appreciate it! Thankyou.

[@jsmythib]

P.S. You icon screams mad scientist :)

[@deMibPottery]

Thank you so much :-)

[@deMibPottery]

Maybe I am hehe

[@DunoonVanRijn-dx1hr]

I think it looks very nice ❤

[@deMibPottery]

Thanks :-)

[@joyceradesca408]

Hi, I am very happy with the subtitules 🤩Can enjoy a lot yours videos Thanks so much ( !sorry my english) See you soon 😁🖐

[@deMibPottery]

Thanks 🙏❤️

[@wcouch8]

Wow beautiful

[@deMibPottery]

Thank you so much :-)

[@luciaribeiro6664]

Gratidão. Seu vídeo e muito bom. Você e muito generoso em compartilhar seus conhecimentos

[@deMibPottery]

Thank you 🙏❤️

[@stickermigtigger]

I found that waxing didn't do some pots justice so I warmed them in the kiln for a few minutes and then wiped them with a rag dampened with denatured alcohol. Worked great and the alcohol dries clean and quickly. I then used silicon spray after an hour or so on those particular pots and it made the colors pop the way I wanted them to.

[@deMibPottery]

Yes, it's not always the same polishing material works. I use acrylic spray too on some pots, 2-3 different kinds wax and a sealant, that also can polish.

[@ralphwardpottery5708]

I love your trash can fired pieces. Would you share what clay you are using and also what cone you biscuit fire to. Thank you for sharing the wonderful videos.

[@deMibPottery]

I se many different kinds of stoneware. Most often with 25-40% fine grog. I bisque fire to 950 or 1000 C

[@ralphwardpottery5708]

@@deMibPottery thank you. You are so wonderful to share your experience. Your videos are as amazing as you work.

[@cynthiaknox2131]

Gorgeous! Thanks so much for this instruction. Is there a video that shows what chemicals/elements you used to get these glorious colors?

[@deMibPottery]

Yes, in many of my pitfire videos you will find examples of how I create the colors. You can find a playlist with them all here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYXKd5aDfrWfZ9U

[@cynthiaknox2131]

Thanks so much!!

[@DunoonVanRijn-dx1hr]

Umbrella Stand😊

[@deMibPottery]

😁

[@stickermigtigger]

Check that concrete sealer chemical makeup. Many of those concrete sealers are just sodium silicate (water glass) which we use to make stretched surface pots. Way cheaper at a big box hardware store by the gallon as opposed to by the pint at a pottery supplier. :-)

[@deMibPottery]

Sodium Silicate do not make the pots 100% water sealed. The material I use now (which is also cheap) do :-)

[@rickwise6259]

Mikkel -- thank you so much for these videos! My first firing went very well, but 2 of the pots came out very black. They were done in exactly the same way as the others -- foil saggers, etc. Any idea what causes some to go black and not others?

[@deMibPottery]

Thanks :-) The black typically comes from carbon from organic materials burning and smoking. So there must have been more smoke close to them, is my guess

[@gailalbers1430]

can you use this on a pot that has a textured surface ?

[@deMibPottery]

Yes, I did that but it makes it hard to burnish

[@David-uv7hz]

If you're sealing the inside with concrete sealant, do you wax the outside before or after the concrete sealer? Just wondering if you do it after whether the water that comes off the sealant gets trapped by the wax or affects it in any way?

[@deMibPottery]

I usually seal the inside last and never had any problems with that :-)

[@rickwise6259]

Also, to what do you attribute the difference between the 2 pots you show in this video? One is largely blue, the other rosey red. Do you know or is this by chance?

[@deMibPottery]

The blue is made with Cobalt Sulfate and the other with Ferric Chloride

[@donhickman4247]

Were these examples thrown on a wheel?

[@deMibPottery]

Yes

[@emilieneubauerova4699]

🙋‍♀😲👍👋💯🍀🍀

[@deMibPottery]

🙏😎

[@davidnewland2556]

poor video giving no idea where the pot started, with no idea what the beginning piece looked like.

[@deMibPottery]

As the headlune suggest this is only about the last finishing part. I have many videos about the other stages.