Do I need kiln wash?

[Darlene Balkcum]

I just purchased a brick kiln for annealing beads and am not sure if I need to use a kiln wash on the floor before annealing the first batch of beads?
If so, what are the steps for applying it? or just apply it and fire up the kiln and let it dry while making beads?
Thanks,
Darlene

[shawnette]

When i had my brick kiln, I had no plans on using it for anything other than annealing, so i never used the kiln wash. I just covered the floor with fiber blanket.

[prairieson]

As long as you'll never put a bead away when it's a bit too warm and you'll never ever have a temp issue with the kiln, then no, kiln wash isn't necessary.

But... If you are friends with "Murphy" like I am, use kiln wash. Or use fiber blanket like our favorite little flame pixie Shawnette suggested.

And remember, don't stop turning, lol.

[Emily]

It's a layer of protection in case something goes wrong and you have glass melt onto the floor of your kiln. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. If you kiln wash the floor, you have a chance of getting up the puddle of glass with a layer of kiln wash sticking to it, rather than some of the kiln brick itself.

When you're kiln washing a kiln shelf or something for fusing, you do several thin coats, brushing the kiln wash on in one direction (left to right, say) for one coat, letting it dry, sanding a little, then brushing another coat on in a different direction (top to bottom, say), and repeat. I think, though, that's mostly so you get a nice smooth surface for the back of the fused glass, and you wouldn't need to be that careful doing the bottom of the kiln. Still probably a good idea to use several coats, allowing it to dry in between.

[Flamechick]

It's a layer of protection in case something goes wrong and you have glass melt onto the floor of your kiln. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. If you kiln wash the floor, you have a chance of getting up the puddle of glass with a layer of kiln wash sticking to it, rather than some of the kiln brick itself.


I can attest to this first hand. The first time I used my kiln, I did not get the pyrometer in all the way to the kiln properly, and the controller heated my kiln way above the proper temp for annealing, so I ended up with a slumped bead and a blob on the kiln floor. Fortunately, I only melted one bead before I realized my mistake. The bead was small enough that I didn't scrape up too much of the fire brick when scraping off the bead. Had I had a full kiln of beads, I would have had a huge mess and probably would have done a fair amount of damage to the kiln floor trying to scrape the mess off.

[Darlene Balkcum]

Sorry I haven't responded before now. I just got home from work...I can't access LE from work.(forum sites are Websense controlled)

Thank you all for the information. I will be sure to use the wash before I use the kiln....I don't know anyone that hasn't met Murphy!!!!
Darlene