Paints

Paint storage

Storing paint in powder form and as mixed media becomes a problem as more paints are purchased.  

Powder Paint

A Plano 50 round 7-mm rifle ammo case with cover makes an affordable storage box and organizer for paint vials.  I tried a cheaper MTM 7mm case and found some wider vials will not fit.  There are several sizes so measure your widest and tallest vial before purchase.  A piece of foam may be added to the box to elevate the vial for easier access to the vial. 

Mixed paint

A china painting palette in a covered palette box has been the tradition method to store mixed paint.   Many painters just use a piece of glass or ceramic tile without the box. The purpose of the covered box is to protect the paint from dust and accidental smearing if transporting to a class or painting club meeting.  You can make a palette in a box or purchase a ready-made palette.  I recommend the palette be at least 8.5 by 11 with a thickness of 0.5 inches and use a removable clear glass or plastic surface to hold the paint.  The market is also saturated with palettes for water color and oil based painting that will work for China Painting.   A finger hole in the bottom of metal boxes will help remove the glass for cleaning.  DallasChina.org has a selection of small lidded palettes and occasionally has larger used ones (email them to check on used palettes).  A small palette measuring 8 by 5 inches will allow easy placement of 20 colors.  Alternatively, a modified document frame with a home-made lid will work.   A piece of grid paper under the glass helps label colors. 

Paints

Safety

Paint powder can be messy and toxic since the colorants and flux are heavy metals (lead or gold).   Assess spill area and contain with a dry paper towel from edge of spill inward to main spill area.  Consider wearing rubber gloves when containing a spill.  Scrub hands and gloves with soap and water after cleanup.    

Types of Flux

The type of flux dictates the firing temperature.  If you are group firing then use what the group is using.  Tracking firing temperatures is a royal pain.  I use green stickers an all pieces to be fired cone 018 and write 019 on the sticker.  You can also write the cone number on the piece using a Sharpie, pencil or wax pencil.  

Lead Flux

Traditional china paints use lead flux with the exception of a few yellow and orange colors.  The lead is not considered food safe so most painters only paint areas not exposed to food (ie outside of mugs or rims of plates).  Lead glazes are usually fired cone 017-018 with the exception of some yellows, reds and oranges fired at cone 019.  Read the label on the paint vial to determine the correct cone temperature for firing.  

Gold flux

Recent push to remove all lead for our environment has promoted the use of lead free china paints.  I am not sure how much lead exposure comes from fired China paints given the flux is fused in the glass of the paint after firing.  Customers are willing to pay a premium for lead free so I started to use it in 2019.  It is fired at cone 014 with the exception of some bright red, orange  and yellow fired at cone 019.

How to's 

Mix paint in small batches on a 6 by 6 inch grinding glass made for china paint using a flexible spatula.  Use a Chemglass CG-1983-12 Micro Spoon Spatula, flat toothpick or thin piece of wood or bamboo to aid powder removal from tube.  I usually start with a 1/3 inch of paint tube content.  I mix with mineral oil (4 drops to start and 1 or 2 more half through the mixing).  Finished mix should look like tooth paste.

Thoughts and Ideas

1. Gene Patterson wrote a wonderful essay on oils and medium for mixing and painting.  The link to the site is http://www.porcelainpainters.com/mediums.htm  

2. Mineral oil tends to run as a painting media so I started to add linseed oil to produce a drying oil.  Commercial drying oil have "pleasant smells", but for me the odor was overpowering.  They dry fast and allow a second coat before firing.  I use a 2 drops of linseed oil and 1 drop of mineral oil in a small mixing cup or an upside down canning jar flat (lid).  Mix with a brush before using. The oil sets semi-hard in about 1-2 days.  I delay placing in kiln until the oil has set.  The linseed-mineral has the advantage of being able to scrap or rub off if you do not like what you have painted but sets hard enough it will not run.   

3. Paints on the storage palette harden when the brush with drying oil is used to load paint.  My work-around is to use a is transfer a small dab of paint with the grinding spatula to an active painting pallet then fill the brush from the dab.  For the first few years, my active painting pallet was a canning jar flat (lid) with gasket side up with the 3 drips of drying oil in the middle.  It works but tends to move around when painting.  In 2018, started to use a ceramic tile with thumb prints to hold the drying oil mix.  The additional thumb prints allows multiple colors in the active painting pallet so so colors do not mix. In 2021, I went back to the canning flats because I found I used less paint and oil with the flats.     

4.  A thin coat of paint with kiln firing after each coat will produce best results.  A thick coat of paint will often fail to melt and will appear dull and flake or rub off after firing. 

5. At the end of a painting session wipe the mixing cup (canning lid flat) out with a paper towel and clean brushes.  

6. Brush cleaning is a two step process.  First turpenoid brush cleaner then second brush white paper to dry and make sure brush clean. 

Making Paint

In the tradition of making my own pottery glazes I have been exploring making my own china paint.  

I found a basic overglaze recipe for low temperature firing (Cone ?) and lead free.   Weights are expressed as %.

Bismuth Trioxide 49.00

Borax 30.00

Silica 19.00

Zinc Oxide   2.00

The melting point of Bismuth trioxide is 1502 F or Cone 14.  Bismuth trioxide is available at Amazon for 1 lb @ $25 plus $20 shipping.  Searching for a better price.  

I am still exploring the colorants and cone temperature and I have not tested