Note from Marci:This is information on how to mix and use Plancarte Enamels and Raised Paste....other brands of paste and enamel MAY not mix or work the same as the Plancarte enamels My experience is with these enamels and paste and they are also what Gloria Bordeaux Knapp has used on the pieces featured in her lessons....</font> Raised Paste and Enamel Work
Plancarte's Raised Paste and Enamels can be used over hard porcelain, soft porcelain or bisque .....on any kind of white china ( Limoges, German, Japanese, Brazilian, Bone China, etc) ...and you can apply it on china painting, over grounding ( if it is really smooth), over lusters, metallic paint, and metals ( gold , copper, silver, etc)
Plancarte's Raised Paste and Enamels are NOT affected by weather. You can work in ANY climate or altitude.
Supplies to be used on first step:
Method of Mixing Raised Paste:
Firing the Raised Paste:
Place 4 parts Raised Paste to 1 part Raised Paste Medium on a grinding glass. Grind this with a palette knife until it appears flaky...then press together with your fingers to make a ball. It should not be sticky or brilliant. If it is sticky, roll it in more powder until it has a non-sticky, matt appearance.
Once it is mixed, you can save your paste for weeks in a plastic or glass sealed container...( even once it looks dried out, you can still use it)
Use just one small part of the mixed paste at a time. Soften the paste to make it workable by adding a little turpentine. Mix well...Grind and grind until you get a creamy consistency and a tendency to string.
The paste must be really smooth. We must never think that errors will be corrected in firing.
Add more turpentine as needed to keep the paste workable ( it will dry fairly quickly) ...but once you have added turpentine 4 or 5 times, you must add new fresh Raised Paste to the mixture. Mix well and work in this method until you finish the piece.
You can fire Plancarte Raised Paste several times. Fire to Cone 018 or 750 C or 1380 F.
30 minutes on low, lid open 1 inch
30 minutes on medium, lid open one inch
Close lid and leave top peephole open and fire on high.
Supplies to be used:
Preparing the Paste for Color Enamel:
Firing enamels:
Making Jewels:
On a clean grinding glass, mix with a palette knife no more than 1/8 of a teaspoon of enamel color powder. You can not save the enamel paste from the morning to the afternoon, so always prepare just what you need.
To the enamel powder, we add one or two drops of enamel medium and mix well. When the powder is mixed to the crumbly stage( like toothpaste), use a very small portion at a time. Add one drop of turpentine and the paste will be smooth and workable.
Grind and grind until you get a creamy consistency that has a tendency to string.
ENAMEL PASTE WILL DRY VERY FAST. If you need to thin the paste, add turpentine and also a little more of the fresh enamel paste mixture at the same time. That way , the consistency will stay the same. You will find that you will use the palette knife often to turn the paste over to keep it workable.
YOU CAN FIRE ENAMELS JUST ONCE...so enamel work is always the last firing.
Firing for enamel is cone 019 or 1330 F or 722 C.
Jewels are made with a raised paste little ring with a colored enamel dot in the center. We make a dot with raised paste and when the paste starts to dry, we will make a little doughnut with a toothpick dampened in turpentine or saliva, making circular movements.
Fire, then apply the gold and fire again.
At the end, we are going to make the jewels with colored enamel by adding a dot of enamel into the center of the doughnut of fired paste.
Raised paste for Gold...Second Step:
Supplies to be used:
We start covering the fired paste with gold, using the brush. All the yellow raised paste should be covered completely. Cover the entire area down to the china, leaving no paste showing.
Burnishing the gold:
On Plancarte's Raised Paste, you may use any kind of gold...Burnish gold, Roman gold or Liquid Bright gold.
If you go outside of the paste onto the china, you have to clean off the gold that went off the paste. Wait until the gold dries, then use a toothpick and saliva to clean> ( make sure it is well cleaned or it will leave purple marks)
Firing for gold is cone 017 or 1440 F or 784 C.
When we remove the piece of porcelain from the kiln, you must be careful NOT to touch the gold until it is burnished ....otherwise, there will be fingerprints or spots on it. Burnish with the burnishing brush or fiberglass cloth using soft, circular motions.