How are you doing with your Ultra Chic Porcelain?

As you all know, I’ve been raving about how much I like Ultra Chic and even took the next step and became a distributor, but I’m not one to hide my head in the sand when a problem develops! We were at the Portland Doll Show last Saturday (yes, I do intend to write about it and post pictures for you as soon as I get a new dealie to download them from my camera to the computer) when one of my customers showed me some arms and legs she had fired, and they had hairline cracks either in the creases around wrists and ankles, or in the fold of elbows or knees. What the heck? I had found a few similar cracks myself and assumed I was just too slow getting them out of the mold, but this was way beyond that!

The first thing I did when I recovered from my weekend a bit was email Tony at The Porcelain Place and asked him what the deal was! I mean, this is supposed to be good stuff, “THE GOLD STANDARD OF PORCELAIN”, right? Well, much to my relief, he had the answer, and I want to be sure all of you good folks who are using our product have it as well.

It all comes down to how thick the slip is before we do our pouring or casting. It seems to me that the Ultra Chic that arrived on my doorstep when I stocked up as a distributor was already a lot thinner than the other porcelains I’ve used. I do know that slip should be the consistency of cream for pouring, but this stuff seemed close, and I didn’t need add too much water to it. You remember that Ultra Chic only requires water to thin it, right? Anyway, it went through the strainer easily enough so I thought it was okay, but the end product was proving us wrong.

So what’s thin enough? As Tony writes in a new brochure about pouring with Ultra Chic, we need to employ the following test to achieve the correct consistency. Open the bottle and stir completely to the bottom with a wooden spoon or dowel. Using a dowel to stir with makes few air bubbles.) Ultra Chic has extreme buoyancy and it will release the wooden spoon or dowel quickly. Push the dowel to the bottom of the container and let go. It should bounce out of the bottle within 2 to 3 seconds or your slip is too thick. It‘s the quartz causing this and is what also causes the sagging problems when you pour with your slip this thick. The professional industry calls this “Liquid Memory”. Pour a small amount of water into the gallon and mix completely to the bottom with the wooden dowel. Test with the spoon again and repeat if necessary until it is the consistency of light cream. You should be able to feel the difference just stirring the slip. Do not add too much water all at once or you can get it thinner than necessary. Believe it or not, having the porcelain thin enough will solve these problems! And being able to thin Ultra chic so much is why it’s perfect for the people who make miniatures! They can get it thin enough to pour those tiny molds without affecting the integrity of the resulting product!

Let me also remind you that the darker colors of porcelain require a lower firing temperature. Firing to a cone 6 may result in a gritty finish with tiny white speckles. Be sure to check the label to findf the correct firing temperature.

And for those of you who have electronic kilns, try firing to a cone 5 with a 15 minute hold at the end. Every 20 minutes of hold achieves the same results as firing one cone higher but without causing the sag that a higher cone temperature will. Did you know that? I didn’t, or maybe I wouldn’t have had a problem with my ballerina legs.

No matter what new product you try, there are always slightly different guidelines to follow. I was remiss in not knowing about these potential problems and getting the correct information to you sooner, but if you have suffered loss due to any of these problems, let us know and we’ll make it right with you. And, please, do not hesitate to call any further issues to my attention. If I don’t have the answer, I promise I’ll do my very best to find it!