Pottery and its metal salts

[brok3n]

Hello everyone, first thread. I will briefly introduce myself:

 

My name is Taylor

I live in Queensland, Australia

I started getting into pyro about 3-4 months ago

I enjoy chemistry and have topped every class I have had so far.

 

Okay, let's move onto the thread.

 

I have seen on various other forums, such as Sciencemadness and UKPS that you should easily be able to obtain many decent chemicals (such as Boric Acid, Strontium salts, Barium salts and things like Copper Oxide) in their local art/ceramics store. Pyros have even gone on to say that there were so many chemicals that they felt "like a kid in a candy store". Now, I went into my local art store with a big grin on my face expecting to finally advance my stars to greens, reds and blues. I asked where the pottery glazes were - the lady showed me. I was VERY disappointed!

 

All the glazes were liquids and in miniature bottles of around 100ml that cost ~$10. And, to top it all off - they didn't have ANY information on what the ingredients were. "Okay" I thought, surely an online ceramics supplier would have different glazes that had what ingredients were in them? Nope. All of the glaze MSDS said that the make-up of the glaze was a "trade secret". Fail.

 

So, I ask. How hard is it to actually find these chemicals in Australia? I looked in the phone book and found a mob called "<Location> Pottery Pty Inc" - I called them and they are closed to the end of Jan. Will this place hold my precious substances? Can any Australians tell me some good places to get these on the cheap?

 

Thank you for the help. It is driving me mad only being able to do Chrysanthemum stars.

 

Just a quick side note - I couldn't find Red Gum in the art store either. I did find one mob online that produced it, but it was $15.00 a kilo and $80 shipping to me. Tapping the Gums in my back yard is starting to get tiresome, but I am not rich.

[Bonny]

Hello everyone, first thread. I will briefly introduce myself:

 

My name is Taylor

I live in Queensland, Australia

I started getting into pyro about 3-4 months ago

I enjoy chemistry and have topped every class I have had so far.

 

Okay, let's move onto the thread.

 

I have seen on various other forums, such as Sciencemadness and UKPS that you should easily be able to obtain many decent chemicals (such as Boric Acid, Strontium salts, Barium salts and things like Copper Oxide) in their local art/ceramics store. Pyros have even gone on to say that there were so many chemicals that they felt "like a kid in a candy store". Now, I went into my local art store with a big grin on my face expecting to finally advance my stars to greens, reds and blues. I asked where the pottery glazes were - the lady showed me. I was VERY disappointed!

 

All the glazes were liquids and in miniature bottles of around 100ml that cost ~$10. And, to top it all off - they didn't have ANY information on what the ingredients were. "Okay" I thought, surely an online ceramics supplier would have different glazes that had what ingredients were in them? Nope. All of the glaze MSDS said that the make-up of the glaze was a "trade secret". Fail.

 

So, I ask. How hard is it to actually find these chemicals in Australia? I looked in the phone book and found a mob called "<Location> Pottery Pty Inc" - I called them and they are closed to the end of Jan. Will this place hold my precious substances? Can any Australians tell me some good places to get these on the cheap?

 

Thank you for the help. It is driving me mad only being able to do Chrysanthemum stars.

 

Just a quick side note - I couldn't find Red Gum in the art store either. I did find one mob online that produced it, but it was $15.00 a kilo and $80 shipping to me. Tapping the Gums in my back yard is starting to get tiresome, but I am not rich.

There are quite a few Australian pyros out there I think, so you should get some help soon. The (glazing) chems you want shouldn't be liquids though...so I'd keep on looking, should be available somewhere and not too expensive.

[GraafVaag]

Well, most pottery shops sell both readily mixed glazing and raw chemicals. It's true what you say about a kid in a candy store lol, I always buy way too much when in a pottery store. (SrCO3, €4 per kilo, Copper Oxide, €10 per kilo, and so on) They really sell all kinds of oxides, carbonates, some sulfates... Etc..

Just keep on searching, you'll find a decent store..

 

On the Red Gum thingy, it's created in huge quantities on Kangaroo Island. They mainly do big orders, but you could call them and ask if they can send you a few pounds. They also do Charcoal.

 

And above all, you live where Red Gum is created, I need to IMPORT it from australia lol! (Or buy it, real expensive, from a pyro supplier in England. I live in Holland.) So, you should be able to find a supplier close to you.

 

Good luck!

[brok3n]

Thanks. That link is the mob I spoke about with the ridiculous shipping. I was only thinking it was that much because it might be HAZMAT, but that is unlikely.

[asilentbob]

Art store =/= ceramic supply!

 

Your looking for a place that supplies raw materials, ie tons and tons of clay, glazes, kiln supplies, pottery wheels, etc to serious ceramic artists... your not going to find much in an art store.

[tentacles]

Many school art teachers would know where to get the raw materials for glazes. Look under ceramics supplies in the yellow pages, and call them to see if they have what you want. A lot of ceramics places are just little studios where people can go to glaze some molded cup and have it fired while they drink coffee.

[WarezWally]

Google is your friend, I found a few places that sell all manor of goodies for ceramics.