How Do You Prepare Ceramics Slip For Casting?
Slip is clay in a liquid form that is poured into plaster molds to make cast ceramic figures. Step 1 Purchase dry slip mix from your ceramics dealer. It is usually packaged in 2-gallon cartons with plastic liners. Step 2 Add clean water, following the manufacturer’s instructions, directly to the slip in its container. Step 3 Stir the mixture thoroughly with a wooden paint stick. Step 4 Test your slip’s specific gravity ‘ this is how much more the slip weighs than water. At 70 degrees F, a gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds. Step 5 Weigh 1 gallon of slip and divide by 8.3. As a rule, a result of 1.75 is right for casting. Try to get as close to this number as possible. Step 6 Add more dry slip material if it’s too light (i.e., it has a specific gravity lower than 1.75), or add water a little bit at a time if it’s too heavy (higher than 1.75). Step 7 Now check the thickness of your slip. This is its viscosity. Step 8 Drill a 1/8-inch hole in the bottom of an empty water bottle (16-ounce s
