Post #244913 by VanTiki on Tue, Jul 25, 2006 11:14 AM

Aloha All,

I've been meaning to do some tests on the Pongo Log glazes to accentuate the porcelain teeth, and MonkeySkull was kind enough to encourage me to finally do it! Here is the Pongo Log painted with Velvet Underglazes:

Now, the photo is of raw, unfired glaze. The neat thing about the velvet underglazes, though, is that they don't change color during firing. The dilemma I currently face is weather or not I should clear-coat the entire mug, or just the inside. "Food Safe" standards require the entire mug to be coated with a gloss or semi-gloss glaze. This would darken the colors (think of when you apply a polyurethane coat to wood) and take away the neat "velvet" finish that the underglaze is named for. The upside of coating the whole thing is it would be a lot easier to clean and would feel a lot smoother in the hand. I could just coat the inside - but the mug would be difficult to clean and would not be "to code" on food safe standards.

I have a feeling the little angel on my shoulder will win this one out and I will clear coat the whole mug. I'll post photos of the fired mug soon!

Mahalo,
VanTiki