disappearing crazing?

I bought a pair of TV salt and pepper shakers at a junk shop last week. They looked old, had Japan stamped on the bottom and were COVERED in dust and possibly some type of soy sauce(?). But other than that, no visible cracks, chips etc. So I washed them. By hand with liquid dish soap and a soft sponge. I let them sit and air dry. An hour later I looked and one was perfect and clean, the other was covered in tiny white lines (crazing?). I couldn't believe it - was mad at the seller and mad at myself for washing them. But then I tried rubbing the white lines and they started to come off. I stopped and just left them on the counter now all the lines have disappeared - is this common? Down the road I may sell them - but I don't want to do so if they're defective or if there's something the buyer should know. Any comments appreciated. Aloha.

Restoring and refirbishing things that were made a long time ago is something that must be well researched and done very carefully. Believe me, I've learned this lesson the hard way. Today's cleaning and polishing products might work wonders on your new IKEA coffee table but could completely wreck that Witco set you just scored at the local estate sale,

Thanks for the insight - and I agree, I do need to learn more. Do your have any thoughts on this specific issue.

If there is a powdery white substance coming from the crazing that means the item was bleached because of staining before being sold. Try soaking it in distilled water for 24 hours. If it just has crazing and no white substance there is not too much you can do. It is sometimes possible to refire the item to reglaze it but thats super tricky and usually very expensive. I know Replacements Ltd. sometimes does that when they have very expensive earthenware that has become crazed.

[ Edited by: neatjunk on 2005-06-12 14:23 ]

My wife had an interesting take on your shakers. She thought the salt shaker reacted differently than the pepper shaker because a). salt is more corrosive and b). the salt shaker commonly is subject to more handling than the pepper shaker.

Thanks for the thoughts Neatjunk and Shipwreck Joey (and Mrs. Joey) Well, I think I'll keep 'em and then I can always tell the story about the first tiki items I bought in Alabama and the crazy crazing. Aloha.