How to Pour Ceramic Molds
Pouring a ceramic mold consists of pouring liquid clay, known as slip, into plaster molds. The simplest molds have two pieces, but molds may have more than two if the form is complicated.
Pouring a mold is a process that takes time. Don't try to rush it if you want to succeed in pulling beautifully formed clay greenware from your plaster mold. Eventually, you'll find that each of your molds has a personality of its own, and you'll want to get familiar with each one to be rewarded with successful pourings.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Plaster mold
- Rubber mold bands
- Stick
- Strainer
- Plastic bucket, two-gallon
- Liquid clay
Instructions
-
-
1
Strap the mold together using rubber mold bands. Set the mold on end with the pouring hole facing up.
-
2
Stir the liquid clay well with a clean wooden stick. Set a strainer over a two-gallon plastic bucket and pour the liquid clay into it to strain out any lumps.
-
-
3
Take the strainer out of the bucket, and carefully pour the liquid clay into the mold through the pour hole. Fill up to the brim of the hole. As the plaster mold absorbs water from the liquid clay, the level of the clay will drop. Keep topping off the mold by pouring in more liquid clay.
-
4
Watch for the clay walls of the poured form to start developing by looking down into the pour hole of the plaster mold. Decide how thick the walls should be. For small pieces like doll's heads, the thickness of two nickels is sufficient. When the desired thickness is reached, turn the mold over and pour the remaining liquid clay out of the mold back into the bucket.
-
5
Wait 6 to 8 hours for smaller pieces, and as much as two days for larger pieces, to set up in the plaster mold before taking the rubber mold bands off and pulling the mold away from the clay.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
When you can see the clay pulling away from the plaster mold in the pour hole, the mold is ready to be pulled from the clay form.
Pull the molds directly away from the clay form. Don't pull them away at an angle because you might dent the clay.
When the clay is leather hard, trim away any excess at the mold's pour hole.
Humidity will affect molds and how quickly or slowly they draw off water from the liquid clay.
