Can I buy a finshed plate and add additional paint?

by Pat
(amity, oregon)

I want a custom plate. Can I buy finished plates in a local grocery store and then add more glaze?

I want to add my design to the plate and fire it in a kiln. These would be dinner plates for my table.

Pat,
I see where your headed, and it is possible to get those results, but I would NOT recommend re-firing something you buy at the store.

The reason is that you don't really have a way of knowing what glazes are on it, or what the correct firing temperature is for that particular piece.

IDEA: For what you are trying to accomplish, you should find a "Paint-Your-Own-Ceramics" shop locally or online where they provide the greenware, or unfired plates, you custom paint them with glazes that they provide, and then you or they can fire them to create functional plates.

This allows you all the customization with none of the guesswork or risk of a pre-fired plate that you buy from the store.

Hope that helps.
Steve

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