China Painting Mediums
| Fat oil and turps | Open Mixing Medium | Gemini open medium | Pen Mediums | Water based mediums | Notes | Balsam of copaiba | Bright Gold | Bright Platinum | Liquid Burnished Gold | Self Burnished Gold | Gold Underlay |

Fat oil and turps and/or aniseed or clove oil. For more information see magazine no. 90

This is the medium used by the artists in the factories in Stoke-on-Trent, UK. The powder paint is mixed with fat oil to a toothpaste consistency and aniseed or clove oil is used to keep the paint 'open' (so that it does not dry too quickly). Use turps to clean your brushes. Each painting day the mixed paint has to be re-mixed before you start painting again.

Open Mixing Medium

Each artist has their own favourite mixing medium and painting medium. Open mixing medium means you can mix your powder paints with this and the paint will stay workable until you have used every scrap of mixed paint.

Gemini open medium

This medium can be used to paint any subject you can think of - roses, dresden, portraits, landscapes, birds etc. Whether you are a beginner or a more advanced painter you will enjoy the freedom of being able to work on your piece of china without it drying. Clean your brushes in odourless brush cleaner.

Pen Mediums

There are several pen mediums - the aniseed based pen works really well and gives smooth fine lines.
Mix your powder paint into an 'ink' consistency and scoop up the 'ink' with your pen nib turned the wrong way. Turn the pen around, and off you go. When the pen work is dry you can clean away any thick lines or mistakes with a wooden tooth pick. Fire 780oC cone 016.

Water based mediums

With the increase in allergies water based mediums are an excellent alternative.
It is probably best top invest in another set of brushes to use with your water based paints (oil and water do not mix). There are two types of water based mediums - one dries and the other is non-drying:

-Open water based medium - e.g. Saramic Sl.
This works like an open oil based mixing medium - mix your palette of china paints as you would with your oil based mixing medium, and keep a palette with a lid. Paint as usual. Clean your brushes with water.

-Drying water based medium
Ideal for Dresden style painting, wet ground laying, marbling and mixing raised paste and enamel.

-Water based pen medium
Mix paints to 'ink' consistency with the medium - use fine pen point or brush.

Notes

Painting mediums are very personal. When joining a class or attending a seminar take your teachers advice.

Pure lavendar oil is used for thinning some mediums and to help drying.

Oil of cloves is used to keep mediums open.

Balsam of copaiba

Balsam of copaiba is an oily resin obtained from the trunk of a tree in South America. The colour varies but it looks very much like fat oil.
Balsam of copaiba is used in many china painting mediums and people vary the 'recipe' to suit their painting requirements.

Bright Gold.
More information can be found in magazine number 96.

Firing range for bright gold:
Porcelain - 760-820oC, cone 017-016
Bone china - 740-800oC, cone 018-017

1. Stir the bright gold thoroughly before using -make sure the lid is on the bottle correctly and shake well before opening the bottle.
2. Keep a brush just for your gold work. Clean your gold brush in gold thinners.
3. Make sure the piece of china or porcelain you will be working on is really clean before you start. Use meths or denatured alcohol to clean the china.
4. It is more economical to gild several pieces at one time. Don't forget every time you clean the brush you lose some gold.
5. When painting with your gold, if you make a mistake, make sure you clean the area well before you re-gild. Meths works well - whe the area is dry you can re-apply gold.
6. If you have had the gold a long time and it has thickened, add a tiny drop of gold thinner or lavender oil.

Bright Platinum
The same firing range applies to bright platinum as to bright gold and the information for bright gold is the same as for bright platinum.

Liquid Burnished Gold
Firing range:
Porcelain - 740-800oC, cone 018-016
Bone China - 720-760oC, cone 019-017

1. Burnished gold is also applied with a brush and needs to be well stirred or shaken before use.
2. When fired burnished gold appears matt or dull it has to be polished using a damp cloth dipped in burnish sand or a fibre glass burnishing tool.
3. When fired, if you are burnishing the gold and it starts to rub off, stop burnishing, clean of the sand or fibreglass, re-apply burnish gold and fire again to a slightly hotter temperature.
4. Use a clean soft cloth to clean your piece of china after burnishing.

Self Burnished Gold
Firing range is the same as for liquid burnished gold.

Self burnish gold gives a finished look almost like burnished gold without you having to burnish the gold after firing.
Burnished gold and self burnished gold contain insoluble precious metal powders which lead to settling (in the bottom of the bottle) so they need to be stirred or shaken well before use.

Gold Underlay
Gold underlay is a powder and is used to give an 'acid etched' effect on your porcelain.
Mix the gold under lay powder with any medium - just like your china paints - you can brush on the gold underlay powder using a random effect, leaving some of your white porcelain showing. Clean off any unwanted gold underlay - fire at 780oC. Next fire cover the gold with fire matt - where you left white porcelain it will be shiny.

If you wish to create fine lines with the gold underlay mix the powder with pen oil and pen on the design - fire, then cover with bright gold.

Liquid bright gold and liquid burnished gold can be used over the top of fired raised enamel.