China Painting
China paints are applied to pottery that has already been glazed and fired to maturity at a higher temperature. The already-fired glaze does not re-flux at this lower temperature, but the china-paint glazes do. This process bonds the China-paints to the existing glaze. Their use allows for very fine detail in the painting and they have an almost unlimited color range. China-Paints are usually fired at or about cone 018.
Challenges
China Paints or overglazes release toxic fumes during both the application process and the firing. Whenever they are being used, you need to use the correct type of respirator and work in a very well ventilated room.
Market
The china painting market is almost entirely comprised of hobby ceramic artists. China painting is an easy and economical way to produce colorful intricate ceramic work with little more then a working knowledge of simple firing techniques.
Kilns
Unless you are a production china painter you probably wont require a larger kiln for this process. Again, it depends on the scope of the work but in our experience the Liberty-Belle or the smaller Easy-Fire Kilns are great for this application.
