Enamels and enamelling; an introduction to the preparation and ...

APPLYING THE ENAMEL. 143
inconvenience ; this warming-up is necessary to facilitate the
.adhesion of the enamel mass.
The enamel is applied in the following simple manner :
The workman takes the warmed utensil from the oven and
lays it on an adjacent table ; he then stirs the enamel mass
up well, dips a stiff brush into it, and, by means of a ladle,
takes out of the pan and pours into the utensil as much of the
dilute mass as he thinks will about suffice to form a coating.
means of the brush this is then distributed over the inner
By
surface of the article, uniformity of distribution being facili-
tated by tapping the piece with a wooden mallet. Finally
the piece is laid, mouth downwards, on a couple of horizontal
supports, placed over the enamel pan or over another vessel to
catch the drippings, or excess of enamel.
Highly-skilled enamellers dispense with this last operation
altogether, long practice enabling them to judge precisely the
quantity of mass required to coat a utensil of given size, so
that no excess remains to be drained off.
When drained, the piece is set on the table and the
enamel carefully wiped away from all parts that are not
intended to be coated ; after which it is immediately trans-
ferred to the drying room.
The drying arrangements in enamel works are generally
very defective, but little of the heat from the drying ovens
being utilised. A very useful plan is to fit up the drying
room with racks, which can be raised by degrees nearly up
to the ceiling the freshly enamelled pieces being placed on
the rack in its lowest position, and afterwards gradually lifted
to enable the ware to dry rapidly and equally. Only when it
is certain that the mass is perfectly dry is the rack transferred
to the drying oven, which is heated to nearly red heat in order
to expel the final traces of moisture from the mass.
Uniformity in drying is of special moment in ensuring the
.success of the entire operation, since if the ware is put in a