Vitreous Enamel Blogs for 316 L Steel Panels PART 4
Part of this is simply that it’s a first coat. But I think the method is also part of the problem. A brush lays enamel down in strokes, and on small, dimensional forms with curves, corners, and tight spaces, it’s hard to keep those strokes even. Some areas get more material, some get less, and the thinner areas are the ones that look transparent after firing. On a flat panel, I can control a brush much more easily. On these objects, it’s working against me. On the third piece, the small chair, I switched to an airbrush. An airbrush sprays the enamel as a fine mist, which builds up a thin, even layer over the whole surface instead of laying it down stroke by stroke. It also reaches into curves and recesses that a brush struggles with. The difference after the first firing was clear. The layer is still thin, but it’s even, and the white is reading much more like a true cover coat. Of the three pieces, this one is the most successful by a wide margin, and it gives me much more confiden...
