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Pottery cleaning - the safe way. For those of us who have some beautiful pottery that looks a little run down, here are a few tricks of the trade to bring the life back into your pieces. We have found 2 different ways to clean your pottery, with out harming it. **NEVER use CHORINE BLEACH!** This will distroy the clay your pottery is made of. It literally eats it from the inside out. Oxi-Clean Technique Make sure your piece has *NO* repairs before you try any of these methods. If you know that it's been repaired ---->>> *DON'T* take the chance! You may end up with paying to have it restored - again! Go to the Oxi-Clean Web site. Oxi-Clean is also available at Costco and other general retail stores. [http://www.greatcleaners.com/] Call the 1-800-781-7529. Check and see if they might have any specials running. Customer service reps are available from 6 am - 9pm MST, seven days a week. It may take a few days for the product to arrive - not to worry - you have a few prep things to do before it arrives. Wash all items with dish soap and very warm water - as hot as you can stand. Make sure you have warmed the pot up as you don't want to 'shock' it and have it break. Get as much of the oil and old dirt off as possible. Once your Oxi-Clean has arrived, place a plastic wash basin in the sink. Fill it a quarter of the way full with HOT tap water. Put in 1 - 3 scoops of Oxi-Clean, depending on how dirty your item is, in the basin. Mix the product up in the basin so there is very little reside left at the bottom. Place your pottery in the basin so that it will be completely covered by the water when you have filled the basin. If you have a large piece that will not fit in the basin all the way, you may need to clean 1/2 of it and then the other by turnng it over and repeating the process. Watch the bubbles do their work! The piece should be cleaner in about 6 hours. If it still needs more cleaning, leave it over night in the Oxi-Clean. The Oxi-Clean will not damage your pot. If you still have lime deposits that have not fully been removed, use a bit of 'Barkeeper's Friend' to remove as much as possible and redo the Oxi-Clean process. Barkeeper's Friend can be found in most local grocery stores near the other cleansers like Comet. It is in a gold paper can. **NEVER use CHORINE BLEACH!** This will distroy the clay your pottery is made of. It literally eats it from the inside out. Perioxide Technique Make sure your piece has *NO* repairs before you try any of these methods. If you know that it's been repaired ---->>> *DON'T* take the chance! You may end up with paying to have it restored - again! Go to your local Beauty Supply store. Buy Peroxide #40 solution. ==>This is very important<== Get a dark bucket or container that your pottery will fit in. Pour the peroxide in to the bucket and then gentley put your pottery into it. *DO NOT* put your hands into this solution! This is a type of bleach. It will eat your hands and might even cause burns on some people. Use those heavy duty cleaning gloves if there is a possibility that you might get wet. If your pottery is very "dirty" it may take a days or even weeks to become clean. Don't worry about your item. The peroxide will not harm it. Once your item is nice and clean, wash it with simple dish detergent to remove all the peroxide. Dry completely. Keep those gloves handy! **NEVER use CHORINE BLEACH!** This will distroy the clay your pottery is made of. It literally eats it from the inside out. If this has happened or you suspect someone might have done this in the past: Soak the item in full strength white vinager. It may take weeks to remove the bleach from your pottery. Now wash with dish washing soap and warm water. Let your pottery dry out and watch to see if you get the "fuzzies" or white powder again. If this does happen put it back in the vinager solution and soak it longer. Repeat this process until you can let the piece dry out and not get the "fuzzies" or white powder. Now you will need to soak your item in plain water until the vinagr smell is gone. **NEVER use CHORINE BLEACH!** This will distroy the clay your pottery is made of. It literally eats it from the inside out. Pencil or 'silvery' like marks on your pottery just never seem to come off? If you find those 'pencil' or silver marks on your pottery. Try using some of the 'Barkeeper's Friend' - available at most grocery stores, and a plastic scrubby type sponge or toothbrush with warm water. DO NOT USE STEEL WOOL OR ANY PRODUCT LIKE THIS! Try a #2 pencil eraser! Slowly and gently start at one end of the mark and erase it. If it doesn't come all the way off *don't scratch at it with anything else* - you may remove the glaze or worse - crack the item. For the finishing touch on Matte glaze, use "Howard's Feed*N*Wax", available at good wood stores or most antiques shops. A small dot, about the size of the pencil eraser end will work. Put this on a paper towel and go over the whole piece. Wipe off as soon as you finish the piece. This will also help to keep your item from becoming brittle. Don't get carried away with the wax. It's supposed to be a Matte finish!   Hope this helps, Jerry McCracken Artisan Antiques Updated: 02/01/04 Artisan Antiques California, USA.  Phone number: (925) 676-5826 PST  Feel free to call us! :Home: :Privacy Policy: :Sales Policy: :Roseville: :Weller: :Pottery: :Cleaning Tips: :Books: :Links: :Show Schedule:   An original design & concept by: Arctic Fox Designs 1999 - 2004©