making itc 100

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

I was reading dodge''s post and was wondering if you found a substitute for the itc100. I have been gathering materials and should have a variety of clays (kaolin type) and zirconia flour, 10 micron also some silica "flint" 400 screen on monday. I have a small square of wool to work with.
I am thinking of making a thin as I can slip and try to let it soak in to the blanket, not sure if that is possible or not. I don't want to balnket to compress at all. But on the other hand I am going to be using two layers of blanket, so if the top one is somewhat more compressed, than the first one, maybe it won't make that much difference?
If you guys have any ideas on this I would appreciate any help. If it works you could make a gallon of it for maybe $50? When I get is on I will do the oa torch test and see what happens. thanks. kevin

[Quenchcrack]

Kevin, wet the blanket with a spray bottle first. Spread the slip on as a thin paint, it should not weight the fiber down to the point that it sags. Let us know how your mix works!

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

I am thinking that a number of layers might work. I also wonder if I put the zirconia flour on the blanket and then wet it. It might drift into the pores that way?

[Charlotte]

AP Green offers a similar formula to ITC 100. Except as an experiment I would not try re-inventing the wheel.

The refactory formulas used today are very sophisticated and contain materials in exact proportions according to a lengthy development process.

If you have the time and equipment go and experiment. But if you are try it to same money I believe you are spending a lot of time an material that may be needed else where.

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

thanks, you are right. I am just curious really as to finding something workable. The products are made for use on a variety of surfaces. I don't think it was made specifically for wool, but I could be wrong. I think the zirconia is the material that reflects the infared and depositing that into the wool should do the job, maybe even better than the itc 100. But I could be completely off base.

[Sweany]

Here's the lin to the MSDS sheets for the ITC products.

ITC-100, ITC-200, ITC-213 Ceramic Coatings

[Dodge]

St. John,
The mortar I used wasn't really intended to be a sub for ITC 100 in that the ITC as I understand, is mainly for its heat reflecting quality, and the Greenpatch 421 from AP Green is primarily for durability (it cures hard as rock when fired), but I thinned it to a point it was difficult to hold a (rubber gloved) handful. I spread it by hand and It soaked into the dampened Inswool pretty good. I didn't notice any significant compression and there was no sagging either. I assume Kaowool and other ceramic blankets, would react similarly. Its pretty rigid as well as absorbent. However, my thought is that you wouldn't want it to soak in too far, as it seems it would defeat some of the insulating quality of the wool at that point. That being said, I put about an 1/8" to 3/16" layer that bonded very well, and based on two good fires in it, so far, it is surpassing expectations.

[Frosty]

A couple things.

If you mix it too thin it'll be hard to keep the zirconia in suspension. About the consistency of latex house paint works well.

The zirconia is indeed the IR reflector so the closer to the fire the better it works. Getting it into the ceramic blanket isn't so good.

Frosty

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

thanks for the info, it makes sense. I wonder mixing the greenpatch with zirconia?

[Frosty]

Think of the zirconia as a surface treatment. Below the surface it can't reflect IR so it's being wasted. The Kaolin is nothing more than high temp cement holding the zirconia in place.

Frosty

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

Thanks I see what you are saying now.

[SGropp]

You can buy a gallon of ITC 100 from Seattle Pottery Supply [Google them to get the number] for about $100 with shipping. A gallon lasts a long time even with a couple of gas forges in a full time shop.
Make a mixer out of a piece of 3/16 rod to go in a drill motor to get it stirred up. It should be a brushable consistency like very thick paint. Thin it with distilled water if it drys out or gets too thick.
You can also get a liquid ridgidizer for Kaowool that is good for keeping the blanket from breaking down and as a primer for the ITC coating. The airborne dust and fibers from fired Kaowool is a suspected carcinogen.
If you put any value on your time I can't imagine it is worth it to try to reinvent something industry has spent millions on developing and perfecting. Thermal insulation and high temperature refractories are a significant component of many industrial processes.

[Frosty]

That's a good thing to know, the best price most of find is in the $30-35 /pt range.

As for making it, some folk just like to tinker, it's why a lot of us blacksmith in the first place.

Thanks for the supplier info.

Frosty

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

thanks that is a good price, I will check that out and see what there prices are on wool also.

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

just looked on the web page $160 per gallon before shipping