Ok, so I'm building a gas forge. It's going very well. I am using Larry Zoeller's side arm burners as my heat source (it's a two burner furnace). I am going to line the inside with (2) one inch thick layers of Kaowool. I've got my fire brick for the bottom of the forge (rated 3,000 degrees), so I should be able to do some forge welding with little worry of ruining the bottom of the forge. My solicitation for opinions is concerning the topic title. I will be coating the Kaowool with one of these products. Is one really better than the others? Is there any real difference between any of those products? Should I use one and then use another on top of that one? You get the idea. I want the best product available, hence the request. Thanks in advance.

The last three are refractories or refractory mortars that can provide some (or at lot of, depending on how much you apply) mechanical protection to the blanket. ITC is an IR reflective coating. It's normally applied quite thin (it's expensive), and won't do anything to prevent mechanical damage. I'm sure the last three will also seal in the blanket fibers, which is a safety thing. I'm not sure about ITC. It's sometimes used for sealing, but I don't know how well it actually works.

I've used both Satanite and ITC100 and both will do the job of protecting and sealing the ceramic wool. What I prefer to do is use a less expensive refractory cement to protect and seal the wool and then use ITC100 as a top coat. The ITC100, as stated before, reflects IR (heat) and can substantially increase the apparent heat in your forge. Regardless of what you use to protect and seal the wool you will have to periodically maintain it.

Ok, so I'm building a gas forge. It's going very well. I am using Larry Zoeller's side arm burners as my heat source (it's a two burner furnace). I am going to line the inside with (2) one inch thick layers of Kaowool. I've got my fire brick for the bottom of the forge (rated 3,000 degrees), so I should be able to do some forge welding with little worry of ruining the bottom of the forge. My solicitation for opinions is concerning the topic title. I will be coating the Kaowool with one of these products. Is one really better than the others? Is there any real difference between any of those products? Should I use one and then use another on top of that one? You get the idea. I want the best product available, hence the request. Thanks in advance.

Satanite and Mizzou are castable refractories. The ITC and Plistix are Infrared coatings used to retain more heat in the forge. Cover the wool with a refractory cement unless you want to develop silicosis or mesothelioma in 20 years. Then coat with the ITC and you wiwll have good heat retention. Ive never used Plistix.

Oh and watch forge welding temps. The blanket needs to be rated about 2300 minumum to make that feasible without a castable hot face. The blanket will start breaking down before its rated temp and unless you have a fancy pyrometer you will be guessing at actual temp. You very well might have to put a half inch or more hot face on it with something like Kastolyte 30 to make it work.