Does plistex glow hot orange for a second when it is cooked in.i think i remember metrakote having to turn bright orange yellow to completely cure. Thanks all and take care too. It over kol. Can I burn this plistexn on my propane burners or do i need to wait til tomorrow for my 2 firebricks?

Neither Plistex nor Matrikote "cure" once dry they FIRE like ceramic and I don't know if doing it by stages matters. Both products change so bringing it to medium orange letting it cool then bringing it to high yellow SHOULD work fine. 

Don't quote me though, I don't know and it's always been a major PITA finding instructions on either product's web sites. Not knowing doing it in a couple stages shouldn't hurt.

Frosty The Lucky.

Many thanks. I see I got my floor of forge kinda chasmed in areas. It should have been there ahead of pre plistexing so it should have 2-3 coats. It looks liìke it could hold pounds under the surface layer and that just has to be bad  Should I not worry,, add 1 more layer or coat it thick?

Thanks again 

Do people  clean out Lil propane forges with alot of plistex

That isn't what plistex or Matrikote is for, they are kiln washes originally made to prevent ceramic glazes from firing to kiln furniture, basically release agents so to speak. Fired on to the flame face, also known as flame contact or contact surface of a furnace, kiln washes for a relatively chemically inert surface with a very high calcining temperature and low conductivity. 

Meaning a good kiln wash fires hard, extremely caustic molten borax doesn't dissolve it like it does fire brick or ceramic blanket. Being a relatively poor thermal conductor energy doesn't pass through it as fast as fire brick or other hard refractories. Meaning it literally traps the thermal energy for a time and because the flame is constantly inputting energy the kiln wash MUST get hotter. So, the thin layer of kiln wash on the flame face of the forge liner gets hotter than a fire brick or hard refractory that can conduct heat through and away more quickly.

The only way it can shed thermal energy is by radiating it back into the forge interior where it heats your stock for you. 

No, don't plaster it on, 2 maybe 3 max thin coats is plenty if you apply it thickly, say 1/16" thick it scales because it can't conduct heat fast enough to become a uniform temperature all the way through so the flame face expands more than the outer face and not being flexible it MUST crack and spall. 

To apply it to the hard refractory liner in your forge, mix it with clean fresh water to a consistency like latex paint. Spritz the hard refractory liner with clean fresh water. This is called "buttering" by masons and what the water does is dilutes the refractory or mortar if you're laying block so the mortar or kiln wash does not flash dry to the surface forming a poor bond. Buttered the kiln wash dilutes slightly and is carried into the pores of the hard liner, fire brick, ceramic blanket, etc. forming a bond that penetrates the surface and won't spall.  IF you don't make it thick!

ALWAYS butter when laying mortar on masonry, or a second layer of hard refractory or kiln washing ceramic blanket. Butter, butter BUTTER!

Let your kiln wash dry thoroughly, hanging a lightbulb in the chamber works nicely. Once dry fire it to red and let it cool, they fire it up and use it.

There should be hours of reading about this and other propane forge building details in the Forges 101 section of Iforge. There is some REALLY neat stuff there, kiln washes that make Plistex and Matrikote look less than optimum by quite a bit. I suggest you bring snacks, a beverage and a comfy chair, there are I don't know how many hours / days of reading if you read it from end to end.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Many on internet have advised plistex directly on kaowool. What kind of damage would I see inx̌ the plistex/kaowool if safety is disappearing ?I'm 85% still covered in kol, but I had a bad drop and lost a few chunks. Thanks

Thanks

How many times can you recoat in plistex and over what conditions? If the plistex is cheap enough could I repaint after each usage?

Why with blanket, kol and plistex did i burn myself so thoroughly on outside of forge. If insulated to 2700-3000, should shell be touchable? It seems that way if temp should be 60-80 degrees.

Thanks a lot

Oh, my wife eats my snacks and drank my mountain dew or I'd study harder. (I still got my Little Debbie treats, they're hidden w hammers in basement). You were the original suggestor of metrakote but it was years back. I found plistex near free compared to metrakote so I switched to it. Not as insulative but seems to make heat better heat bounce around forge.

The rating on refractories is NOT their insulating factor, Kaowool rated for a max working temp of 2,600f is the temperature it will sustain without degrading. 

The plans I recommend, are two layers of 1" 8lb. Kaowool or the equivalent ceramic blanket refractory. Each layer rigidized and cured in place. That's one at a time. Then apply approximately 1/4" - 3/8" of a water setting high alumina castable refractory to the inside. Not each layer, just the flame face. Water setting means it SETs like Portland cement concrete, it does NOT DRY. And NO! Never use portland cement anything in a forge. Once the hard inner liner has set and cured for a day or two butter it and spray or brush apply a good kiln wash.

Yeah, looks like matrikote has priced itself off our market. Plistex is a fine product. 

IRR (InfraRed Radiation) doesn't "bounce around" in the forge, it's hardly reflected at all. The liner absorbs the energy from the flame and Re-RADIATES it to the interior of the forge and my be absorbed by facing walls but it isn't reflected in any significant degree. The entire forge liner temperature will equalize with a little time. 

Kiln wash being a poor conductor isn't really the same thing as being a good insulator, sure poor conductivity is an important quality in any insulator but in a practical sense it doesn't really count. 

So, NO a single layer of kaowool in your forge and the shell will get hot enough to cook dinner on. My forge with 2, one inch layers of rigidized  Kaowool, approx 3/8" of Kast o lite 30li 3,000f high alumina, water setting hard refractory and an expensive name brand I can't recall now kiln wash, plus a home made zirconia second kiln wash layer is about as well insulated as reasonable but the shell exterior still gets hot enough to keep a cup of coffee slurping HOT.

They are home made propane fired H O T appliances they get dangerously hot on the outside. Put it on legs that allow air to flow under it and NEVER put one on a wooden surface. A sheet of concrete backer board with a couple strips of backer board under it to allow an air space works nicely. 

EXPECT a plastic anything within maybe 6" or more of your forge to melt, etc.

Frosty The Lucky.