400 Series Superstrokes/Superwriter Series
CLEAR GLOSS GLAZE
400 – Designed originally as an inexpensive clear dipping glaze for
castware, it does a great job of highlighting the rich colors available
in our 400 series. Dip once, and fire to cone 04/05 on cone 03/04
bisque. It is lead free and dinnerware safe. It also fits most low
fire pugged clays well and has therefore recently been made available in
a brushing formula.
401-470 – This series was designed with the contemporary studio market in mind. A collection of 70 brilliant colors that are similar to our majolica color series due to the versatility of being able to be used under or over a glaze. They are available in 8 oz squeeze bottles – great for putting color onto a palette, or in 2 oz pens (that can easily be refilled with the 8 oz squeeze bottle). We offer all of the colors from this series in the same 2 oz. applicator bottle as the RAC’s. This makes a wonderful product for drawing decorations on your pieces. They have been very happily received by the numerous children who are not as comfortable painting with brushes, particularly lower school children.
PREPARATION
Before using the pen unscrew the black plastic cap and remove the liner
from inside the cap. After screwing the cap back on the bottle, take off
the clear plastic cover. The black plastic tip has a reasonably small
hole which can be used without modifications in most applications. If
you want to make thicker lines, carefully cut a small piece off the end
of the tip with a sharp knife or scissors in order to enlarge the hole.
HOW TO USE THEM
Before using the pen on your ceramic piece, first shake the pen
vigorously and then test the flow by squeezing some of the color out on a
piece of paper. This should remove any air bubbles and establish a
consistent flow. If the color has become too thick to flow properly,
unscrew the black plastic cap and drop 2 or 3 droplets of water into the
bottle. Then replace the cap and shake vigorously and test again. When
writing, hold the pen tip in contact with the piece. It makes it easier
to control the writing than holding the tip above the piece and
dropping the color onto the surface. Do not hold the pen directly
vertical while writing because this leaves no gap for the liquid to flow
out of. Hold the pen at an angle to the surface so that there is an
opening for the color to flow through. Because the color is thicker
than ink you must write more slowly than with a pen to allow time for
the liquid to flow through the tip. You can create a large variety of
line thicknesses by varying finger pressure and writing speed. The
harder you press and the slower you write the thicker your lines will
be.
OPTIONAL METAL TIPS
If you would like to make finer lines than can be achieved using the
plastic tip you can purchase a metal tip that can be screwed onto the
plastic tip. In order to attach the metal tip you will need to cut
approximately ¼ inch off the end of the black plastic tip. This will
provide a fat enough end to screw the metal tip onto.
HOW TO KEEP THE METAL TIP FROM PLUGGING
The liquid in a SuperWriter pen is a type of colored glaze and like any
other glaze it will harden in the pen tip unless you do something to
prevent it. We recommend taking a staple from your stapler and
straightening out one end to use as a reamer to push into the metal tip.
It is helpful to leave the staple in the tip when the pen is not in
use to prevent clogging. When you are finished using the pen for the
day, the metal tip should be removed from the plastic nipple and the
clear plastic cover replaced on the bottle to prevent the pen from
drying out. Also when you have an empty pen you should clean it out and
fill it with water. After you have finished using a metal tip you
should screw it onto the pen filled with water and squeeze water through
the tip to clean it out. Letting a used tip soak in water will help
prevent hardening and plugging.