WE HAVE MADE EVERY EFFORT TO MAKE EACH OF OUR PRODUCTS THE VERY BEST THAT IS AVAILABLE. IN ORDER TO HELP YOU IN THEIR USE, I HAVE PREPARED THE FOLLOWING THUMBNAIL INSTRUCTIONS-----Sincerely, Ann Cline

INSTRUCTIONS FOR POWDERED GLAZE:  There are various ways of using glaze but the following is the easiest and the way that I use it most of the time:---Mix half pink glaze and half clear glaze with any medium and apply over bare china.  Pad thoroughly with silk over cotton.  (It's a good idea to, also go over the piece with a dry mop.)  Fire 017. NOTE: The more glaze you leave on, the more shine you will have but too much glaze will cause colors to fire out.  Also, various pieces of china may have different glazes that react differently.  Until you are experienced, it is better to leave a very small amount of glaze on when padding.  (If you have left too much glaze and your color is firing out, just fire at a lower temperature.)---Each successive firing as you paint the piece will cause more shine.---This is a wonderful treatment for your pieces. It gives an even shine to all your colors with none of those unsightly dull spots and it even helps hide brush strokes!

MENDING CEMENT:  Mending cement is a dry powder and will hold only after it is fired.---Both sides of the article to be adhered should be clean.  Mix the mending cement with water and apply to both sides.  Place together in a kiln and fire to cone 017.  NOTE: The cement will dry to a powder again and will not hold pieces together until it is fired.  If the pieces to be adhered will not stay together during the firing process, you will need to tie them with asbestos cord which is, now, very hard to find.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR QUILL BRUSHES:  Look forward to a new exciting experience when using Ann Cline Brushes.  The quill shaders need none of the usual weeks (or longer) of training and trying to get a flat shape that will stay!  When you first try them, just condition them as follows:  Dip the brush straight down in your turp., etc. and shake off the excess without touching the sides of the jar.  Look at the bristles to see which way they seem to lay and press them in that direction to remove the excess turp.  Then, completely submerge the brush (up past the quill) in your medium.  Press out the excess medium, keeping the bristles in the same position, and you are ready to go.  (Remember how the brush wants to lay and always use it and put it away in this shape.)

MEDIUMS AND PEN OIL:  There are 4 Ann Cline mediums plus the Pink Fluff Mixing Medium.  Mediums are, of course, used for the purpose of conditioning your brush before going into paint.  To get the maximum benefit of the Onefire Plus medium and the Fastdry Medium, you should also mix your paint with them.

The Onefire Plus medium is great for mixing Chip-No-More enamel or Base for Gold.

Medium #1 and Medium #2 are considered regular painting mediums and work well with the Pink Fluff Mixing medium.  Medium #2 is a heavier weight medium than Medium #1 and will probably not stay open quite as long, depending upon how your paint is mixed and upon how wet or dry an individual paints.

Pink Fluff Mixing Medium gives a nice soft and fluffy feeling to your paint.  However, please remember that any mixing medium can cause some paints, if stored over a long period, to either become hard, rubbery, or watery--depending on the minerals in any particular paint.  Many people also like the Pink Fluff as a medium.

"Red Magic" pen oil was developed for use with our PRW pens but many teachers who do "wet grounding" are using the pen oil for this, also.  It really works great! Paint goes on smoothly and evenly.

PRW PEN:  The pens have instructions inside the package.  I'm sure that you will find that the PRW pens are really the best on the market.  They are one of our best selling items and the compliments we receive on them are endless.  However, if by some chance you are having trouble, the following three things should be kept in mind:  (1) Be sure the pen oil is mixed thin enough, thinner than for other pens.  (2) Be sure that you are not tilting the pen (point up) before writing.  (3) Do not use a heavy type pen oil. The "Red Magic" pen oil is very thin and lightweight and was developed especially for these pens.

CHIP-NO-MORE ENAMEL:  This is a wonderful enamel that seems to never chip off even after multiple fires!  It may be mixed the traditional way with enamel medium and turp. Or it may be mixed with Onefire Plus medium for a truly easy application.--Mix the enamel with the Onefire Plus until it's just wet enough to pick up with your brush (If it's too soft, it will flatten during the firing.)  Place the enamel brush straight down and lift straight up (no scooping).  Use just the small amount that stays on the brush for a thin dainty appearance and just lightly touch your china with the enamel, not the brush.---Clean brush after every dot or scroll to prevent any build up on tip of brush.  Even though we have not had this enamel chip off any piece we've fired, it is still a good idea to apply it thinly and daintily and to fire and cool slowly.  This enamel can stand hotter fires but it will be less translucent if fired to about a cone 018.--For application we recommend our Enamel Scroller brush. (NOTE: The Chip-No-More is excellent as a base for gold since raised gold must be fired 2 or more times.)

REGULAR ENAMEL MEDIUM:   The enamel medium we have been selling for the last few years is no longer available but we think you will be pleased with this one.  Even though it seems thin, it becomes stringy when mixed:  Mix just enough of the enamel medium with enamel to make it a slightly damp, crumbly mixture—about like baked pie crust.  Add a good grade of turpentine to make it the consistency you need.  For application, follow the instructions under "Chip-no-More" enamel above. 
IMPORTANT: If you are doing a large amount of enamel or working slowly, this mixture may begin to thicken.  To soften, add just a very small amount of Turpentine  (Ann uses a very old can called "Artists Spirits of Turpentine-rectified).  DO NOT ADD TURPENTINE MORE THAN 2 OR 3 TIMES or the enamel can have a tendency to bubble in the kiln.  If you have a lot of enamel work to do and it thickens again after the second or third time of adding turp., we recommend that you mix a fresh batch.

BASE FOR RAISED GOLD:  (Cone 018 recommended) This may be mixed the same as above and is, also, very chip resistant.  It is for use on all china but is more opaque (less translucent) than the Chip-No-More.  It is preferred by artists who want a more opaque and less shiny appearance to their enamel and is a must for all the softer glazes.  (Note: Some of the traditionally "hard china" factories are now producing some items with softer glazes.  You will know if it's a soft glaze by an increased shine after you fire it and by the loss of some of your color at higher temperatures.  This can take hotter fires but will stand up better and be less translucent if fired to about cone 018. See "Everything You Need To Know About Gold 'and then some'" by Ann Cline.  (black & white- 8 pages - $3.00)

GOLD FACILITATOR:  Gold facilitator is used to soften roman or paste gold until it's a good working consistency.  NOTE: Be sure to work the gold into a creamy paste.  When you add the facilitator to the gold, it will become dark and look like gold very soon but if you haven't worked the gold into it thoroughly, you will just be using a colored facilitator which will probably fire an ugly purple.  See "Everything You Need To Know About Gold 'and then some'" by Ann Cline. (black & white - 8 pages - $3.00)

LIQUID BRIGHT GOLD THINNER:  This is, of course, to thin liquid gold and will, also, work for lusters and Mother of Pearl.

GOLD ERASERS:  A gold eraser is for erasing the purple smudges that can appear after firing gold.  These smudges are caused by not cleaning an area well enough after removing gold or by gold-smudged fingers.  Removing a regular heavy application of gold with a gold eraser can be difficult and require extra effort.

SPECIALTY BRUSHES & TOOLS:  The Feather brushes should be used just on their tip and with the Red Magic pen oil to insure a proper flow.  The Spongie makes a "silk over the finger" type wipe-out and is nice for blending hard to reach places and for wiping out clouds and padding underneath them for a misty look.  Our Fan brush is designed for painting grass and other special effects.  The Red Magic pen oil is best for this, also, as it aids the flow of paint.  The Whirley is used for special effects, such as animal fur, etc..  A real time and brush saver is the Alligator.  Use small pieces of sponge for lusters, mother of pearl, etc. and then just throw them away!

GROUNDING OIL:  Grounding oil is used for a base when applying dry paint if you want the full depth of a color.  To use: Apply grounding oil with a brush to area that you want covered (See Red Resist, #4 Below).  Pad with a silk over cotton until the oil is very even and sticky.  Pick up the dry paint with a piece of cotton and carefully work the paint into the oil.  DO NOT LET THE COTTON TOUCH THE OIL AND DO NOT TOUCH THE OIL OR THE GROUNDED AREA WITH YOUR FINGERS.  It is best to test the color you plan to use because not all colors look well when grounded.  NOTE: Always wear a Niosh approved mask when grounding or working with powdered paint.

BURNISHING SAND:  This sand is used for burnishing roman gold after firing.  Gold burnishes best if still warm from the kiln and care should be taken not to touch the gold with your fingers before it is burnished.--Place a soft wet cloth over your finger and dip it into the sand.  (Be sure the cloth is wet enough to dampen the sand, also.)  With the wet, sandy cloth over your finger gently rub the gold in a circular motion until it has a rich glow.

SANDING PADS:  These are for sanding a painted and fired surface.  It makes the surface smoother for further painting and prolongs the life of your brushes.  It's a must before doing any pen work over a painted surface since pen points will not write smoothly over a gritty surface and, of course, a gritty surface will immediately wear down the pen point. NOT FOR USE WITH GOLD.

MOTHER OF PEARL:  Apply thinly and evenly.  A heavy application will result in white areas that will wipe off.  Apply in such a way that you will not need to touch an area that has dried (it dries quickly).  Going over a dried area will cause a flaw that will show after firing.  For instance: If you are doing a band around a plate, do not simply go around in one direction.  Rather apply the mother of pearl in a small area on one side of your starting point and then go back to the other side.  Keep switching back & forth.  In this way you will not need to connect to a starting point that has probably dried.---Mother of Pearl may be fired with your regular china painting.

METALLIC PAINTS:  Metallic paints may be mixed and applied the same as ordinary china paint, however, it is rather difficult to apply smoothly on a glazed surface.  For this reason, metallic paints are primarily used for grounding.  The are very easy to work with in this manner, much easier than grounding with regular china paint.  (If you do want to just paint with them, they will apply much easier if your piece has been fired with a coat of china paint first.)---Metallic paint is very beautiful on bisque and because of the porous surface they can be applied with a brush very easily.  For a grounded appearance, with a brush on bisque, 2 or 3 coats is recommended.

GROUNDING MATERIALS:  clean sheet of paper (considerably larger than the object to be grounded)---grounding oil---cotton (cotton balls are usually not soft enough nor large enough)---turpentine---Red Resist (optional)---silk---Niosh facial mask

GROUNDING INSTRUCTIONS:  (NOTE: Metallics are not for food bearing surfaces.)

1. Pour out the metallic paint in the middle of the sheet of paper.
2. Apply grounding oil lightly and smoothly on area you wish to cover.  (Some grounding oil is thin and you may need to let it set a few minutes while other grounding oil may have become too thick.  If it is too thick, thin slightly with turp.--Pad thoroughly with silk over cotton until you are sure it is perfectly smooth and until it becomes very sticky.  (You can feel it pull the silk.)
3. Hold your china over the paper, pick up the metallic paint with a small piece of clean cotton and let it drop on the grounding oil.  Work the paint gently into the oil with the cotton, using a circular motion.  (Do not let cotton touch the bare oil!)  Continue in this fashion until the area you desire is covered.--Gently brush off (with the cotton) all excess paint.
4. With a paper towel or cloth over the finger, you may clean off any area you wish.  Fire to a hot 015.--NOTE: Red Resist is very helpful to use when grounding.  It protects any area you wish to remain clean then peel off all in one piece like a thin sheet of rubber.  To use, just apply it right out of the bottle on areas you wish to remain free of oil & paint.  Let it dry thoroughly and then proceed with the grounding as above.  After paint is applied and dusted off, just loosen an edge with your fingernail & peel.)

AFTER FIRING METALLIC PAINTS they may feel gritty and a small amount rub off on your finger.  When this happens refire at a hotter fire then sand very, very lightly, wash with soap and water and dry.  (If needed, a second coat is easily applied with just a brush.)

CREATE YOUR OWN COLORS WITH THE SILVER PEARL--You can make your own beautiful metallic colors by mixing the Silver Pearl with china paints.  Before grounding just tint the dry Silver Pearl with the color you desire and mix well with a palette knife.  Be sure you just barely tint the Silver Pearl (if you are grounding it) as it will fire much, much darker than it appears.

NOTE:  A NIOSH APPROVED MASK SHOULD BE WORN WHILE DOING ANY TYPE OF GROUNDING, MIXING OR DUSTING.