Bonsai Pot Care..... is that a thing?

Carol 83

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I thought all the nut sack questions had been answered... but NO!! I always assumed a good nut sack had a moistening affect on whatever you chose to rub it on... or, at least, that was ALWAYS my experience... :p.
:eek:šŸ¤£
 

Carol 83

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I thought all the nut sack questions had been answered... but NO!! I always assumed a good nut sack had a moistening affect on whatever you chose to rub it on... or, at least, that was ALWAYS my experience... :p.
TMI
 

Gsquared

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The best advice I can give on pot care: donā€™t drop them.

On vitrification: potters use the cone system for noting the temperature of firing. High fired pots are considered cone 8-10. Medium fired are cone 6. Low fired pots are usually around cone 06. Note the ā€œ0ā€. Anything with that is going to be susceptible to breakage in frost. They also feel chalkier and often the colors are very bright. My pots are all fired to cone 10, but cone 6 can be fully vitrified depending on the clay. I have cone 6 pots that I made years ago and they are just as serviceable as my cone cone 10 pots. Just a clay that gets to a stone like state at a few hundred degrees lower.
 

Dav4

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Well, crap. Neighbors just called the cops on me because I was out in the yard teabaggin my empty bonsai pots. Apparently I missed out on a rather important inside joke.
Folks who participate in shows will oil the pots just before the show to more consistently darken the clay and hide blemishes like mineral deposits and small surface abrasions. I've always used mineral oil applied with a rag, but @adair has routinely uses a sock full of crushed walnuts to rub directly on his pots. A sock full of nuts = nut sock, which is just one consonant from nut sack.... :)
 

M. Frary

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I thought all the nut sack questions had been answered... but NO!! I always assumed a good nut sack had a moistening affect on whatever you chose to rub it on... or, at least, that was ALWAYS my experience... :p.
That all depends on how hot it is.
Sometimes there is sweat.
 

Adair M

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Folks who participate in shows will oil the pots just before the show to more consistently darken the clay and hide blemishes like mineral deposits and small surface abrasions. I've always used mineral oil applied with a rag, but @adair has routinely uses a sock full of crushed walnuts to rub directly on his pots. A sock full of nuts = nut sock, which is just one consonant from nut sack.... :)
Indeed. A sock-o-nuts!

If youā€™re too lazy to crush the walnuts in the sock, walnut oil will suffice, however, it tends to have more sheen than freshly crush walnut oil. So, be extra vigilant in trying to ā€œremoveā€ it once you apply it!

Periodic oiling pots and leaving them outside is the best way I know to create patina.
 

bonsai45

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Thank you for sharing @Adair M , this method appeals to me!

A sock-o-nuts!

Can I please ask what kind of sock you use? I imagine not an absorbent gym sock, but also not a women's pantyhose because it could be abrasive? Are you actually using a sock, or more like a tea bag or cheese cloth?

Very interested in the details - thank for you for your time!
 

sorce

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The older the nut sack the more it starts looking like a sock

Ha!

The older the sock the more it starts looking like a nutsack too!



It depends on how much nut in the sack!

@Leo in N E Illinois I found what I believed to be a black walnut in the chicken coop. Cracked it and ate it. Tasted like peach almost. So good!
Reckon it was Black walnut?

Sorce
 

rockm

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Thank you for sharing @Adair M , this method appeals to me!



Can I please ask what kind of sock you use? I imagine not an absorbent gym sock, but also not a women's pantyhose because it could be abrasive? Are you actually using a sock, or more like a tea bag or cheese cloth?

Very interested in the details - thank for you for your time!
the best sock to use is someone else's sock...Cotton socks are best. skip the nylon, non absorbing materials. you want to evenly apply the oil. Synthetics will allow more oil through and as you note, could be abrasive.
šŸ˜
 

Adair M

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Thank you for sharing @Adair M , this method appeals to me!



Can I please ask what kind of sock you use? I imagine not an absorbent gym sock, but also not a women's pantyhose because it could be abrasive? Are you actually using a sock, or more like a tea bag or cheese cloth?

Very interested in the details - thank for you for your time!
I use old cotton athletic socks.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Gentle cleaning is key. Soft cloth, plain water, is best initial cleaning.

Took me years to undo mistakes like believe some self important know it all and putting a thin coat of "Armor-All" on a pot. Furniture polishes are also a mistake.

The only oils should be drying oils, as mentioned. Walnut oil is a good one. Camellia oil has been used. Expensive outside of Japan & China.

Vinegar can help clean white salt stains, but best way to avoid white salt stains is never leave a pot standing in water. Many set pots on humidity trays, the feet of the pot, wick water up from the tray, and you end up with salt stains on the feet of the pots.

Some claim you can remove salt stains and improve patina by burying a pot in organic compost or compost-peat moss blend. The acids from the compost slowly dissolve the salts, and the tannins allegedly improve the patina. Leave the pot buried for about one year, then wipe clean and inspect. Salt stains should be largely gone.

My best pots, get touched by nothing more than a soft cotton cloth and water.

Though I should make me a nutsack.
 
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