Less trouble, however, is experienced with the light colors, such as yellows, grays, blues, reds and light greens. While in the darker colors, the browns, dark greens, purples, etc., it is found that they are more liable to chip off.
Then too very hard china gives more trouble than a softer ware, such as English or Belleek.
Artists frequently think that thick colors will produce heavier tints. This is not so. The mistake is a bad one. The colors will not only chip off very soon, but will lose their brilliancy. The only sure way to meet with satisfactory results is to apply the color very evenly, avoiding lumpy strokes.
If colors are well mixed and perfectly smooth and free from grit, there is very little danger of chipping.
The most objectionable feature in china painting, and we might say hopeless one, is chipping, as there is really no good way to remedy it. The nearest thing to a solution that we can offer is to fill in the chipped place and refire—but the glaze will never be quite the same. The great danger in refiring is that some other part of the decoration may be marred in the same way. Whenever the chipping occurs in a place that can be covered with enamel or paste and gold, it is best to remedy it in this way.
One way to remedy it, and to avoid the necessity of an extra firing, is to mix the powdered color with copal varnish and apply it thickly over the chipped places. This looks fairly well and will remain brilliant for some time.
Another difficulty that may be experienced is blistering. The cause of this is bad oil. In this case the color will not chip off, but it will shrink. This condition is hard to remedy but a small amount of oil of cloves added to the mixing medium will prevent it.
In decalcomania or transfer work, blistering happens very frequently. This happens because the transfers have not been washed sufficiently, and thoroughly dried before applying. This may be prevented if a wash of oil of cloves is used, over the dry transfer, dabbing it on with a slightly moistened pad. It is absolutely necessary that the transfers should be free from any trace of moisture.
