pre-carbonized bowl questions....hopefully not out of line

[loosvelt]

Guys, I have a question on precarbonizing bowls. I am about try it for the first time, and have a few questions. One might make me sound like a big dummy and hopefully the other is not out line.

I am going to use activated carbon, sodium silicate and pumice. Do I use a little water to dampen the mixture or do I just keep rubbing in a dry mixture? (I really might sound like a newb dummy How do you apply it, papertowl, rag?

I plan on using a 2:2:1 mixture, I know you guys like for people to expirement and then come back with more informed questions, but will anyone kind of point me in the right direction regarding the consistency? Am I way off?

I greatly apologize if my last question is out of line. I know many of you make a living making and selling pipes, and I am not trying to come off like I am asking for any trade secrets.

[DMI]

I've not used the mixture you've described but it is normal to make up a paste and paint it on with a brush, fingertip,qtip,pipecleaner etc. I find it helps to dampen the chamber just prior to painting.

I'd be interested to know how you get on with the mix once it's dried as it sounds like it may be harder than the carbon, creme fraiche mix that I use.

[KurtHuhn]

The sodium silicate solution can be mixed either with powdered sodium silicate, or with the pre-mixed solution. Sodium silicate is water soluble, so the only difference would be in the concentration of the compound that you would get. The liquid form is usually sold as a 42 baume solution, and mixes readily with the other ingredients. A gallon of the stuff will last a hobbyist for years.

If you use the powdered sodium silicate, add some water to make a thin paste. I'm not familiar with that particular recipe, but hopefully someone who uses it could offer guidance.

There's also the buttermilk, sour cream, activated carbon, and pumice mix. Sometimes simply buttermilk, activated carbon, and pumice.

Either way the coating should be applied wet and allowed to dry. Whichever recipe you use, it should be roughly the consistency of latex house paint, and applied thinly and evenly. Don't gob it into the chamber.