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A steady hand and practice are necessary to acquire good results in banding and lining. The best results are obtained with the “Star” Banding Wheel. Operation of the wheel is very simple. Three centering buttons move together automatically, bringing the article to the exact center and holding it in an unmovable position. These are adjustable and can be raised to hold in position bowls, vases, etc. A large amount of valuable time is saved by using the “Star” Banding Wheel. It is easily manipulated by the most inexperienced and is practically indestructible.
Do not move the brush around the china. By resting your arm on a support you can turn the banding wheel slowly and keep the brush in a steady position, and touch the china lightly.
A good brush is necessary to make a band, but a thin one is used to make a small line.
The colors must be kept in a half liquid state. In this state they flow easily and an even line is the result. The brush should pass over the same line several times.
Bands are made with grounding oil so they may be dusted with powder—the same as in the ground-laying process. This is preferable to using wet colors for a broad band. With this process the band is even and glazy. A cut liner is used for lines and edges. This brush is best for this work as it carries the large quantities necessary for a long line.
Perfect lines must be made with one stroke—as several short strokes are sure to appear blotchy. When lines are made of gold or silver, the metal used should be more liquid than when used in painting.
A compass, with a ruling pen, can be used for making lines. China color made liquid with diluting medium is used.
Lines may be drawn around the edges of bowls, plates, saucers, etc.
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Different metals are used as a basis in producing various colors. Iron is the basis for flesh tints, reds and browns. Less iron (in proportion) is used for yellow and green.
Gold and tin are used as the basis for pinks, roses, carmines, blues, purples and violets. In mixing colors of iron basis with those of gold and tin basis the lustre and brilliancy is sometimes impaired. Experience will show that purple (which has gold or tin as basis) mixed with black or brown (iron basis) sometimes loses its glaze, on the other hand the same purple will, as a rule, keep its glaze if mixed with dark green, owing to the fact that greens have a smaller per cent of iron. The combining of the two basic metals causes the oxidization, and this difficulty is hard to remedy. A scroll of gold or silver is quite a help in this dilemma, they being opaque, defects are easily covered. Satisfactory tints can be procured by mixing colors of iron basis as one class and those of gold and tin basis as another.
