Very Fine Sand
 
 
 
GRACELAIN  - Sand Paste – Using Burnishing Sand 
 
A portion of Texture Coat/Paste powder with 1/3 Burnishing Sand mixed with a Copaiba based medium (don’t use an open medium or pure copaiba – as the paste has a tendancy to run in the kiln).  My GCC Semi Open Medium is excellent for this mix (see below *)
 
  Mix to a consistency which is easy to apply with a brush (use a synthetic brush or old brush as the sand will eventually ruin your good brushes) Apply to desired area and fire to 800deg.
 
Note:  the application of the sand paste can be as thin or as wide as you like.  It can also be applied quite thickly.  Bits of glass or glass beads can be put into this mixture and fired to 800 deg.  The glass bits at this temperature will “round off” .  Very occasionally a bit of this glass may chip off the paste work (it could be the next day or in 2 years) – just glue it back on.
NOTE OF CAUTION - If you mix too much sand into the paste 
 The paste mix could fall off
 When you apply your gold, platinum, or copper it may fire dull.  
To correct this – Brush a thin coat of mixed Texture Coat over the dull gold.  Fire 800.  Apply another coat of gold, platinum, or copper. 
 
LB Gold, Platinum or Copper can be applied over the paste and fired to 750deg.  You may need a 2nd coat if not enough has been applied on the first application.
Some lustres look good over the paste.  The paler lustres look insipid, but Midnight Blue Violet (a dark Blue) for example looks lovely.  Fire 700deg.
Don’t use Green lustres as they go grey over the pastework.  Test fire if in doubt.
 
If you use a lot of sand paste, it can be mixed in bulk and stored in an air tight container.  
 * The GRACELAIN Semi Open Medium works well as it keeps the mixture open for quite a long time.  Over time the mix may set slightly or possibly separate. If it sets a little, just take a portion out onto your tile and reconstitute with a little more of the GRACELAIN Semi Open Medium. If the mix separates just give a stir in the jar.    If the sand paste is mixed with some of the heavier Copaiba based mediums, the paste can set hard over a period and cannot be reconstituted. 
The Sand paste mix can also be used with a Water Based Medium.  The WB Mediums in Australia are fast drying but the Thais Blue Medium is an open WB Medium and this could be used.  Do not mix too wet though.
 
 
 
Your sand paste can be coloured with paint.  I would recommend test firing first as some colours (such as the greens) change when mixed with paste and fired.
 
Mix about 1/3 paint with the sand paste mixture and Fire to 800 deg.
EXPERIMENT.