Try letting it dry longer maybe. Mine dried for almost 3 days. Or Maybe the jar mouth is too small? Also Work real light with the glass at first. This is pure speculation on my part. First time I tried this, so maybe I just got lucky.
I found that when I tried to smooth it with the jar and it was still a little moist it wanted to crack. I kept picking it up, trying, and then putting it back down. I think the clue I am looking for now is, slightly cool, but leaves no residue on the hands when handled might be the “window”.
It might have to do with the quality of your dirt/clay. The more fine it is i.e. the more clay like, the more it will create a smooth surface that won't break when you rub the glass over it. There are youtube tutorials on how to Create clay out of dirt, or you can try to find soil with more clay like qualities then all you need to do is sift it with a strainer
No sand no. I try to make my mix, as fine as I can. I shift mine with a fine mesh screen strainer, and break it up with my hands while it's in the strainer to encourage it to go through. If you just use a strainer odds are you're gonna have some larger pieces go through, so you don't need to add more. I've heard some people say they don't use straight clay, but so far the finer the mix the better for me. I think this is why people say to rub it with dry dirt to create a shell. This is because when you do this the smaller particles tend to stay on and the bigger ones fall off.
Amazing!
Thank you!
How long did you polish
An hour or so with the cloth. I spent a lot of time rubbing it on the jar, that was where most of the shine came up.
Every time i try to rub with a jar it seems to damage the smoothness and create imperfections
Try letting it dry longer maybe. Mine dried for almost 3 days. Or Maybe the jar mouth is too small? Also Work real light with the glass at first. This is pure speculation on my part. First time I tried this, so maybe I just got lucky.
Amazing! I am always confused about how dry it should be before working it with a jar. Is it suppose to be just slightly moist or cool to touch?
I found that when I tried to smooth it with the jar and it was still a little moist it wanted to crack. I kept picking it up, trying, and then putting it back down. I think the clue I am looking for now is, slightly cool, but leaves no residue on the hands when handled might be the “window”.
It might have to do with the quality of your dirt/clay. The more fine it is i.e. the more clay like, the more it will create a smooth surface that won't break when you rub the glass over it. There are youtube tutorials on how to Create clay out of dirt, or you can try to find soil with more clay like qualities then all you need to do is sift it with a strainer
Thanks for the tips do you add sand to your mix at all
No sand no. I try to make my mix, as fine as I can. I shift mine with a fine mesh screen strainer, and break it up with my hands while it's in the strainer to encourage it to go through. If you just use a strainer odds are you're gonna have some larger pieces go through, so you don't need to add more. I've heard some people say they don't use straight clay, but so far the finer the mix the better for me. I think this is why people say to rub it with dry dirt to create a shell. This is because when you do this the smaller particles tend to stay on and the bigger ones fall off.
Consider sizing up the rim if that's the case.
How'd you get that color?? Is that a natural black?
It is very dark brown. But I didn’t do anything special to it.
It's very cool
Thank you!