ITC-100HT Ceramic Coating for Refractories

**kemp_l** · Jan 20, 2016, 01:59 AM

ITC-100HT Ceramic Coating for Refractories. Is there something like the itc-100 that is cheaper to use?

I want to make a forge with the portland cement, sand, Perlite, and clay. But I was thinking the the itc

would protect the cement from the heat. Problem is 100 bucks or so cost. Is there a cheaper option for

reflecting heat from the concrete?

**Chronic Fabricator** · Feb 6, 2016, 09:10 PM

I'm not familiar with ITC-100HT Ceramic Coating but when I built my propane tank foundry all I used was 1" kaowool under my homemade refractory. Why would you need to protect your refractory from the heat? Isn't its purpose to withstand the high temperatures? I apologize if I misunderstood or if I'm not smart enough to answer your question. But for what it's worth, I got a 3' x 4' sheet on ebay for around $40. Which was almost twice what I needed for my 5lb propane tank foundry. There's a great 3 part tutorial on youtube by rlbob1 called Backyard Foundry Tutorial. Hope this helps. Good luck!

**Chronic Fabricator** · Feb 6, 2016, 09:20 PM

Just reread your post. Seems like you're looking for something to make the refractory more efficient. Sorry I never bothered to seal my refractory. Hope someone else here can help you better than I could. Good luck still!

**Bverysharp** · Feb 19, 2016, 06:38 AM

You might like to try mixing fire clay with zircon flour & 20 grit fire brick grog. I experimented with quantities, but treated it like a concrete mix 1:1:3. The Zircon has a melting temperature around 3600C. I coated the inside of my gas-fired aluminium melting furnace with this, and it has held up far better than the portland cement & fireclay mix that I used when I initially made the furnace. The Zircon flour costed me about $12 for 5 Kg, but you don't need a lot.
You should be able to get it from pottery suppliers.

**RFS** · Mar 1, 2016, 12:12 AM

If you're going to use cement you might try using firebricks? You can get them cheap straight from the brick seller. You can also buy a cheap needle scaler at HF and crush up firebrick with it, mix into your recipe and it should hold up fine.

**kemp_l** · Mar 1, 2016, 09:27 PM

Thank you all for the information you supplied. I am backing out of using cement the more I read about it. I am thinking that bverysharps recipe may be what I am looking for.

fire clay 1part
zircon flour 1part
20 grit fire brick grog 3parts

Does anyone have a tutorial with this recipe? Step by Step Details link,Pdf,Doc, that they would recommend or have used? I am not sure about how to make 20 grit grog. I guess what I am asking is for someone to hold my hand and walk me through a build that will last. I will be picking up the needle scaler at hf and calling for zircon flower in the morning.

**kemp_l** · Mar 3, 2016, 03:15 AM

Ummm, Man I feel a bit foolish. RFS, Explained using a needle scaler and it just now clicked..Man sometimes the obvious just flies over my head....Not sure why I also was thinking grog was a thin fluid..Oh yea, I went to youtube and am watching the videos mentioned above...Very cool stuff.

**kemp_l** · Mar 6, 2016, 09:47 PM

ok 5lb Zircon flour, will be here Tuesday. They want 150 bucks for a bag 50lbs so ordered 5lb off internet. Got the bag of fire clay 50lb. Got to get after the 20 grit grog. I got the needle scaler and will pickup a six pack of fire brick monday and work it down to 20 grit. I think I am ready to Rock -n- Roll. Forgot the Earplugs. I think I will get the earmuff protector though instead of plugs. Spose eye Protection wouldn't be a bad idea either huh.