cleaning and maintaning yi xing's

[odarwin]

hi guys,

need help about cleaning and maintaining yi xing's
this small pear shaped pot i got in december and ive been using it almost everyday in the office. so its about 4 months now and here is a before and after shot of it.
in reality, its gotten a nice shine, and deeper color to it. i dont do anything special. i just rinse it with water after every use and let dry. i just rubbed it with a cloth before taking its picture and the shine came out.

before:

no flash

4 months after:


no flash

ive noticed some darker patches on the surface. i normally see this in used pots and im wondering how i can remove this without "hurting" the pot's patina, shine, and color. ive seen really "clean" used pots and it really is a beauty to look at. so how can i remove those black patches? do i just rub and rub and rub till it goes away?

-darwin

[bi lew chun]

do i just rub and rub and rub till it goes away?

Could be the universal solution.

[MarshalN]

I don't see the black patches...

but usually rubbing is the way to get rid of them. Where are they black patches located?

[odarwin]

the black patches are very faint,
on the third picture, there is one big patch near the bottom joint of the pot and handle. there are more on the lid and other parts of the body, and a nasty ring on the bottom of the pot

-darwin

[sp1key]

the black patches are very faint,
on the third picture, there is one big patch near the bottom joint of the pot and handle. there are more on the lid and other parts of the body, and a nasty ring on the bottom of the pot

-darwin

did you clean your pot properly with a brush before it was first used? if not, that could be the reason.

dust, dirt particle trapped in those porous holes of the surface will eventually become black shades/patches and after use.

[odarwin]

i did not brush the pot before using it.
i just soaked it in boiling water and tea leaves for 2 hours and thats it...

so what now should i do it its the case? just rub and rub till its gone?

-darwin

[MarshalN]

The places where the black patches are..... sounds like you pour tea over the body of the pot all the time? That will usually do it.

Yeah, rub it off, if you can, with a wet cloth. Some of it might be hard to remove.

[wyardley]

It also depends whether the tea-stained parts bother you, and your overall approach to teapot maintenance. I like my pots a little cleaner than some people, but I still think that slight unevenness is kind of what makes the patina on a teapot interesting. There's no set of rules that you have to follow, so just see what works for you, and over time, you'll start to develop an approach that works for you.

I know some people who never polish their pots and leave spent leaves in them for days at a time.

I have personally had some weird issues that I think might have to do with polishing off too much when trying to get rid of a stubborn patch.... so go easy if you decide to try to rub off the black stuff.

[MarshalN]

As a general rule I don't rub my pots at all. I also no longer pour any tea over the pot -- maybe one in an entire session, if I feel like it. Eventually the pot will glow on its own without you doing much work. That's usually the best. If you polish too much the shine is very glossy and is rather unsightly

[Tead Off]

i did not brush the pot before using it.
i just soaked it in boiling water and tea leaves for 2 hours and thats it...

so what now should i do it its the case? just rub and rub till its gone?

-darwin

The dark patches are almost certainly tea stains either from you pouring tea over the pot or just from the leakage that occurs naturally when using and pouring the teapot. If you don't like the stains, the easiest way to get them off is to pour hot water over the pot after you've removed the used tea and washed out the interior. Then, take your tea towel or any other cloth you like and start to rub. Make sure the water is very hot that you pour over it as it makes it easier to remove. This may take several tries over time depending on how stubborn and how much you dislike these stains. I have one teapot that was terribly stained on its lower third from sitting in tea water. I had never bother to clean it in 15 years. Recently, I decided to spiff it up and after a few weeks, the stains are almost gone. With more diligence than I, yours can be cleaned up very quickly.

[odarwin]

thanks everyone for your inputs
appreciate it very much

-darwin

[Luthier]

i hate tea stains on pots. i usually remove them on the session itself. brushing and wiping after every pour. i have a pot i think has become saturated. water just wont stick to the surface anymore. it isn't that old though. it has become neither glossy not matte. more like satin.

[chrl42]

The picture does look unclear.

I think it has to do with whether it absorbed into the surface ('Tu Hei' - caused from none-crystallization, low temp firing) or just common tea stain.

Former you might need to ask the potter to re-fire while latter wiping might eventually solve. However I'd think it's former because of the shape of tea stain. I haven't seen that kind of down-right blot on my pots most of em remains around edges..

[betta]

One of my pots develop also dark patina. It seems to be trapped between the shrinkage and curvature of the pot. What I do is normally pour the "first flush" on the pot and everytime I brew, the overflowing liquid is brushed.




I want to remove only dark stain but not willing to loose the entire patina. Gentle rubbing isn't able to remove it. I don't dare to rub it roughly because it is thin and old. Please suggest me. Thanks for any feedback.

[Tead Off]

I have a couple of pots similar to yours in shrinkage and also with some dark spots in the crevices. The only way to minimize this buildup is to either not pour any tea over the pot, or, at the end of every session, pour very hot water over the pot and take a tea towel and rub fairly vigorously. It doesn't remove patina on these pots, only the tea stains. Zhuni clay is not very porous. The natural sheen of the clay does not come off. I'm not sure if you will be able to remove all the dark spots because of the minute crevices that are inherent in the surface due to shrinkage.