Four clear silicone bumper pads stuck to the foot ring on the bottom of a white fluted ceramic vase

FOR THE BOTTOM OF YOUR POT

Felt or Silicone Bumper Pads

A fired foot ring is basically sandpaper with ambition. Four pads underneath and your table stops paying for your hobby.

One purchase covers four pads. Peel four off the sheet and put the sheet back. If you need eight, buy two.

$2.00 four pads

Pick your bumper

Take four pads. Not the sheet. One purchase is four pads off the main sheet, and the sheet stays in the studio for the next person. In-studio purchase only. We do not ship any of this. If you are not a member standing in the building, this one is not for you.

FOUR PADS PER PURCHASE PEEL AND STICK

Felt or silicone?

They both stop the scratching. The difference is whether you want the piece to move.

Felt, 3/8 inch

Thin, soft and slick. It protects the table and lets the piece slide when you nudge it, which is what you want for anything that gets moved a lot: mugs coming off a shelf, a bowl that gets passed around the table, a piece that lives next to a sink.

Silicone, 1/2 inch

A little taller, soft on top and firm underneath, and grippy. It protects the table and holds the piece exactly where you set it down. Best for anything you would rather not find an inch to the left: a vase, a heavy serving bowl, anything tall.

THE ONE LINE VERSION

Want it to slide? Felt. Want it to stay put? Silicone.

Putting them on

Adhesive does not stick to dust and it does not stick to damp. Ninety seconds of prep is the whole difference between a pad that lasts years and one you find on the floor.

  1. 1

    Sand the foot first

    A diamond pad or a bit of wet sandpaper on the foot ring does more for your table than any bumper will. Do this even if you are not using pads.

  2. 2

    Wipe it clean and dry

    Get the kiln wash, the dust and the water off. Then let it dry all the way before you peel anything.

  3. 3

    Space them evenly

    Around the foot ring, not clustered in the middle. The pads are doing the standing, so they want to be under the widest part of the base.

  4. 4

    Press each one

    A few seconds of real pressure per pad. The adhesive needs contact, not just placement.

If the piece rocks, use three

Three points always sit flat, on any surface, no matter how the foot came out of the kiln. Four points on a slightly warped foot will rock forever. This is geometry, not a pottery opinion, and it is the single best thing on this page.

Match the pad to the piece

A tall vase with a small foot wants silicone, because tipping is the real risk and grip is what stops it. A wide shallow bowl on a dining table wants felt, because it is going to get slid around and you want that to feel smooth.

Worth knowing

  • In-studio purchase only. We do not ship any of this. If you are not a member standing in the building, this one is not for you.
  • No refunds.
  • One purchase equals four pads. Need eight? Set the quantity to 2. Need twelve? Set it to 3.
  • Do not take a whole sheet. Peel off four and leave the rest for the next member.
  • Felt is 3/8 inch. Silicone is 1/2 inch.
  • They go on a finished, fired, dry piece. They will not stick to greenware, to a wet pot, or to a foot you just sanded and did not wipe.
  • Silicone sits a little taller, so a lidded piece or anything measured to fit a shelf may need felt instead.

Two dollars now, or a conversation about the dining table later.