I use my fingertips to burnish the outer walls when the clay is leather hard. I also use a strip of flexible plastic to burnish the rim at the same time. I leave them on the batt until then as it makes this stage easier, then wire them off after. At this point they should be solid enough to easily remove them from the batt without deforming or marking them.

If they're becoming mugs, I'll leave them overnight in a sealed plastic container then add handles.

That's all there is to it! Please try it and let me know how you get on, message me or use the hashtag oldforgecreations (I often miss @mentions on Instagram and there's no way to find them afterwards, but I'll see the tag). Good luck!