pjhallo Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Hi, I am a newbie to much of ceramics, and use commercial glazes to make pieces for my mosaic sculptures. Recently I was gifted a large amount of Duncan envision 06 glazes, mayco series 2000 cone 06 and Duncan gloss 06 glazes with lead in them. Naturally, the colors I need for the 2 pieces I am working on are not there and I was wondering if they can be mixed? I know Envisions can be mixed with each other but can the lead glazes be added to the lead free? Or the Mayco to the Duncan? I know I need to just experiment but having a small kiln and limited time I wondered if anyone had any advice or experience with this I would greatly appreciate it. Also...if the lead and leadfree cannot be mixed can they be layered on top of each other...if one is translucent? Thank you anyone for the help! PJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted January 2, 2017 Report Share Posted January 2, 2017 Any time you mix or layer glazes you essentially get a new glaze. You won't know if that new mix is good or not unless you test it. Many combinations are more fluid than either glaze on its own, some bubble, some crawl, but many work just fine. You'll just have to test them to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted January 2, 2017 Report Share Posted January 2, 2017 Mixing glaze "colours" is not like mixing paint. It's highly likely you will not get the colour you expect, in addition to all the issues Neil refers to. Test, Test, Test. At one time, we had 12 ^6 glazes, plus white and clear. I did tests of each of the 12 mixed 50:50 with white, and again with clear. Some results were as expected, others were most definitely not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_L Posted January 2, 2017 Report Share Posted January 2, 2017 Hi Pj, As Chilly says, test test test. Many combinations will not work but some will. Sometimes layering glazes on the clay works (allow it to dry a little between coats), sometimes wet mixing works. Try all combinations such as applying 1 coat of glaze A + 2 coats of glaze B, 2A+1B, 2A+2B, and also mixing the liquids in proportions before applying. As Neil says, some might run or crawl - I put a ledge in my test tiles to catch a run so it doesn't get on the shelf. And two food-safe glazes combined can't be automatically treated as a new food-safe glaze but you are doing sculptures so that won't bother you. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted March 8, 2017 Report Share Posted March 8, 2017 OK--so "...two food-safe glazes combined can't be automatically treated as a new food-safe glaze." My question is, are they OK for trays made for dry or cold food only, like crackers and cheese? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_L Posted March 8, 2017 Report Share Posted March 8, 2017 That depends on your cheese There are some seriously toxic cheeses out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_L Posted March 8, 2017 Report Share Posted March 8, 2017 More seriously, there is no way of knowing without testing. The only exception might be if both glazes came from the same manufacturer and they stated they were food safe AND mixable with each other (I think there are a couple of ranges that do this). Generally I use layered combinations or mixes only on non-food surfaces and avoid them on the food surface. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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