Looking To Start Mixing My Own Glazes

[Guest]

Yes, my p100 is a proper fitting mask and not one of those paper ones that make you think you are doing the right thing, Thanks for asking.

[Joseph Fireborn]

What about zircopax? Unless you plan on only using Tin for white glazes? Which is pretty expensive and usually not worth it unless your wanting a softer white.

[GEP]

What about zircopax? Unless you plan on only using Tin for white glazes? Which is pretty expensive and usually not worth it unless your wanting a softer white.

To each their own, and different recipes will yield different results too, but I've tried subbing Zircopax for Tin Ox a few times, and have never liked it. Zircopax glazes don't break on edges and textures. I'll gladly pay $30/pound for Tin. Tin breaks on edges, makes a brighter white, and has more subtle variation throughout.

[High Bridge Pottery]

I find tin is a lot like rutile and it makes these swirls of different glass, zicropax is flat.

 

Min your are right about the ferro frits 3134 3124, I am used to using one that's 50% B2O3. There seems to be a lot of choice anyway while I had a look on digital fire under ferro frit.

 

I also happened to notice the company I get materials from sell a high alkaline frit and have missed off 7%~ BaO in the description. Selling it under 'good for crackle glazes' That doesn't seem right.

[Joseph Fireborn]

 

What about zircopax? Unless you plan on only using Tin for white glazes? Which is pretty expensive and usually not worth it unless your wanting a softer white.

To each their own, and different recipes will yield different results too, but I've tried subbing Zircopax for Tin Ox a few times, and have never liked it. Zircopax glazes don't break on edges and textures. I'll gladly pay $30/pound for Tin. Tin breaks on edges, makes a brighter white, and has more subtle variation throughout.

 

 

I am not disagreeing with you at all. I have a 5 gallon bucket with a glaze that has 12% Tin Oxide in it. I use it all the time its my liner glaze for most of my pots. However not having any zircopax at all seems like a lot of Tin Oxide being used for glazes where zircopax could be used instead. Doesn't Zircopax stiffen the melt? I am pretty sure I read that somewhere(could be way off).

 

One thing I don't like about zircopax compared to tin is the color of high zircopax recipes reminds me of sinks and toilets. I rarely use it over 5%. 

[GEP]

The way I see it, I spent only $300 on glaze materials last year. $150 of that was for Tin Ox. Making one's own glazes is still really cheap, even when Tin is involved.

 

Anytime I held a Tin glaze test next to a Zircopax test, the Zircopax glaze looked like flat muddy yellow.

[Guest]

I setup an account with Digitalfire and downloaded and installed Insight (level 2) and it looks like the XML file that contains recipes are no longer available.

 

 

I know water is a big component in glaze recipes and I have access to three different sources (all well water):

  1) hard tap water that has a lot of calcium

  2) hard tap water that has been soften using salt. According to the manufacture there is less salt in 8oz of water then there is in a slice of regular white bread.

  3) tap water that has an iron content - according to the lab were I get it tested and it is potable (although I have this strange attraction to magnets  )

 

My guess is #1 would be the best?

[glazenerd]

#1..calcium is good for the bones and glazes.  The concentration levels (PPM) is not high enough to have overly noticeable effects.

[Guest]

I setup an account with Digitalfire and downloaded and installed Insight (level 2) and it looks like the XML file that contains recipes are no longer available.

 

My error, it never came with the recipe XML file, I just needed a chance for my coffee to kick in.

[oldlady]

ron, the cost of a few gallons of distilled water is less than a dollar a gallon.  even if you move, that will be the same every time.

[Guest]

LOL, I had considered that as option #4 but I thought it might be considered a bit obsessive.

[Min]

 

 

 

 

 

To each their own, and different recipes will yield different results too, but I've tried subbing Zircopax for Tin Ox a few times, and have never liked it. Zircopax glazes don't break on edges and textures. I'll gladly pay $30/pound for Tin. Tin breaks on edges, makes a brighter white, and has more subtle variation throughout.

 

 

US Pigments still has it on sale for 22/lb, I just got 5 lbs, was $6- for shipping (to the US)

 

https://uspigment.com/product/tin-oxidestannic-oxide/

[GEP]

 

To each their own, and different recipes will yield different results too, but I've tried subbing Zircopax for Tin Ox a few times, and have never liked it. Zircopax glazes don't break on edges and textures. I'll gladly pay $30/pound for Tin. Tin breaks on edges, makes a brighter white, and has more subtle variation throughout.

 

 

US Pigments still has it on sale for 22/lb, I just got 5 lbs, was $6- for shipping (to the US)

 

https://uspigment.com/product/tin-oxidestannic-oxide/

Thanks Min. I once bought $22/pound Tin Oxide from Highwater. I'm guessing it's the same stuff sold at US Pigment. It was years ago so I don't remember exactly what was different, but it was different from the one my local supplier carries (Baltimore Clayworks). I'm not not saying it was worse, just that it was different. For the sake of consistency and pickiness, I decided to keep buying it locally.

[Mark C.]

80 mesh screen is all thats needed

electronic scale-under 30$ on amazon will do fine

[ayjay]

 

I am not disagreeing with you at all. I have a 5 gallon bucket with a glaze that has 12% Tin Oxide in it. I use it all the time its my liner glaze for most of my pots.

 

Does using 12% do something other than make a simple white liner glaze?

 

I use 4% Tin Oxide added to my clear liner and it makes a perfect white liner glaze.

[Guest]

I'll be adding Zicropax, Talc and 80 mesh test and full size sieves to my list.

 

I do like it when the glaze breaks as GEP mentioned but there will be times when I won't what that to happen so I'll get both zicropax and tin oxide.

 

I've noticed, and I'm sure everyone already knows, that recipes never include how much water to add or even the specific gravity. I thinking all this depends on how I apply the glaze and its better to start with less and add more water as I go. Right now I'm pouring and brushing and I want to get away from brushing and start spraying or dipping.

 

So my guess is if I have 100 grams of dry glaze materials I might start with 50mL of water and go from there. Is this sound or is there a better way?

[High Bridge Pottery]

I generally start with 2/3 the weight of water. So if I am making a 5kg batch of glaze I will chuck 3-3.5 jugs (1000ml) of water in the bucket first, add dry and mix up then measure SG the next day and add water as needed.

 

I find 2/3 weight will get you to about a custard consistency 

[Guest]

Thanks Joel

[glazenerd]

Ron:

You will find that the amount of water required from recipe to recipe varies little. The exception to that rule is when clay/s or bentonite, or gums are added. Ball clay/s, bentonite, and gums absorb up to four times their weight in water.

Nerd

[Joseph Fireborn]

Ayjay

 

It's a glaze that has a lot of iron in it. So it turns a creamy white with breaks of brown. If you lower the tin it turns more brown.

[Joe_L]

All I can say is what a timely post and what a lot of useful info as I'm going to be starting on this road sometime soon.#

Joe

[oldlady]

joe, when you start spraying glaze, do not thin the glaze too much.  if you are going to start single firing, you will find that the glaze dries instantly when applied to dry greenware.  that is a big plus for single firing.  if you use your sprayer on ** BISQUE** it will take a little while to dry but it will work.

 

(many of my glazes are milkshake thickness and they work very well like that.)

 

SORRY, TOO LONG A DAY. SO I EDITED IT.

[Guest]

Lithium Carbonate and Spodumene seem similar, should I still get both?

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Pull them up next to each other in Insight. You can do that with individual materials in order to compare them. Lithium Carbonate will only supply lithium to the glaze, while spodumene is a mineral, and will supply other things as well.

 

Also, you can have a look at the Digitalfire Materials database on their website. The two are written by Tony Hanson, so the two resources are meant to go together. His tutorial videos are a bit like listening to paint dry, but if you follow along with exercises that he does in your own program, I find them to be quite helpful.

 

And on the whole opacifier thing, I'm currently experimenting with a combination of opacifiers (tin, zircopax and titanium), because I am one of those people who can tell the difference between 9 different white paint chips, and I'm picky. The clay body beneath any glaze really does heavily influence the outcome heavily, but the effects are usually first noticed in a clear and a white glaze.

[High Bridge Pottery]

I have never used lithium carb, easy to get enough in there with spodumene/petalite.