Making my own glaze for the first time...

[Marge]

I'm ready to start making my own glazes but don't know where to start. I've been buying liquid Spectrum cone 5 glazes but I want to start dipping rather than brushing. It is very expensive to buy 15 lbs of dry glaze to make 3 gallons of dipping glaze. (I hope that's the right ratio) I could use any words of advice on this subject. I've read many recipes for glazes and it seems very daunting. Is there an easy way to start... Perhaps a black or clear?

 

Thanks in advance, my bisque ware is piling up!!

[bciskepottery]

A good start would be John Hesselberth and Ron Roy's Mastering Cone 6 Glazes; they do a good job of explaining what a good glaze is and provide a wealth of recipes for glazes that they developed and tested. Many studios use some of these glazes. They offer several base glazes and then different colors based upon varying amount of coloring oxides. Another good book would be Michael Bailey's Cone 6 Glazes.

 

If you are already mixing dry commercial glazes, then you are familiar with what needs to be done.

 

Your learning curve will be determining what raw materials you need and how to measure and weigh out ingredients. Check Youtube . . . there should be some videos out there explaining how to use a triple beam balance scale or a digital scale.

 

A simple, reliable clear that I use is called So Clear:

 

Ferro Frit 3124 32.2%

Minspar (substitute for NC4) 25.8%

Silica 19.4%

Whiting 12.9%

EPK 9.6%

 

This is a nice root beer glossy glaze . . . on white it tends to be a bit golden; on brown, it is dark. Only three ingredients.

 

Amber Tyler

 

Redart 60%

Ferro Frit 3110 20%

Gerstley Borate/Gillespie Borate 20%

 

Check with studios in your area; some allow potters to use their glaze kitchen, for a fee, to measure the dry raw materials for glazes that you can then take home and finish mixing with water and sieveing. You might want to try that before buying a lot of raw materials and then finding out you really don't want to mix your own.

 

[Marge]

A good start would be John Hesselberth and Ron Roy's Mastering Cone 6 Glazes; they do a good job of explaining what a good glaze is and provide a wealth of recipes for glazes that they developed and tested. Many studios use some of these glazes. They offer several base glazes and then different colors based upon varying amount of coloring oxides. Another good book would be Michael Bailey's Cone 6 Glazes.

 

If you are already mixing dry commercial glazes, then you are familiar with what needs to be done.

 

Your learning curve will be determining what raw materials you need and how to measure and weigh out ingredients. Check Youtube . . . there should be some videos out there explaining how to use a triple beam balance scale or a digital scale.

 

A simple, reliable clear that I use is called So Clear:

 

Ferro Frit 3124 32.2%

Minspar (substitute for NC4) 25.8%

Silica 19.4%

Whiting 12.9%

EPK 9.6%

 

This is a nice root beer glossy glaze . . . on white it tends to be a bit golden; on brown, it is dark. Only three ingredients.

 

Amber Tyler

 

Redart 60%

Ferro Frit 3110 20%

Gerstley Borate/Gillespie Borate 20%

 

Check with studios in your area; some allow potters to use their glaze kitchen, for a fee, to measure the dry raw materials for glazes that you can then take home and finish mixing with water and sieveing. You might want to try that before buying a lot of raw materials and then finding out you really don't want to mix your own.

 

 

[Marge]

Thanks so much for the great feedback!! I went and purchased the ingredients for the clear that you suggested, as well as others from books that I found. Can't wait to figure this out...