Old crunchy glaze

[Littlekernpots]

So I bought a studio and all the goodies from a friend and many of the glazes are dried out. I’ve reconstituted most of them but some have heavy sediment and won’t mix. Can I strain them and make them usable again or is it a lost cause?

[Mark C.]

Put them in a thrift shop blender like an oster. They will mix right up in the blender.

[Min]

What Mark said then put them through a sieve, 80 mesh would be fine. If anything is left in the sieve then add a little water to it and microwave it until hot then put it through the sieve. To get the sediment out of the bottom of the container pour off all the liquid you can then use a loop trimming tool to cut the sediment out.  Are these dipping glazes or commercial brushing glazes? 

Welcome to the forum.

[Mark C.]

Yes hot water works great when you need to add water to narly glazes.Ditto on what Min says above.

 

[Pres]

Stick blender also works well, if don't have another blender. I use mine a lot for stains, and glazes that may get to stony to use. I usually add hot water, let sit for a while and stick blend. Often the biggest problem with some of the standard jars is the lack of an opening large enough to get the glaze out. Sometimes would cut the jar in half with a band saw and peel glaze out. . . extreme but?  I'm glad some manufacturers are using wide mouth jars, but I don't use commercial any more.

 

best,

Pres

[Chilly]

If the glaze is really dried hard, you can shave it off with a tool like this.  Don't forget to wear a dust mask.

 

[Benzine]

The great thing about glazes is, that like clay, until they are fired, they can continuously be reused/ recycled.

I use a stick blender to mix slip and glazes, because you don't have to move the material you are mixing to a different container, which is handy.  

If the glaze is still heavily settling to the bottom, it may need to be tweaked a bit, by adding some bentonite and/ or epsom salt, to help better suspend it.