recipe for a brushable clear gloss cone 6 glaze

[Rita Mattson]

Since I've been asking  how to tweak my current clear gloss glaze recipe so it doesn't get pan hard, perhaps I should be asking for a new recipe that someone knows

doesn't get pan hard, and can be brushed on, as opposed to dipped or poured.  I have been using the Spectrum or Amaco glazes and have been happy with the results, but

the cost and availability here on the island of Maui requires I start making my own glazes.   I'm not a production studio, just a small home shop ( 12' x 15') rmaking pieces for myself, family and friends.   All supplies I need must be shipped to the island from the mainland, and often the shipping is more than the items!   I used to be able to ship from Oahu (was a bit more reasonable), but they have gone out of  business!

I usually use Laguna Clay for my supplies, using flat rate shipping boxes.  Any recipe and/or supplier recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Mahalo, 

Rita  Mattson

 

[neilestrick]

@Rita Mattson You can make any glaze brushable by substituting some of the water with gum solution. So first find a glaze that fits your clay body. If you're just using the clear as a top coat over the whole pot, I strongly recommend just dipping it, as it is much faster and easier to get an even application than brushing.

Gum solution: Mix 2 tablespoons CMC gum and 1/2 teaspoon copper carbonate (preservative, won't affect glaze color) with 1 gallon of hot water. Mix and let set overnight. Then mix it well using a hand blender. Then when you make your glaze, substitute the gum solution for about 1/3 of the water. You can use more or less of it depending on how you like your glazes to brush.

[Bill Kielb]

Most glaze recipes will be for dipping so adjusting for brushing as above may be necessary.. Glazes often don’t work the same from place to place so ultimately often one has to mix, try and mix some more to test until eventually you find one that works for you, your claybody, your application method and of course your firing. So a bit tedious but once you find a dependable glaze it’s probably all worth it. There are many glaze recipes on glazy.org, digital fire, and other web resources. Testing them of course will be required to See if they fit your use.

In the studio we created a cone 6 gloss and matte clear because we had a need for It to melt well over heavy underglaze. Both were tested for durability and have worked  well for many on Bmix, porcelain, and Whitestone. They are popular in the studio and I still get Facebook posts of folks using them. That being said, they don’t work for everyone.

 Marcias matte here: https://glazy.org/recipes/19734

Bills hard candy clear :

neph sy 21.88

Silica 23.44

gerstley borate 15.63

EPK 20.31

wollastonite 18.75

Both have worked well for many but there are never any guarantees, gotta try them to find out. Even though these are not brushing glazes there are folks who use them that way.

 

[Min]

Given that it's expensive for you to get materials shipped in I would use what you have already. If the Sherrill So Clear fits your claybody without crazing then the least expensive fix for this would be to add some epsom salts solution to stop the hard-panning and use it as a dipping glaze. If you want to brush it then order in some CMC gum and use the gum solution in the glaze, it's something that is used in many applications, not something that is only available from pottery supply places. Epsom salts should be available in your local drugstore, it's not very expensive.

If you already have Ferro Frit 3134 a re-do that Sherrill So Clear glaze to use 3134 frit in place of the Ferro 3124 below,  this way there is more epk in the recipe so it shouldn't hard-pan nearly so much but for a brushing glaze you would still need to use CMC gum. (minspar in place of the original F4, use whichever you have, same amount) Recipe looks different than the original but the chemical formula is extremely close.

Sherrill So Clear using Ferro 3134 ^6

[Rita Mattson]

Thanks sooo much for all the recommendations.  Truly appreciate it!

-Rita Mattson