Tweeking Laguna Dynasty Tangerine Ice, Ruby Dust, etc...what is an ingredient?

[Judith B.]

I have recently started experimenting with some of the Laguna Dynasty glazes (having fallen in love with Ruby Dust and thus turning my attention to that line of glazes). I am wondering if anyone knows or has an idea of what the ingredient is that gives Tangerine Ice and Ruby Dust (among other  glazes in that group) that dappled lighter coloring?

[PeterH]

31 minutes ago, Judith B. said:

if anyone knows or has an idea of what the ingredient is that gives Tangerine Ice and Ruby Dust (among other  glazes in that group) that dappled lighter coloring?

Tangerine ice                                                                                       Ruby Dust

[Min]

If you have a look at the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) you can get a rough idea of some of what is in the glaze. For Laguna's Tangerine Ice a snippet from the SDS shows this:

Doesn't include colourants and I think they have omitted whatever material is supplying boron but you can see from the first line there is a lithium material, this could well be spodumene. There is also silica plus calcium carbonate plus kaolin plus bentonite. From looking at the glaze plus looking at the components above I would hazard a guess this is going to be a microcrystalline glaze caused by a high level of calcium (ie a calcium matte or semi-matte) and that is what is causing the dappled look. I'm going to hazard another guess and think there is also titanium oxide in it also, perhaps from titanium dioxide or rutile. Is this glaze glossy if fast cooled and more opaque and dappled/mottled when slow cooled?

Edited December 29, 2023 by Min

[Harold Roberts]

I find that Wolastonite as a raw ingredient for adding calcium and silica will promote micro-crystals better than using Whiting and Flint.

[Judith B.]

Thank you for your replies.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot answer: "Is this glaze glossy if fast cooled and more opaque and dappled/mottled when slow cooled? " I am firing test tiles and art tile pieces in ceramic department kilns, so cannot change the kiln settings. I confess that I am not educated re. the chemical compositions of glazes, and my husband, who has a dusty ceramics degree, apparently did not get into glaze composition beyond the basics taught in college. That said, adding a single ingredient to recreate the dappled coloration is not to much of a stretch for me.

 

I don't know if this is a useful clue, but Ruby Dust and Tangerine Ice both have distinctly more satiny finishes than Milky Way and Antique Turquoise (the only four glazes I have tested thus far). I plan to test mixing the blue Dynasty glazes with the blue Amaco Satin Matte glazes to see if that results in a more satin finish.

 

When I tested mixing Ruby Dust with a little orange or pink (a red/white mix) Amaco Satin Matte glaze (testing both 90/10 ratio, then 80/20), it decreased the dappled two/tone look each time, more so with 80/20 ratio. Decreasing the ratio of the Dynasty glaze any further and the dappling pretty much disappeared. I ran the test using Tangerine Ice, mixing 80% Tangerine Ice with 20% Amaco SM Orange, with same result (which increased the orange color perhaps too much for my purpose). I am going to try a 90/10 ratio to strengthen the dappling while keeping some increase in orange. My one test of layering one coat of Tangerine Ice over two layers Amaco SM Orange yielded minimal dappling (less than when mixing the two glazes) as well as even stronger orange color.

[Judith B.]

Not the best photo...

 

 

[Bill Kielb]

The Laguna info on that glaze says it is a cone 5 matte recipe,  also available in a gloss version.

[Min]

9 hours ago, Judith B. said:

When I tested mixing Ruby Dust with a little orange or pink (a red/white mix) Amaco Satin Matte glaze (testing both 90/10 ratio, then 80/20), it decreased the dappled two/tone look each time, more so with 80/20 ratio. Decreasing the ratio of the Dynasty glaze any further and the dappling pretty much disappeared. I ran the test using Tangerine Ice, mixing 80% Tangerine Ice with 20% Amaco SM Orange, with same result (which increased the orange color perhaps too much for my purpose). I am going to try a 90/10 ratio to strengthen the dappling while keeping some increase in orange. My one test of layering one coat of Tangerine Ice over two layers Amaco SM Orange yielded minimal dappling (less than when mixing the two glazes) as well as even stronger orange color.

If you are trying to increase or decrease the intensity of the colour instead of mixing the Ruby Dust with an Amaco Satin Matte Glaze I would be looking at leaving the Ruby Dust the way it is and adding some Cd inclusion stain to it. Less chance of unbalancing the mechanism that is creating the dappled/mottled effect.

On 12/31/2023 at 2:16 PM, Harold Roberts said:

I find that Wolastonite as a raw ingredient for adding calcium and silica will promote micro-crystals better than using Whiting and Flint.

I would make a guess that commercial glaze makers avoid wollastonite for the most part due to the propensity for it to agglomerate, either in a dry mix or a premixed liquid glaze. 

[Harold Roberts]

I think Min is correct that this is a microcrystalline  glaze and that's what is causing the dappled effect and the satin finish. I find it very useful to use a strong magnifying glass to see into the glazes and actually see the microcrystals. Often decreasing the microcrystals in the glaze will strengthen the color. That can sometimes be accomplished by firing higher or by adding more flux to the glaze.  Sometimes microcrystals can have a color of their own. The presence of titanium will often give a silvery look to microcrystals but the presence of iron will make them copper or golden. These are good things to understand and maybe guide you in your experiments even though you are mixing commercial glazes which are hard to know what ingredients they may contain.

[Judith B.]

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Thank you Harold, Min, and Bill.  Much appreciate all your information and guidance. Good to be learning more about microcrystals. My aim with Tangerine Ice is to modestly strengthen the color w/o losing the dappling or satin finish. My experiments with Ruby Dust are to see if I can create some subtle shades (more orange, more pink, etc.), again w/o decreasing dappling. For Milky Way and Antique Turquoise, which have been totally matte in test tiles to date, I plan to try and create a satin finish w/o, again, decreasing the dappling too much.  I have just acquired some other matte Dynasty colors to see what they look like on the Little Loafers clay I am using. Now I am also curious to know if I can create dappling by using an additive to the Amaco Satin Mattes. I have been experimenting with The Amaco SMs quite a bit to create a much greater range of colors, in part to emulate the color palette of the best 1900s-1920's Dutch Gouda Pottery chargers (not the later years, or the Japanese imitations).

My recent art tile used predominantly Amaco Satin Matte glazes with the petals of the central red flower and bud glazed with Ruby Dust. The Ruby Dust glaze looked great amidst, and visually blended in perfectly with, the Amaco Satin Mattes (five of my custom shades)... not too matte,  and the subtle dappling was perfect. Hence my interest in using more of the Dynasty series glazes in a similar fashion.

This said, and knowing that I am using commercial glazes, have no ability to change the firing, and don't want to decrease the dappling/microcrystals too much, I think next steps for me are to:

1) test adding Cd inclusion stain(s) to Tangerine Ice to increase the orange a bit (as adding flux will decrease the dappling/microcrystals). (Thanks for that idea!)

2) test adding 10% Amaco satin matte blue glazes to Milky Way and Antique Turquoise to see if I can get a more satiny finish w/o loss of too much dappling.

3) test adding a too-be-determined additive (versus Amaco SM) to Milky Way, Antique Turquoise, and any of the other Dynasty matte glazes that test too matte for the same results I want with test #2.

3) test adding something to to the Amaco Satin Mattes to create a dappled look, just to see if it is possible at this point. Try Wolastonite (which may agglomerate but maybe be ok for my purposes), or Whiting, or Flint.  OR, a different ingredient if you have another suggestion (especially if I can get it in a small amount)?

Speaking to Bill's comment, I have not wanted to order any of the Dynasty Matte glazes in glossy formulation, as they all look entirely too glossy in photos to look right/blend in visually with my Amaco Satin Matte palette. And, as I just now purchased some more Dynasty Mattes glazes to experiment with, I hesitate to buy any more glazes (though the idea of mixing a Dynasty Matte and it's glossy version is intriguing). However, as the glazes have been formulated both ways, maybe I can add a touch of something to the too-matte blues to satin-ize them?

I am unfamiliar with the protocols of this website, and hope I have not imposed too much with such a long post. Too much time sitting on the couch nursing my first cold in 5 years (at least it’s not Covid).

Speaking to Bill's comment, I have not wanted to order any of the Dynasty Matte glazes in glossy formulation, as they all look entirely too glossy in photos to look right/blend in visually with my Amaco Satin Matte palette. And, as I just now purchased some more Dynasty Mattes glazes to experiment with, I hesitate to buy any more glazes (though the idea of mixing a Dynasty Matte and it's glossy version is intriguing). However, as the glazes have been formulated both ways, maybe I can add a touch of something to the too-matte blues to satin-ize them?

 

[Kelly in AK]

+1 to the idea of altering color using stains rather than blending glazes. A small percent of stain won’t alter the chemistry much but can have a noticeable impact on color. Adding another glaze on the other hand can easily prevent those crystals from forming depending on its composition.

[Judith B.]

Thanks Kelly! So far, adding 10-20% ratio of satin matte glaze to test mixtures does indeed retard crystal formation...the more diluted the Dynasty glaze the less crystal formation. Cd inclusion stains sound like the way to go. I am getting a bit ahead of myself, but if they work out with Tangerine Ice and and I want to add them to the blue shades of Dynasty matte glazes I don't think they come in blues?

[Min]

Just now, Judith B. said:

Thanks Kelly! So far, adding 10-20% ratio of satin matte glaze to test mixtures does indeed retard crystal formation...the more diluted the Dynasty glaze the less crystal formation. Cd inclusion stains sound like the way to go. I am getting a bit ahead of myself, but if they work out with Tangerine Ice and and I want to add them to the blue shades of Dynasty matte glazes I don't think they come in blues?

Blue shades of stains don't use Cd (cadmium), cobalt is commonly found in blue stains (or vanadium for turquoise shades). For many yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and some purples a cadmium inclusion stain is used to supply the colour. 

More about Cd inclusion aka encapsulated stains here if you wish to learn more about them.

[Judith B.]

Thank you.