Coloring slip

[SSerrano]

I use 2 different slips in my studio, now that the low fire is made without talc it is very hard to tell the difference between the 2! I'm looking for ideas on how to possibly color the slip slightly so it looks different than the mid fire, but nothing drastic. Any ideas? Should I just use a brown or gray stain? 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Hi and welcome!

Just to clarify, do you want it to look different in the bucket, or in the end result?

If you want it to look different in the bucket, food colouring works a treat, and burns out.

If you want the end result to look different, a small quantity of a light blue stain would pop glaze colours better than a brown or grey one would.

[SSerrano]

Thanks for your quick response!!! Any guess how much food coloring I should add? I have a tote of slip that's about 150 gallons.... maybe a  pint or 2 should do the trick? Crazy question, I know. 

[Min]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:59 AM, SSerrano said:

Thanks for your quick response!!! Any guess how much food coloring I should add? I have a tote of slip that's about 150 gallons.... maybe a  pint or 2 should do the trick? Crazy question, I know. 

If the food colouring is just to tint the raw slip then I would suggest using paste food colouring rather than the liquid, it goes much further.

[neilestrick]

Just add it until it's got enough color for your needs.

[Hyn Patty]

I use food coloring as well so I think this is great advice.  It's also handy if you do any masking with wax or latex.  If they are clear they may be hard to see on your ware so adding food coloring to these also works wonders - and it fires out harmlessly.