Pres Posted April 21 Report Share Posted April 21 I have a favorite glaze that uses talc, and up until lately have had quite a bit to use in glazes that I bought several years ago. However this last glaze batch found me with none left. Last year I had heard about a shortage of talc, and believed I would have to reformulate my glaze to work with a different component, maybe dolomite. Imagine my surprise when I found Fabi Talc listed at SC. So I will be ordering some to use in my glaze. However, it makes me wonder if anyone has had to reformulate glazes or clay bodies due to a lack of materials? QotW: Have you had to reformulate any clays or glazes due to a shortage of materials? best, Pres Hulk and Rae Reich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick White Posted April 22 Report Share Posted April 22 All the time now. Gerstley is gone and Gillespie is not a perfect match. 3134 requires a complete rewrite of the recipe. Custer is gone from the market, but I still have some. G200EU might be ok, haven’t tried it yet. Still have some old Amtal talc, but some Fabi is in my future. What’s next? Hulk, Pres and Rae Reich 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted April 22 Report Share Posted April 22 The clays I like from "nearby" vendor (about a hundred miles) have been reformulated. The whitish stoneware seems about the same, the red behaves a bit differently. My intent was (still is!) to look into alternatives this year; I've enough Gerstley, Custer, and Texas Talc to last a few years, however, years go quickly... Pres and Rae Reich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidh4976 Posted April 22 Report Share Posted April 22 I've had to reformulate over half of our pottery glazes, both cone 6 and cone 10 to accommodate the end of Gerstley Borate, Custer, and Texas Talc. Using frits for GB, Mahavir Potash Feldspar for Custer, and dolomite/whiting for talc. Of course, all of the recipes needed changes to amounts of silica, kaolin, etc. The tough ones seem to be the recipes that were "breaking" glazes or used some sort of lithium. Those took some tweaking and testing to get to a similar match to the old glazes. Our local supplier has switched from Custer to G-200EU in their clay body mixes without any noticeable difference. Rae Reich, Pres and Hulk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted April 22 Report Share Posted April 22 (edited) I have been spending a lot of time and energy replacing my Gerstley Borate glazes. The new ones are coming along, but they just don’t have the same glow and magic. I am trying to push the limits of “how much boron can I get away with?” The good news is that switching to Fabi Talc in place of Texas Talc has been seamless. Edited April 22 by GEP Hulk, Roberta12, Pres and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted April 22 Report Share Posted April 22 The only thing I am out of is Lithium, so I don't mix any glaze that contains Lithium. One of these days they are going to figure out how to make a battery easier and cheaper without using Lithium. Denice Rae Reich and Roberta12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted April 24 Report Share Posted April 24 On 4/21/2024 at 5:28 PM, Dick White said: All the time now. Gerstley is gone and Gillespie is not a perfect match. 3134 requires a complete rewrite of the recipe. Custer is gone from the market, but I still have some. G200EU might be ok, haven’t tried it yet. Still have some old Amtal talc, but some Fabi is in my future. What’s next? Custar is back now Dick at least from Laguna locations Rae Reich and GEP 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted April 24 Report Share Posted April 24 My hoarding has paid off in spades so far. Out of Kingman feldspar after burning thru 3,000#s in 40 years now I'm using custar instead but have 1,000#s Rae Reich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.