Could Someone Give me Advice on Glazing Techniques for a Smooth, Even Finish?

[LANA9]

Hello there,

I am a new ceramic artist; and I have been encountering some challenges with my glazing techniques. I was hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of this community to improve my skills.

My main issue is achieving a smooth; even finish on my pieces. Despite following what I believe to be standard procedures; I often end up with streaks; drips; or uneven coverage.

I make sure my bisque fired pieces are clean and free of dust. I usually wipe them down with a damp sponge before glazing.

I have tried both brushing and dipping. With brushing; I use multiple thin coats; letting each dry before applying the next. With dipping; I aim for a quick; even dip; but sometimes I notice inconsistencies in the thickness of the glaze.

I mix my glazes thoroughly and check the viscosity, aiming for a creamy consistency. Despite this; I still struggle with the application.

I follow the recommended firing schedules for my glazes, ensuring the kiln reaches the proper temperature and holds it for the necessary duration.

Achieving a consistent glaze thickness
Avoiding drips and streaks; especially on vertical surfaces

Improving my brush technique for a more even application
Troubleshooting common problems that could affect the final outcome

Also,  I have gone through this post: https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/22229-advice-on-how-to-achieve-aws-devops-particular-glaze-effects/ which definitely helped me out a lot.

Thanks in advance for your help and assistance.

 

[Hulk]

For insides, I'm pouring in and pouring out.
For outsides, I'm dipping - mostly upside down - excepting for wares too large for my glaze buckets, then I'll pour over.
The pour overs don't come out evenly, hence, I'm embracing the look in those cases...
I'm brushing underglazes and using brushes to touch up and for highlights, etc.

Several factors come to mind:

A-1 factor (for me) is adjusting the Specific Gravity (aka SG, how wet) and thixotropy of the glaze; see Tony Hansen's articles and video clip on the subject*.
SG, when lower (I'm working between 1.39 to 1.47, depending on the glaze), one must hold the dip longer to get the desired thickness - there's more time to complete the moves. On the other hand, there's more water absorbed into the clay, and hence, the drying takes longer.
I don't mind longer drying time in exchange for not having to Hurry Up when applying glaze.
Thixotropy, critical notion, where the glaze behaves as a liquid when it is moving, but gels when not moving.
With a good adjustment, the glaze doesn't run, sheet, drip nearly as much. At all.
Measure SG, hence it is a constant and repeatable factor (write them down).
Measure thixotropy as well, but how?
I stir at a repeatable speed, then count the revolutions to full stop, like Tony's doing in his video clip.
Note the "bounce back" when the glaze comes to a stop, all together.
This is key!

A-2, technique and repetition!
Practice! Here's where choosing a larger kiln (7 cubic feet is bigger than I really need, mostly) helps; there's more pots to work on!
Pour in - enough glaze so there's enough to get around the rim on the pour out without struggling.
Pour out - aim for an even stream - just fast enough for no dribbles - where the end of the pour just meets up with the beginning - voila! An even coating!
Dip - push the ware down, withdraw slow and even; speed is important - too fast, and even a well-adjusted glaze may slump a bit, and too slow, well, the glaze layer will be too thick.
Run the last drops around and around the rim before righting the ware; keep a damp finger handy, wait, wait for the glaze to just loose its sheen before smoothing any drops, there.

Other:
Mix it! Stir that glaze! As necessary, before each action; some glazes, only takes a few minutes for the surface to get watery - stir it. Stir it.
Find the hot wax, wax resist, tape, rubber band, ?? techniques for borders/edges that works for you.
Keep a small sponge handy for picking up drops off waxed portions and et cetera, and a bucket with water and a large sponge for cleanups.
Inspect carefully after the glaze if fully dry - touch up any pinholes, crawls.
Helpful tools: kitchen whisks for stirring; a long scraper for stirring the bottom edges of those buckets, where the whisk can't reach; turkey baster, ear syringe for squirting glaze and sucking it up as well; kitchen ladles for pouring - ladle that works for you, no dripping; a funnel to get glaze in narrow necked ware - where the turkey baster would work, but a funnel is easier.

That's more than enough for now?
If somewhat else comes to mind, I'll add it!

*How to Gel a Ceramic Glaze (youtube.com)
Thixotropy (digitalfire.com)

Added:
Check thickness of the dried glaze layer - scratch away a small bit to check, then patch it back.
or
Incorporate small accent(s) - apply a square/diamond/circle/?? bit of tape (masking tape); when the glaze is dry, wax around the tape; when the wax is dry, pull the tape, check the glaze thickness; fill the spot with a complimentary/contrasting color.
I'll use the "tape trick" when applying glaze via spray.

Edited June 25 by Hulk
added

[Bill Kielb]

On 6/24/2024 at 1:51 AM, LANA9 said:

I mix my glazes thoroughly and check the viscosity, aiming for a creamy consistency. Despite this; I still struggle with the application.

Hulk covered many so digesting those for sure will be educational. My worry would be: "aiming for a creamy consistency” which can work for experienced potters but is not necessarily an accurate way to determine the best mix for a glaze.  This may eventually be just fine for what you are doing and how you do it but usually takes experience and testing.  Viscosity is measurable though with very specific tools, not necessarily fingers or by sight. Many potters begin by establishing a best specific gravity for their glazes. Specific gravity is measurable by weight and therefore repeatable, from there they go on to modify as @Hulk pointed out with gelling and thixotropic modifications for that perfect dipping glaze. Testing to see what is best for each glaze along the way is often part of the process.

Spraying is also an option I don’t believe has been mentioned. All techniques take time and experimentation. The more you glaze and the more you are attune to the fired rendition, the easier it becomes. It is an acquired skill though that can eventually lead to simply mixing to what appears a creamy consistency to you because you know that glaze performs well with a 3,4,5 second dip …… my preference, 3 second. A solid 1 2 3!  That works for me, my glazes, my clay, my bisque temp, it may not work for others. Oh, did I mention dip duration is a consideration?

It often takes a bit of  time but  in the end having tested, glazing becomes fairly intuitive individually. So learning as much of the how as practical provides clarity on what works for your stuff.

edit to add: " I follow the recommended firing schedules for my glazes, ensuring the kiln reaches the proper temperature and hold it for the necessary duration.” There are some basics to firing, but clay and glazes are fired to cone, not necessarily a temperature. They are flux aided reactions so temperature plus time or rate of rise is the only way to know. Holds are not standard and often are added for a very specific purpose for an individual clay / glaze product. Maybe think of it Sort of like baking 450 degrees for 30 minutes. One would never expect that once 450 was reached  the item was fully baked. For baking, time has a key role to successful completion. Time in ceramics is key but comes most often in the form of how many degrees per hour rise for how long as the process takes a long time to get there. It’s not possible to preheat your kiln to 2000 plus degrees and put your wares in for some amount of time. Following the instructions on the Orton cone chart and using cones can be a good start towards consistent success.

Edited June 25 by Bill Kielb