Whitewash

[Sandi0720]

Hello,

Does anyone know a dinnerware safe white was that I can use on a red clay body that I fire to cone 5/6?

Thank you,

Sandi

[Roberta12]

White Wash as in slip?  Or white glaze?  

[Sandi0720]

I not sure what they use. I am sure some kind of paint but I am looking for something that I can wipe back that is flat white like do on the terracotta planters but that is dinnerware safe.  Do you have any suggestions? If I use a white stoneware or porcelain slip I would be afraid it wouldn’t be compatible on medium fire red. Maybe I am wanting to do something that is totally impossible.  Let know you think. I appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you, Sandi

[Hulk]

Practical flat (aka matte*?) may be more elusive for functional food surfaces than gloss?
Gloss is easier to clean, for one. Matte is typically more prone to cutlery marking.

Any road, a good matte white glaze looks possible; perhaps not easy, but possible.

Covering a red mid fire stoneware with white slip, then glazing over that could work.
The slip would have to stick and "fit" well - like most everything, testing required.

I've had good luck with using red slip on white and buff wares.
The slip, I blunged clay bits in my Studio blender, sieved out the sand and bits, then applied the slip to the wares with a brush, right after trimming - while the ware is still damp.
There's a point where the ware is too dry to apply the slip successfully, and there's a point where the ware has got too wet from applying the slip!
No doubt there's more than one (or two) ways to overcoat red stoneware, see engobe, underglaze...
Engobe (digitalfire.com)
Underglaze (digitalfire.com)

**There's some detailed discussion and solutions, by Tony Hansen: Matte Glaze (digitalfire.com)

[Min]

@Sandi0720, could you post a picture of the look you are trying to create? Also, will the surface you wish to finish like this come in contact with food or be on the outside of the pot?

[Callie Beller Diesel]

A white patina look on a red clay is pretty straightforward to get. Having it be both matte and durable on a food surface at the same time is a different ball of wax entirely. 

The way I found my white clay body that works with my red involved looking up and comparing the dry and mature shrinkage rates for my red, and finding a white stoneware that was pretty darn close at both points, with the end shrinkage being the same. I still have to be mindful of the water content of the white slip compared to the red clay if I’m applying a thick texture, but for something like a white layer that’s thin you’ve got more wiggle room. If I hadn’t found 2 compatible clay bodies in reasonably short order, I’d have probably used underglaze or formulated something, as compatible commercial clays might not be easily had from every supplier. 

That works well for the aesthetic end of things, and it’d be fine for a non food surface, as Min mentioned. So the outside of a piece, a rim on a plate or bowl that’s not touching food, etc. 

If it needs to be durable, you might try applying a white glaze and wiping it back, and then apply the same glaze sans opacifiers so that the red clay is covered. The more matte the glaze is, the more likely you are to get a cloudy clear though. How noticeable the clouding would be depends on how much of the red clay is peeking through. If the background is mostly white, it might not be apparent. If the background is mostly red clay with white highlights, it might be more obvious.

 

[Roberta12]

@Sandi0720I have used a white slip recipe on dark brown clay, had stencils that I peeled off, then after bisque firing, I covered the pot with a clear glaze.  Making it usable for food.  I can post this slip recipe.  The studio I got the recipe from uses it from 6 to 10 , gas and electric.  I have only used it with electric, Cone 5/6 with good results.  

Slip from GJ Art Center

EPK 50%         3.5 cups

Silica 24%       1 Cup

Potash Feldspar (Custer)  26%     1.25 cups

I have used it on a variety of clays with good success.  And I have colored it with mason stains and underglaze.