How to Glaze Pottery

Glazing or decorating your pottery is often one of the most fun steps in creating this type of artwork. Variances in color, sheen and texture make pottery stand out and highlight the beauty of its shape.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Brushes
• Digital scale
• Safety mask
• Water
• Texturing tools
• Glaze mix

Mix a Glaze for Pottery

1. Browse through your options. Pottery glazes come in many compositions, colors and thicknesses. Just like a favorite meal, your ideal glaze has its own recipe and may contain ingredients such as feldspar, borate, clay, flint or tin oxide.

2. Know the two standard recipe forms. The percentage recipe always adds to 100 percent while the base glaze recipe is a two-part recipe containing a base and an add-on enhancer to the base.

3. Refer to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for each raw material you use in the glaze (see Resources below).

4. Wear gloves, a mask and even ear plugs. Mixing glazes can be messy work and some of the raw materials have unpleasant fumes when inhaled.

5. Measure the ingredients. They generally appear in a powdered form and can be counted using a digital scale.

6. Mix your powdered glaze with water. This makes it easier to apply to pots. Each recipe specifies the amount of water needed.

7. Check your glaze every week. To maintain freshness, it needs to be stirred once a week.

Apply Glaze to Pottery

1. Wait for the pottery to dry. Glazes do not adhere well to wet surfaces.

2. Run tests. Experiment with several types of glazes until you find the color, translucence and texture that work best for you. Try using inexpensive clay while you test the various glazes for use.

3. Buy a brush at a craft store. Inform the salesperson that you will be glazing pottery. Typically, there are different types and sizes of brushes available.

4. Remove any loose debris. To achieve a smoother texture on your finished product, smooth uneven surfaces with a putty knife, carefully evening out the imperfections.

5. Use texturing tools. These are also found at craft stores and are usually made out of metal. Apply them when the clay is still damp enough to work with and you can create grainy, dramatic or patterned textures for your glaze to highlight.

Tips & Warnings

• Always mix glazes in a well-ventilated area.

• Never attempt to mix your own glaze without the supervision of an expert. Mixing glazes is similar to mixing chemicals in an experiment, and some combinations of glaze can produce poisonous results.

Resources

• Read this Article in Portuguese
• Find Material Safety Data Sheets at MSDSSearch.com