DIY Pottery Glazing
Glazes are used to coat, protect and decorate a piece of pottery and are usually applied to the clay after the first firing. Making your own pottery glaze can be rewarding, but it does require training and experience. Self-made glaze is often less expensive than commercial brands, while allowing you to have more control over the texture and color saturation of your glaze. There are several variations of glazes that can be found in a craft book on from a reliable pottery website.
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Things You'll Need
- Glaze recipe
- Glaze chemicals
- Mask
- Scale
- Scoop
- 2 buckets
- Water
- Sieve (optional)
- Air-tight container
Instructions
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Preparing the Glaze
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1
Locate a simplified version of a glaze recipe. Ceramic Arts Daily has a number of mid-range glaze recipes. Almost all glaze recipes are written in percentages of ingredients, so that the total always equals 100.
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2
Calculate the amount of glaze you need for your project and add the appropriate ratios. 1000 grams is typically a sufficient amount for an average pottery piece. Glaze chemicals are usually weighed on a scale, using either a triple beam scale or a digital scale, as long as it is accurate to 0.1 grams.
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3
Cover your mouth and nose with a mask, as to not inhale any of the dangerous chemicals. Referring to your glaze recipe, measure the correct amount of each dry ingredient and add it to a bucket. You can use a scoop for the ingredients, but be sure to clean it thoroughly afterward, along with the container on the scale.
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4
Pour 4 cups of water into a separate bucket, if you have 1000 grams of dry materials. (Normal glazes are usually 50% water.) Add the dry mix slowly to the water while stirring consistently. Potters often like to have their glaze resemble the thickness of low fat milk. You can also pour the mix through a sieve to remove any chunks.
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5
Store the glaze in an air-tight container and be sure to label it. If you're using the glaze over a long period of time, it's a good idea to stir the glaze once a week.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Make a test batch of about 100 to 500 grams to make sure it is the appropriate glaze you want to use on your pottery piece.
Mixing glaze recipes can be dangerous, as many of the materials are poisonous if inhaled. You can refer to a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each ingredient you use.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit green ceramic pots image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com
