Definitions of Glaze Components

Glaze Components                            

• Melters
  • Flux: 
    • Alkaline Fluxes:   potassium, sodium, lithium, cause glazes to melt tend to be fluid & have glossy surface intense & brilliant colors
    • Calcium Fluxes:  usually used in small percentages, produce smooth, satiny surfaces in medium & low temps textural surfaces at high temps
    • Magnesium Fluxes:   high shrinkage rate, often used to create special effects that bead up on the surface
    • Barium Fluxes:  mostly for glazes fired at stoneware temps can be used to produce matte surfaces
    • Lead Fluxes:    toxic, usually combined w/ other materials
    • Zinc Flux:  earthenware and stoneware temps, opacifying effect when used in large amounts
    • Strontium Fluxes:  reduces crazing & adds hardness and durability to fired glazes
  • Frits:  contain more than one kind of flux and are stabilized w/ silica and alumina; manufactured chemical compounds designed to melt and develop specific properties at certain temperatures                  

• Stabilizers:  add viscosity to the molten silica and keep it from running during firing       
  • Alumina:  adds opacity and a matte surface to the glaze as well as increasing its hardness, durability and strength
  • Kaolin:  used mainly as a source of alumina but also contains silica
  • Ball Clay:  raw clay composed of silica, alumina, iron, potassium & titanium            

• Glass Formers:  Primary ingredient in a glaze
  • Silica:  found in nature as quartz
  • Flint:  finely ground version of silica

• Opacifier: Decreases glaze's transparency/whitens glaze base
  • Tin oxide:
  • Titanium dioxide:
  • Zirconium oxide:

• Colorant: 
  • Chrome oxide:  lemon yellow to honey/chartreuse to deep green
  • Copper oxide & copper carbonate:  light to dark shades of turquoise and green
  • Cobalt oxide & cobalt carbonate:  medium to deep shades of blue; colbalt oxide is mixed w/ iron and copper to produce black
  • Iron oxide:  yellow, brown & orange
  • Rutile:  light yellow to orange/ warm white to buttery
  • Manganese dioxide:  purple or brown
  • Yellow ochre:  yellow to reddish brown                                                 

Raku Glaze Recipes

White Crackle                  NOTES:
60 Gerstley Borate
50 Custer Feldspar
22 Barium Carb or
Strontium Carb
16 Silica
_________________

1/2% Tin Oxide

Blue/Black Copper
White Crackle +
4% Copper Carb
2%copper Oxide
2% cobalt Carb

Dark Green
White Crackle +
5% Copper Carb

Copper Matt
4 Parts Gerstley Borate
2 Parts Bone Ash
1/2 Part Copper Carb
1/8 Part Cobalt Carb

Red Bronze
50% Gerstley Borate         Reduce in the kiln to get an oxblood red.
50% Frit 3134
3% Tin Oxide
2% Copper Oxide

Sassy Blue
85% Frit 3110                   It needs
5% Neph Sy.                     to be fired to about 2000 degrees farenheit for the
10% EPK                          glaze to mature. You know it is ready when the edges
_____________                of the bubbles go from angular to round.
34% Magnesium Carb
1% Cobalt Carb
.5% Epsom Salt

Dolphine Blue
7Parts Gerstley Borate
3Parts Bone Ash
2 Parts Neph Sy.
1 Part Cornwall Stone
1 Part Copper Carb
3/4 Parts Cobalt Oxide

Runny Red (AKA) Copper Red
50% Gerstley Borate         Used under Copper Matt and Dolphine Blue, it will
50% Borax                        flux the glaze on top leaving whatever marks you have
20% Copper Oxide            applied with the Copper Red.
5% Red Iron Oxide

Gloss Blue
50% Gerstley Borate
50% Borax
2% Cobalt Carb

Yellow Gold
63.2 Gerstley Borate
15.8 Nepheline Syenite
13.1 Frit 3110
7.9 Lithium carb
3.0 Silver Nitrate
1.0 Yellow Ochre

Rutile Fog
40 Gerstley Borate
20 Spodumene
25 Lithium Carb.
15 Zircopax
15 Rutile
5 Copper Carb.

Creepy Crawly
50 Gerstley Borate
30 Frit 3134
20 Cornwall Stone
40 Magnesium Carb

Rick's Turquoise
982 gerstley borate
495 nepheline syenite
505 spodumene
515 lithium
477 zircopax
65 copper carbonate

----------------------------------------------

3039

Add 2% bentonite to this batch. A delicate turquoise color with eggshell texture. Delicate copper reduction effects.

(to buy your glazes online one option is www.glazemixer.com, thanks Tricia for this info!)

Cone 6 Oxidation Glazes

Maggies Matt

MO

M3

M6

M9

Grams

Melter/Flux/Alkaline

Soda Feldspar

66

Melter/Flux/Alkaline

Gerstley Borate

42

Melter/Flux/Calcium

Dolomite

12

smooth, satin, matte surface, promotes crystallization

Stabilizer/Kaolin

EPK

10

also contains silica (Edgar's Plastic Kaolin)

Opacifier

Ultrox

32

produce cool white glaze

Glass Former

Silica

32

makes up glass, necessary to bond glaze to clay surface

Colorant

Rutile

3

warm organic shades of light yellow to orange

Colorant

Red Iron Oxide

3

6

9

Varigated Brown

VO

V2

V4

V8

V16

Grams

Melter/Flux/Alkaline

Nepheline Syenite

142

behaves similarly to feldspar

Melter/Flux/Calcium

Dolomite

88

smooth, satin, matte surface, promotes crystallization

Stabalizer

Ball Clay (OM4)

10

Stabalizer/(clay)

Bentonite

4

a form of clay used as a suspending agent

Colorant

Rutile

6

light yellow to orange

Colorant

Red Iron Oxide

2

4

8

16

JB Matt Black                       *10             * 50
                    
Neph Sy                    18             180             900
Silica                         11.5          115             575
Wollastonite             42             420           2100
EPK                            9                90             450
Frit 3124                  11              110             550
Calcined Alumina        6.5            65             325
Bentonite                   2               20             100
Epson Salt                 0.25            2.5            12.5
Black Stain                 3               30             150
                     
                              103.25      1032.5        5162.5
                    
                    
                    
Mackersie Copper                         *10         * 50
                    
Strontium Carbonate          15            150          750
Kona Feldspar                     60            600        3000
Dolomite                              20            200        1000
Bentonite                              2              20          100
Copper Carbonate                4              40          200
                    
                                          101         1010        5050