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A Low Cost Tester of Glaze Melt Fluidity
A One-speed Lab or Studio Slurry Mixer
A Textbook Cone 6 Matte Glaze With Problems
Adjusting Glaze Expansion by Calculation to Solve Shivering
Alberta Slip, 20 Years of Substitution for Albany Slip
An Overview of Ceramic Stains
Are You in Control of Your Production Process?
Are Your Glazes Food Safe or are They Leachable?
Attack on Glass: Corrosion Attack Mechanisms
Ball Milling Glazes, Bodies, Engobes
Binders for Ceramic Bodies
Bringing Out the Big Guns in Craze Control: MgO (G1215U)
Can We Help You Fix a Specific Problem?
Ceramic Glazes Today
Ceramic Material Nomenclature
Ceramic Tile Clay Body Formulation
Changing Our View of Glazes
Chemistry vs. Matrix Blending to Create Glazes from Native Materials
Concentrate on One Good Glaze
Copper Red Glazes
Crazing and Bacteria: Is There a Hazard?
Crazing in Stoneware Glazes: Treating the Causes, Not the Symptoms
Creating a Non-Glaze Ceramic Slip or Engobe
Creating Your Own Budget Glaze
Crystal Glazes: Understanding the Process and Materials
Deflocculants: A Detailed Overview
Demonstrating Glaze Fit Issues to Students
Diagnosing a Casting Problem at a Sanitaryware Plant
Drying Ceramics Without Cracks
Duplicating Albany Slip
Duplicating AP Green Fireclay
Electric Hobby Kilns: What You Need to Know
Fighting the Glaze Dragon
Firing Clay Test Bars
Firing: What Happens to Ceramic Ware in a Firing Kiln
First You See It Then You Don't: Raku Glaze Stability
Fixing a glaze that does not stay in suspension
Formulating a body using clays native to your area
Formulating a Clear Glaze Compatible with Chrome-Tin Stains
Formulating a Porcelain
Formulating Ash and Native-Material Glazes
G1214M Cone 5-7 20x5 glossy transparent glaze
G1214W Cone 6 transparent glaze

G1916M Cone 06-04 transparent glaze
Getting the Glaze Color You Want: Working With Stains
Glaze and Body Pigments and Stains in the Ceramic Tile Industry
Glaze Chemistry Basics - Formula, Analysis, Mole%, Unity
Glaze chemistry using a frit of approximate analysis
Glaze Recipes: Formulate and Make Your Own Instead
Glaze Types, Formulation and Application in the Tile Industry
Having Your Glaze Tested for Toxic Metal Release
High Gloss Glazes
Hire Us for a 3D Printing Project
How a Material Chemical Analysis is Done
How desktop INSIGHT Deals With Unity, LOI and Formula Weight
How to Find and Test Your Own Native Clays
I have always done it this way!
Inkjet Decoration of Ceramic Tiles
Is Your Fired Ware Safe?
Leaching Cone 6 Glaze Case Study
Limit Formulas and Target Formulas
Low Budget Testing of Ceramic Glazes
Make Your Own Ball Mill Stand
Making Glaze Testing Cones
Monoporosa or Single Fired Wall Tiles
Organic Matter in Clays: Detailed Overview
Outdoor Weather Resistant Ceramics
Painting Glazes Rather Than Dipping or Spraying
Particle Size Distribution of Ceramic Powders
Porcelain Tile, Vitrified Tile
Rationalizing Conflicting Opinions About Plasticity
Ravenscrag Slip is Born
Recylcing Scrap Clay
Reducing the Firing Temperature of a Glaze From Cone 10 to 6
Simple Physical Testing of Clays
Single Fire Glazing
Soluble Salts in Minerals: Detailed Overview
Some Keys to Dealing With Firing Cracks
Stoneware Casting Body Recipes
Substituting Cornwall Stone
Super-Refined Terra Sigillata
The Chemistry, Physics and Manufacturing of Glaze Frits
The Effect of Glaze Fit on Fired Ware Strength
The Four Levels on Which to View Ceramic Glazes
The Majolica Earthenware Process
The Potter's Prayer
The Right Chemistry for a Cone 6 MgO Matte
The Trials of Being the Only Technical Person in the Club
The Whining Stops Here: A Realistic Look at Clay Bodies
Those Unlabelled Bags and Buckets
Tiles and Mosaics for Potters
Toxicity of Firebricks Used in Ovens
Trafficking in Glaze Recipes
Understanding Ceramic Materials
Understanding Ceramic Oxides
Understanding Glaze Slurry Properties
Understanding the Deflocculation Process in Slip Casting
Understanding the Terra Cotta Slip Casting Recipes In North America
Understanding Thermal Expansion in Ceramic Glazes
Unwanted Crystallization in a Cone 6 Glaze
Volcanic Ash
What Determines a Glaze's Firing Temperature?
What is a Mole, Checking Out the Mole
What is the Glaze Dragon?
Where do I start in understanding glazes?
Why Textbook Glazes Are So Difficult
Working with children

G1214Z Cone 6 matte glaze

Description

This glaze was developed using the 1214W glossy as a starting point. This article overviews the types of matte glazes and rationalizes the method used to make this one.

Article

This page is a companion to the article on the cone 6 glossy G1214W base glaze recipe (which is in turn a derivative of the G1214M). The spirit of this page is not to produce the perfect matte, it is to talk about how Al2O3:SiO2 chemistry balance in a glaze recipe can be changed to adjust the degree of matteness of a glaze. Generally, the best mattes are made using high MgO levels in an otherwise correctly melted base (e.g. G2934) but that is what this is. In addition, we have updated the recipe to give it better application properties, code number G1214Z1.

There is a tendency to think that good matte glazes are only possible at high temperatures and that those from all other temperature ranges are second best. This is certainly not true with reference to cone 6. Glazes can be matte for a variety of reasons and these reasons are largely independent of temperature. For example:

Unfortunately many matte surfaces out there are simply underfired glazes, they are not melted enough. Or, they are melted too much and surface micro-crystallization has gone too far. A true matte has a specific chemistry that does not happen easily by random material blending because the vast majority of materials are silica-dominant and thus by nature produce glossy glazes. In addition, crystal mattes that are discovered by chance often craze on the body. A true matte is one that is both matte and still functional, that is, it is hard, fits the clay body, does not cutlery mark, is resistant to leaching, etc. A true matte will usually fire higher and often still be matte. However, keep in mind that the very fact that a glaze is matte means that it needs to push the limits. A stable glaze should be melted to a smooth surface and not crystallized. Matte glazes are normally neither. The mechanism of cone 6 matte that I will discuss here is often high CaO to encourage micro-crystal development. If the CaO is within limits on most glazes they just will not be matte.

As implied, mattes by nature tend toward crazing and cutlery marking. Visit a fine dinnerware store and you will see very few matte glazes. If you do take out one of your keys and try to mark the surface and then rub it off and see what happens. It is a fact that even major players in the ceramic industry have, to some extent, depended on customer ignorance regarding matte surfaces. Worse yet, other companies and individual potters themselves are less than knowledgeable about how to formulate and fit a good matte glaze.

Matte glazes, especially at cone 6, tend to expose the folly of the prevailing mindset in university and industrial ceramics. People tend to pin their fortunes on the traffic in recipes. However dependence on this traffic spawns helplessness and delivers barium mattes whose safety is surrounded by controversy; crystalline mattes which fire inconsistently, craze and work unpredictably with colors; or improperly melted compounds that are not functional, durable or hard. Most important true high alumina mattes don't travel well because they are inherently volatile, that is, the degree of matteness varies disproportionately with small changes in formulation, firing, body and additions. In fact, it is not uncommon for a glaze that fires matte in one kiln to fire glossy in another.

Thus matte glazes are an excellent candidate for an approach we advocate: Formulate or adapt a good base glaze, understand it, adjust it to achieve a variety of matte colors and surface effects. I'll say it another way: A matte glaze should have a documented way to tune the degree of matteness desired. Ideally, it should have some silica in the recipe that can be cut for greater matteness or increased for greater silkiness and gloss. Typically this will be a silky matte just beyond the cutlery
marking stage.

To best understand the recipe I recommend starting with a reliable transparent glossy glaze and adjusting it toward matteness. The process of working through this will give you a good understanding, you will see the more difficult matte in terms of the glossy base that you already know. Let us do that now. Here is a glossy base glaze that I have been working with. It is thoroughly dealt with in its own article.

G1214W CLEAR LOW EXPANSION

 WOLLASTONITE     10.00  CaO    0.57*
 FRIT 3134        25.00  K2O    0.02*
 PIONEER KAOLIN   25.00  Na2O   0.17*
 SILICA           25.00  Al2O3  0.35
 F-4 FELDSPAR     15.00  B2O3   0.24*
                         SiO2   2.94
  Si:Al  8.69  Expan  6.62

See below for a link to this recipe.

To make this glaze into a matte I did the following:

G1214Z
 WOLLASTONITE   27.00  CaO    0.88*
 FRIT 3124      36.00  K2O    0.01*
 EPK KAOLIN     35.00  Na2O   0.10*
 SILICA          5.00  Al2O3  0.47
             ========  B2O3   0.19
               103.00  SiO2   2.51
  Si:Al  5.78  Expan  7.10

See below for a link to this recipe.

It is true this recipe has a higher calculated expansion than its glossy parent. However remember that calculated expansions are relative within the same oxide/material/firing system only, I have moved to a glaze with a drastically different balance of oxides. My tests indicate that an expansion of 7.1 for this 'system' is low enough not to craze on any of the 10 or more middle-temperature clay bodies I use.

To the observer these are two completely separate glaze recipes. But to me they are not, I see the matte as an adjustment to the glossy over which I have great control. Notice some benefits of this recipe:

Remember, since many colorants are fluxes they have the potential of turning a matte glaze glossy. Thus once you have tuned the base recipe to the amount of matteness you want you need to retune it for each variation (addition of color, opacifier, variegator). In each case we recommend you leach test it (see linked article).

You may be wondering why I started with a glossy glaze and adjusted it toward matteness rather than improving an existing matte or starting from scratch. The reason is that I want to be able to rationalize the matte recipe in terms of the glossy and thus better understand the high-alumina matte mechanism.

Further Work

Can you find a way to reduce the CaO, maintain the thermal expansion, and still achieve a silky matte surface. Some users have demonstrated that it is possible to increase the alumina far higher (boron glazes can take a lot of alumina, especially if ball milled well) thus making room for more KNaO while still maintaining a low thermal expansion. However, you can make an even better matte using the MgO mechanism and get a silky surface similar to the classic cone 10 dolomite matte (see the links for more info).

Possible Problems

Alumina matte glazes by nature have a few potential problems you must consider:

Ball Milling

Matte glazes, because they do not flow as much when melted, can exhibit surface imperfections that are sometimes difficult to deal with. Any particulate contaminant that does not dissolve in the glaze melt is a potential source of blisters, pinholes, etc. Likewise, bodies containing larger particles that produce gases during firing will disrupt the glaze surface. These problems can be erratic and very frustrating. Thus if you are a production potter or industrial user do not ignore the value of a ball mill. In addition, be sure to mill for an adequate period. Depending on the efficiency of your mill and your tests it may be that you need to mill for 10 hours or more (yes, 10 hours).

A ball mill breaks mineral particles down to very small sizes and thus the glaze as a whole melts much better and wets the surface of the glaze more effectively. You will find that a milled version of this glaze will have a more velvety surface and may be more glossy than its unmilled counterpart. Thus it will likely be possible to raise the alumina and silica even higher to get better hardness and lower thermal expansion.

 WOLLASTONITE     10.00  CaO    0.57*
 FRIT 3134        25.00  K2O    0.02*
 PIONEER KAOLIN   25.00  Na2O   0.17*
 SILICA           25.00  Al2O3  0.35
 F-4 FELDSPAR     15.00  B2O3   0.24*
                         SiO2   2.94
  Si:Al  8.69  Expan  6.62

To make this glaze into a matte I did the following:

Related Information

A functional matte cone 6 glaze should melt as well as a glossy


True functional mattes have fluid melts, like glossy glazes. They need this in order to develop a hard, non-scratching durable glass. The mechanism of the G1214Z1 matte on the right is high Al2O3, it is actually melting more than the glossy glaze on the left (G1214W).

Links

Articles Glaze Recipes: Formulate and Make Your Own Instead
The only way you will ever get the glaze you really need is to formulate your own. The longer you stay on the glaze recipe treadmill the more time you waste.
Articles G1214M Cone 5-7 20x5 glossy transparent glaze
This is a base transparent glaze recipe developed for cone 6. It is known as the 20x5 or 20 by 5 recipe. It is a simple 5 material at 20% each mix and it makes a good home base from which to rationalize adjustments.
Articles G1214W Cone 6 transparent glaze
The process we used to improve the 20x5 base cone 6 glaze recipe
Articles Having Your Glaze Tested for Toxic Metal Release
Having Your Glaze Tested for Metal Release
Articles The Right Chemistry for a Cone 6 MgO Matte
Recipes G1214M - Original Cone 6 Base Glossy Glaze
A recipe developed by Tony Hansen in the 1980s. Its was popular because of the simplicity of the recipe and how well it worked with chrome-tin stains.
Recipes G1214W - Cone 6 Transparent Base
A cone 6 base clear glaze recipe developed by deriving a recipe from a formula taken as an average of limit formulas
Recipes G1214Z1 - Cone 6 Silky Matte
This glaze was born as a demonstration of how to use chemistry to convert a glossy cone 6 glaze into a matte.
Recipes G2934 - Matte Glaze Base for Cone 6
A base MgO matte glaze recipe fires to a hard utilitarian surface and has very good working properties. Blend in the glossy if it is too matte.
Oxides Al2O3 - Aluminum Oxide, Alumina
Typecodes Matte Glaze Recipes
Much less common that glossy glazes, normally have stricter firing requirements.
Glossary Silica:Alumina Ratio
A formula ratio used to evaluate and predict firing properties in ceramic glazes.
Media Desktop Insight 2 - Creating a Matte Glaze
Learn to convert a glossy glaze into a matte by comparing its chemistry with a target matte formula. Alter the chemistry in such a way that the thermal expansion does not rise and it maintains good physical application and suspension properties.
By Tony Hansen
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