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Many come to Insight-live after bad experiences trying to rescue glaze recipes abandoned on social media. Better to use some recipe logic to rehabilitate them and then give them a loving home. Glazy "Red Orange #111576" is an example of an "adoption" that I did.
It has two things I avoid: Lithium Carbonate (expense) and a high percentage of red iron (slurry gelling). Spodumene is a better source of Li2O, but it contributes lots of Al2O3 and SiO2. We can "make room" for it by replacing the feldspar with Ferro frit 3110 (the latter contributes much more sodium and much less Al2O3/SiO2 than the feldspar). Second, use black iron instead of red.
The results using the C6IRED schedule were fabulous. And the cost is way down. Amazingly, black iron does not gel the slurry at all! And it is not nearly as messy as the red. Like any iron red, it needs to go on thick and has a fluid melt; that's a recipe for running (so a catch glaze is needed). Two pluses: The thermal expansion is lower, so crazing is less likely. The LOI is much lower, which should minimize bubbling.

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.
These two pieces were fired in the same kiln using the C6DHSC firing schedule. Fluid melts are an essential enabler of crystal growth during cooldown, that is what there are. Both contain significant Li2O to help the B2O3 achieve that fluid melt. Glaze #1, G3948A, has less iron than is typical yet works! Its high MgO/CaO are very likely key factors as to why. Glaze #2 has much more Na2O and it has both SrO and ZnO that #1 does not have. #2 is much higher in Al2O3 and has more than double the amount of SiO2. So which of all these factors is responsible for #2 having zero crystals? Very likely it is two important ones: The low CaO/MgO levels. And the high SiO2.

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.
You will see examples of replacing unavailable materials (especially frits), fixing various issues (e.g. running, crazing, settling), making them melt more, adjusting matteness, etc. Insight-Live has an extensive help system (the round blue icon on the left) that also deals with fixing real-world problems and understanding glazes and clay bodies.
| URLs |
https://glazy.org/recipes/111576
Glazy Red Orange iron red glaze recipe |
| Glossary |
Iron Red Glaze
A type of ceramic glaze, typically fired around 2200F, where iron oxide in the cooling glass precipitates out to form a striking red crystalline mesh on the surface. |
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