Monthly Tech-Tip from Tony Hansen SignUp	Use Plainsman Clays? Click here

All Recipe Codes All Recipes

G2926B - Cone 6 Whiteware/Porcelain transparent glaze

Modified: 2024-01-31 19:46:46

A base transparent glaze recipe created by Tony Hansen for Plainsman Clays, it fires high gloss and ultra clear with low melt mobility.

Material	Amount	Percent
Nepheline Syenite	18.30	16.6
Ferro Frit 3134	25.40	23.1
EPK	19.60	17.8
Wollastonite	6.90	6.3
Silica 325 mesh	37.60	34.2
Talc	2.30	2.1
110.10		100

Notes

A cone 6 transparent general-purpose base recipe developed at Plainsman Clays by Tony Hansen (see link to go there below, it contains technical and mixing information about the recipe). This page contains technical and mixing information about the recipe, their page, under code MG6CG, contains mixing and usage information.

This is an adjustment to an original recipe named Perkins Studio Clear (this contains much more SiO₂ and uses a frit instead of Gerstley Borate as the boron source). It is just as glossy and transparent, has a less fluid melt (thus will be more durable). With this change, this is a really stunning transparent glaze. We have found that this will even tolerate 5% more silica, yet still smooths out well (more silica produces a more durable glass).

We always fire pieces using the C6DHSC firing schedule. That alone greatly reduces surface defects and gives better gloss. If you can also ball mill the glaze, it will be even better (more transparent, more durable, more glossy, less likely to craze). This is because 200 mesh particles of silica usually do not likely completely dissolve in the melt thus cheating the chemistry of needed SiO₂ (ball milling breaks them down). Another option is to use 325 mesh silica.

In our testing, this glaze survives a 300F oven-to-icewater test without crazing on Plainsman M370 (25-Porcelain using Nepheline, Tile#6 Kaolin, silica and Old Hickory ball clay. It is less affected than the original when the application is too thick (minimal bubbles and crazing).

If you just want to mix it the traditional way, then start with 90 water to 100 powder (by weight) and agitate well using a propeller mixer. Then add more water until it is creamy, try it, adjust, etc. However, this recipe has the best suspension and application properties when it is thixotropic (that involves mixing it thinner than normal and gelling it using Epsom salts). Target a specific gravity of 1.43-1.44 (equal weights of water and powder should be slightly above this). Then about add 1g of Epsom salts per 1000g powder to increase thixotropy. This should make it creamy and it should gel after a few seconds on standing still (add more Epsom salts if needed but be careful, it is easy to over-do it).

Since the slurry is not too far from 50:50 water:powder, add colors and opacifiers on that basis. For example, 1000g of slurry has about 500g of powder. Thus for white 10% pacifier would be 50g. This is approximate but suitable for testing. Later if you decide a mix has promise then mix-from-scratch with the right percentages.

Screen through 80 mesh (tiny wollastonite agglomerates are possible, they will not break down without screening).

Plainsmanclays.com makes this recipe as a premixed powder. The glazes section on their site has additional info.

If this crazes ball milling will help (assuring that all silica grains dissolve and do their work to low thermal expansion). Otherwise, see the links below.

This glaze melts early, it may not be suitable for decals (we have had successes and failures with decal firings to cone 022). The problem occurs when tiny sharp-edged blisters form over the surface. We have not identified the cause yet, let us know if you know what it is.

Related Information

Mason stains in the G2926B base glaze at cone 6

This glaze, G2926B, is our main glossy base recipe. Stains are a much better choice for coloring it than raw metal oxides. Other than the great colors they produce here, there are a number of things worth noticing. Stains are potent colorants, the percentages needed are normally much less than metal oxides. Staining a transparent glaze produces a transparent color, it is more intense where the glaze layer is thicker, this is often desirable in highlighting contours and designs. If you add an opacifier, like zircopax, the color will be less intense, producing a pastel shade the more you add. The chrome-tin maroon 6006 does not develop well in this base (alternatives are G2916F or G1214M). The 6020 manganese alumina pink is also not developing here (it is a body stain). Caution is required with inclusion stains (like #6021), the micro-bubbling here is not likely because it is over fired (it is rated to cone 8), adding 1-2% zircopax normally fixes this issue.

Frit made this Gerstley Borate glaze much better

This is a GBMF test, it compares the melt fluidity of the Gerstley Borate based cone 6 Perkins Studio clear recipe original (left, our code number G2926) and a reformulated version that sources the boron from Ferro Frit 3134 instead (right, our code number G2926A). The latter is less amber in color (indicating less iron). The good news was that it melted so much better that we were able to add significant Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ to really drop the thermal expansion (improving glaze fit on common clay bodies), which produced our G2926B base recipe. Every time I use it I think of how unfortunate we would have been had we continued to use the Gerstley Borate original.

This cone 6 transparent looked good, but I still improved it alot

The green boxes show cone 6 Perkins Studio Clear (left) beside an adjustment to it that I am working on (right). I am logged in to my account at insight-live.com. In the recipe on the right, code-numbered G2926A, I am using the calculation tools it provides to substitute Frit 3134 for Gerstley Borate (while maintaining the oxide chemistry). A melt-flow GLFL test comparison of the two (bottom left) shows that the GB version has an amber coloration (from its iron) and that it flows a little more (it has already dripped off). The flow test on the upper left shows G2926A flowing beside PGF1 transparent (a tableware glaze used in industry). Its extra flow indicates that it is too fluid, it can accept some silica. This is very good news because the more silica any glaze can accept the harder, more stable and lower expansion it will be. You might be surprised how much it took, yet still melts to a crystal clear. See the article to find out.

Commercial glazes on decorative surfaces, your own on food surfaces

These cone 6 porcelain mugs are hybrid. Three coats of a commercial glaze painted on outside (Amaco PC-30) and my own liner glaze, G2926B, poured in and out on the inside. When commercial glazes (made by one company) fit a stoneware or porcelain (made by another company) it is by accident, neither company designed for the other! For inside food surfaces make or mix a liner glaze already proven to fit your clay body, one that sanity-checks well (as a dipping glaze or a brushing glaze). In your own recipes you can use quality materials that you know deliver no toxic compounds to the glass and that are proportioned to deliver a balanced chemistry.

An example where adding silica really helps a glaze

The flow on the left is an adjusted Perkins Frit Clear (we substituted frit for Gerstley Borate). It is a cone 6 transparent that appeared to work well. However it did not survive a 300F oven-to-icewater IWCT test without crazing on Plainsman M370. The amount of flow (which increases a little in the frit version) indicates that it is plenty fluid enough to accept some silica. So we added 10% (that is the flow on the right). Now it survives the thermal shock test and still fires absolutely crystal clear.

Catching the light on a translucent porcelain

This is Plainsman translucent Polar Ice firing at cone 6 with a transparent base glaze. Made by Tony Hansen in 2014.

Two transparent glazes on the same dark burning clay. Why different?

These two glazes are both brilliant glass-like super-transparents. But on this high-iron stoneware only one is working. Why? G3806C (on the outside of the piece on the left) melts more, it is fluid and much more runny. This melt fluidity gives it the capacity to pass the micro-bubbles generated by the body during firing. G2926B (right) works great on porcelain but it cannot clear the clouds of micro-bubbles coming out of this body. Even the glassy smooth surface has been affected. The moral: Two base transparents are needed, each being able to host colors, opacifiers and variegators. But there is a caveat: Although reactive glazes leverage melt fluidity to develop interesting surfaces they are more tricky to use and do not fire as durable.

Copper oxide needs a fluid-melt transparent to produce a glossy glaze

Fired at cone 6. A melt fluidity comparison (behind) shows the G3808A clear base is much more fluid. While G2926B is a very good crystal clear transparent by itself (and with some colorants), with 2% added copper oxide it is unable to heal all the surface defects (caused by the escaping gases as the copper decomposes). The G3808A, by itself, is too fluid (to the point it will run down off the ware onto the shelf during firing). But that fluidity is needed to develop the copper blue effect (actually, this one is a little more fluid that it needs to be). Because copper blue and green glazes need fluid bases, strategies are needed to avoid them running off the ware. That normally involves thinner application, use on more horizontal surfaces or away from the lower parts of verticals.

Does it matter which transparent glaze you use over underglazes? Yes.

These porcelain mugs were decorated with the same underglazes (applied at leather hard), then bisque fired, dipped in clear glaze and fired to cone 6. While the G2926B clear glaze (left) is a durable and a great super glossy transparent for general use, its melt fluidity is not enough to clear the micro-bubbles generated by the underglazes. G3806C (right) has a more fluid melt and is a much better choice to transmit the underglaze colors. But I still applied G2926B on the inside of the mug on the right, it has a lower thermal expansion and is less likely to craze.

Glaze with an encapsulated stain is bubbling. It needs Zircopax.

These two pieces are fired at cone 6. The base transparent glaze is the same - G2926B Plainsman transparent. The amount of encapsulated red stain is the same (11% Mason 6021 Dark Red). But two things are different. Number 1: 2% Zircopax (zircon) has been added to the upper glaze. The stain manufacturers recommend this, saying that it makes for a brighter color. However, that is not what we see here. What we do see is the particles of unmelting zircon acting as seeds and collection points for the bubbles (the larger ones produced are escaping). Number 2: The firing schedule. The top one has been fired to approach cone 6 and 100F/hr, held for five minutes at 2200F (cone 6 as verified in our kiln by cones), dropped quickly to 2100F and held for 30 minutes.

G2926S low expansion cone 6 base liner glaze

G2926B has proven to be my most durable, crystal clear, non-crazing, easy-to-use general purpose cone 6 base glaze (from dozens I developed). However, some porcelains (e.g. Plainsman P300) need an even lower thermal expansion. G2926S adjusts "B" (by adding low-expansion MgO at the expense of high-expansion KNaO). Yet it has the same gloss. The insides of these P300 mugs use it (with 10% added Zircopax to make white). "S" is not an all-purpose recipe, it could shiver on high silica bodies, use it if G2926B fails an IWCT test for crazing. These mugs were fired using the PLC6DS firing schedule, the outside glazes are G2934Y silky matte with added stains.

G2926B with 10% Mason 6304 Stain on Polar Ice Casting

2% zircon also was also added, it helps prevent micro-bubbling. The PLC6DS (drop and soak) firing schedule was used. The G3806 base clear glaze is normally better than G2926B for really bright colors but this stain is an exception.

Mix a whole bag of G2926B whiteware clear glaze

When you mix it right it will be thixotropic, that is, it will gel slightly and hold itself on the ware after dipping. This state can only be achieved if there is enough water for the epsom salts to do their magic. The watery nature of the slurry is nice for measuring specific gravity using a hydrometer (normally they don't float freely enough if the slurry is creamy). We normally recommend a specific gravity of 1.44 for this glaze, but in this case it seemed watery enough at 1.46. On use it will become clear if 1.46 is OK. How? It will go on the ware too thick. If that happens just add water to 1.44 and add more epson salts to gel it back up.

Black and white cone 6 brushing glazes were easy to make

To make high SG brushing versions of these glazes I started by blender mixing 500 grams of the G2926B Whiteware base clear to 250g of water and 100g of Laguna gum solution. That yielded about 550 ml, the resulting 1.58 specific gravity makes each layer go on quite thick. For the black, we added 30g more of Mason 6666 stain (6%) and for white 50g of Zircopax (10%). This increased the specific gravity to 1.63, much higher than any commercial brushing glaze. The black recipe costs about 1.37 cents/ml for us to make (compared to Amaco C-1 Obsidian @ 3.92 cents/ml to buy). The price advantage would be much better if we were to add enough water and Veegum gelling agent to bring the specific gravity down to the 1.4 value of C-1.

G2926B glaze can precipitate crystals like this

These crystals were found in a months-old bucket (about 2 gallons). These can appear even quicker, depending on factors like temperature, electrolytes in your water or solubility in the materials (evens frits can be slightly soluble). The glaze slurry should be screened periodically (or immediately if you note the particles when glazing a piece). This is an 80 mesh sieve. Note the brush, using one of these gets the glaze through the screen much quicker than using a rubber spatula. The loss of material on the screen is tiny and inconsequential to the glaze. But it is crucial because these particles do not melt at cone 6, they will certainly mar the fired glaze surface if undetected.

Covid taught us about supply interruptions

Material prices were sky rocketing (and still are). Prepared glaze manufacturers have complex international supply chains. Now might be the time to start learning how to weigh out the ingredients to make your own. Armed with good base glazes that fit your clay body (without crazing or shivering) you will be more resilient to supply issues. Add stains, opacifiers and variegators to the bases to make anything you want. That being said, ingredients in those recipes may become unavailable! That underscores a need to go to the next step and "understand" glaze ingredients. And even improve and adjust recipes. It is not rocket science, it is just work accompanied by organized record-keeping and good labeling.

Tune your glaze to the degree of matteness you want

G2934 is a popular matte for cone 6 (far left). The mechanism of the matteness is high MgO content (it produces a more pleasant surface that cutlery marks and stains less than other mechanisms such as crystallization). But what if it is too matte for you? This recipe requires accurate firings, did your kiln really go to cone 6? Proven by a properly set firing cone? If it did, then we need plan B: Add some glossy to shine it up a bit. I fired these ten-gram GBMF test balls of glaze to cone 6 on porcelain tiles, they melted down into nice buttons that display the surface well. Top row proceeding right: 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% G2926B added (100% far right). Bottom: G2916F in the same proportions. The effects are similar but the top one produces a more pebbly surface.

Links

Media	Remove Gerstley Borate and Improve a Popular Cone 6 Clear Glaze How I found a ceramic glaze recipe on Facebook, substituted a frit for the Gerstley Borate, added the extra SiO2 it needed and got a fabulous more durable cone 6 clear.
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.
Recipes	G3806C - Cone 6 Clear Fluid-Melt transparent glaze A base fluid-melt glaze recipe developed by Tony Hansen. With colorant additions it forms reactive melts that variegate and run. It is more resistant to crazing than others.
Recipes	GR6-A - Ravenscrag Cone 6 Clear Glossy Base This Plainsman Cone 6 Ravenscrag Slip base is just the pure material with 20% added frit to make it melt to a glossy natural clear.
Recipes	G2926S - Low Expansion version of G2926B Low expansion version of Plainsman Clays/Digitalfire G2926B cone 6 clear glaze
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.
Articles	Concentrate on One Good Glaze It is better to understand and have control of one good base glaze than be at the mercy of dozens of imported recipes that do not work. There is a lot more to being a good glaze than fired appearance.
Articles	Where do I start in understanding glazes? Break your addiction to online recipes that don't work or bottled expensive glazes. Learn why glazes fire as they do. Why each material is used. How to create perfect dipping and drying properties. Even some chemistry.
Articles	Reducing the Firing Temperature of a Glaze From Cone 10 to 6 Moving a cone 10 high temperature glaze down to cone 5-6 can require major surgery on the recipe or the transplantation of the color and surface mechanisms into a similar cone 6 base glaze.
Articles	High Gloss Glazes A transcript of a presentation at the 3rd Whitewares conference at Alfred University in the spring of 2000 by Richard Eppler.
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.
Glossary	Specific gravity In ceramics, the specific gravity of slurries tells us their water-to-solids ratio. That ratio is a key indicator of performance and enabler of consistency.
Glossary	Limit Formula A way of establishing guideline for each oxide in the chemistry for different ceramic glaze types. Understanding the roles of each oxide and the limits of this approach are a key to effectively using these guidelines.
Glossary	Base Glaze Understand your a glaze and learn how to adjust and improve it. Build others from that. We have bases for low, medium and high fire.
Glossary	Transparent Glazes Every glossy ceramic glaze is actually a base transparent with added opacifiers and colorants. So understand how to make a good transparent, then build other glazes on it.
Glossary	Thixotropy Thixotropy is a property of ceramic slurries. Thixotropic suspensions flow when you want them to and then gel after sitting for a few moments. This phenomenon is helpful in getting even, drip free glaze coverage.
Glossary	Cone 6 Also called "middle temperature" by potters, cone 6 (~2200F/1200C) refers to the temperature at which most hobby and pottery stonewares and porcelains are fired.
URLs	https://insight-live.com/insight/share.php?z=DEdcwWAZ6K G3806C/G2926B Cone 6 Transparent Glazes
URLs	https://insight-live.com/insight/share.php?z=FuGkW4GNms Lower Expansion version of G2926B Cone 6 Clear Glaze
URLs	https://plainsmanclays.com/data/index.php?product=12926 G2926B Cone 6 Transparent Glaze at PlainsmanClays.com
Firing Schedules	Cone 6 Drop-and-Soak Firing Schedule 350F/hr to 2100F, 108/hr to 2200, hold 10 minutes, freefall to 2100, hold 30 minutes, free fall
Oxides	Sm2O3 -

XML to Paste Into Desktop Insight

<recipes>XML not functional: We are working on this problem.</recipes>

By Tony Hansen Follow me on

Got a Question?

Buy me a coffee and we can talk

---

https://digitalfire.com, All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy