Gerstley Borate Substitutes

Many development efforts to create Gerstley Borate substitutes took place during the early 2000s (the initial period when the demise of Gerstley Borate appeared imminent). A number of companies, including Laguna Clays itself, produced and sold these for many years. When Laguna secured another stockpile at the mine and began producing the original material again, interest in substitutes gradually waned. However, the sudden dramatic price increase in 2023 appears to have initiated the process again. Gillespie Borate appears to be the only viable and visible substitute now.

Thus, the substitutes listed here are mostly no longer made. Other high-boron materials shown are also no longer available.

We continue to recommend sourcing B₂O₃ from frits instead. Please contact us if you have a specific recipe and we can work with you in your Insight-live account to develop a new recipe that both eliminates the GB and improves overall working and firing properties.

Related Information

Gerstley Borate substitutes chemistry comparison - ca. 2005

Links

Materials	Ulexite A natural source of boron, it melts at a very low temperature to a clear glass.
Materials	Boraq This Gerstley Borate substitute was available during the early 2000s. Its recipe and development are well documented but two materials are no longer available.
Materials	Gillespie Borate A Gerstley Borate substitute that became available during the early 2000s and is still available in 2023.
Materials	Fusion Frit F-309
Materials	Laguna Borate A Gerstley Borate substitute that was available during the early 2000s.
Materials	Murrays Borate A Gerstley Borate substitute that was available during the early 2000s.
Materials	IMCO Borate A Gerstley Borate substitute that was available during the early 2000s.
Materials	Gerstley Borate Gerstley Borate was a natural source of boron for ceramic glazes. It was plastic and melted clear at 1750F. Now we need to replace it. How?
Materials	Ferro Frit 3134 A frit with 23% B2O3. The most common of frits used in pottery in North America. Around the world, other companies make frits of equivalent chemistry.
Materials	Turkish Ulexite A mineral with very high B2O3 and CaO content.
Materials	Turkish Colemanite A mineral with very high B2O3 and CaO content.
Materials	Ferro Frit 4112 A calcium borate frit (with extremely high boron).
Materials	PotteryCrafts Frit P2954 A calcium borate frit (with extremely high boron).
Materials	Colemanite A natural source of boron that melts at a very low temperature.
Typecodes	Common Gerstley Borate glaze recipes Many of the glazes in use are built on common base recipes. And there are some universal recipes that almost everyone uses, we may have already converted those for use with frits.
Typecodes	Gerstley Borate Glaze Calculation examples Examples of how we use glaze calculations (in an Insight-Live.com account) to replace Gerstley Borate with other materials, especially frits, in various glaze recipes. In doing so we take the opportunity to improve the recipe in other ways (e.g. reduce thermal expansion, improve slurry properties, reduce bubbling and crawling).
Media	Use Insight-live to substitute materials in a recipe We will substitute wollastonite for whiting and a frit for Gerstley borate in the G2571A cone 10 matte while maintaining the chemistry of the original recipe.

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