Ceramic glaze

Composite body, painted, and glazed bottle.

Ceramic glaze is an impervious layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fused to a pottery body through firing. Glaze can serve to color, decorate or waterproof an item. Glazing renders earthenware vessels suitable for holding liquids, sealing the inherent porosity of unglazed biscuit earthenware. It also gives a tougher surface. Glaze is also used on stoneware and porcelain. In addition to their functionality, glazes can form a variety of surface finishes, including degrees of glossy or matte finish and color. Glazes may also enhance the underlying design or texture either unmodified or inscribed, carved or painted.

Most pottery produced in recent centuries has been glazed, other than pieces in unglazed biscuit porcelain, terracotta, or some other types. Tiles are almost always glazed on the surface face, and modern architectural terracotta is very often glazed. Glazed brick is also common. Domestic sanitary ware is invariably glazed, as are many ceramics used in industry, for example ceramic insulators for overhead power lines.

Materials used

• 30% Silica, for a shiny, waterproof glass layer
• 40% Feldspar, as flux to reduce melting point
• 20% Kaolin clay, for alumina, to stabilize
• 10% Calcium carbonate, as both whiting and flux
• Water
• Other chemicals for colour as desired

Crafting instructions

Mix with enough water to form a slurry. Apply to bisque-fired pottery by dipping, pouring, or brushing and let dry before glaze-firing.

Uses

Glazing a ceramic is done to ensure waterproofing, to make the surface less prone to dirt and other pollutants, and as decoration

Dependencies

• Ceramic
• Ceramic glaze
  • Pottery

See also

• Brick
• Clay
• Mud

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Ceramic_glaze, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).