Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Bentone EW story continues.

Yesterday I mixed a glaze with .33% Bentone EW and 200 ml of water. The exact specifics are 300 grams of glaze, 1 gram of Bentone EW, and 200 ml of water. I also added about 4 tsp of CMC solution. 

It worked really well for brushing; in fact it was a little watery so today I am going to try to reduce the water even more -- probably 175 ml. The less water there is, the more glaze there is in the water, and the faster coats build up on the pot.

I'm still pretty amazed by how little clay there is in the glaze, how well it brushes, and how well it stays in suspension. 

3 comments:

Andreas Widhalm said...

Hi John!

Iam glad to see that you are improving the Bentone EW addition to your glazes.

Andreas

Kip said...

Hi John - A friend of mine directed me to your blog, I really appreciate your scientific approach to glazes! I am currently working with low fire glaze and have a question about the Bentone EW. I would like to bisque fire my work hotter to 03 or even 02, but always end up having trouble getting the glaze to adhere to the tighter body. Do you think the Bentone would help with adhesion at all?
Good luck with your testing!

John Tilton said...

Kip,

Are you using non commercial glazes? Is this an earthenware clay that is basically mature at cone 03-02?

I would think that Bentone EW would allow you to mix the glaze with less water and that would help. Also the CMC is a glue and this will help too.

If you are trying to apply the glaze to a clay body with almost no absorption, it's going to be a challenge no matter what.

Why does the clay need to be bisqued so hot? Is this a color that you like?

In the end, I think the Bentone EW would help.
John