Electric Mid&Hi Fired Ceramics
Potters & Sculptors - Making Rock from Mud
Gerstley Borate / Kona F4 Feldspar and substitutions
I just started making my own glazes again this year. Before that, it had been about ten years. At that time, Gerstley Borate and Kona F4 Feldspar were still being mined.
Many recipes still call for these. My understanding is that people have many different opinions on substitutions. My local pottery uses a straight one-for-one substitutions with Gillespie Borate and Minspar.
I'm curious what your experiences have been.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nadine Mercader on
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My suggestion would be to install the Glaze Master software (they provide a 60 day free trial) perform an analysis of your old formula and then substitute the GB with another ingredient and you will see exactly what it does to the glaze from a chemical standpoint. The software allows one to review the makeup of the various minerals individually which would let you choose a substitute that is the closest possible substitute. That software is very easy to learn. What I really appreciate about it is that it has minimum an maximum values that let you know if you will create a glaze that will be strong or weak re silica (strength) and alumina (enough to melt the silicates without running. That software allowed me to better understand glaze chemistry. Robbin Hopper's glaze book, can't remember the name, is the best for learning along with the software. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Shine Chisholm on
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WOW! What a great resource!
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Hi Shine. You may have solved your Gerstley Borate questions by now but I came across some stuff called Laguna Borate. Which I think was made to fill the gap created by the absence of Gerstley. When I make the one for one exchange on my Digital fire software the chemistry is very similar. I have not fired a tile yet to compare visual results but I will soon. Happy firing
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thank you--- sorry for the extremely slow reply
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