Has anyone tried Spectrum 1116 Metallic Mirror glaze?  It looks very fluxed without appearing to run much.

http://www.tuckerspottery.com/tkps/index.php?page=shop.product_deta...

https://www.axner.com/spectrum1116metallicmirrorglaze1pint.aspx

They claim the glaze passes lead and cadmium leeching tests, which suggests it is a lead glaze, similar to Clay Planet Aztec Gold which is very robust and pure gold surface without the texture below if applied over a smooth layer of a previously fired neutral ^6 glaze, like a clear.

http://shop.clay-planet.com/pint-722-aztec-gold.aspx

It also looks similar to a gold-cast version of Amaco Palladium, which in my experience is a glaze that is easily "poisoned" by other glaze fumes or the wrong clay, turning a dull pewter, black, or shiny transparent bluish glass rather than bright palladium.

I'd love to duplicate these with bismuth as a flux rather than lead.

Wow, love these glazes!

They're nice when they work. Aztec Gold ^05 is reliable.

This is a Mickey Mouse my nephew made, fired to ^6 with a clear glaze to provide a glassy-smooth neutral surface, then re-glazed at  ^05 with three thick coats of Aztec Gold. The result is a glassy gold surface without variation or defect. I had nephew pre-heat the piece in the oven to 300F so the low-fire Aztec Gold would immediately dry on the glassy surface when he applied it.

This photo was taken with a cell phone, but it's not easy to photograph a shiny gold surface in the best of circumstances.

Hi Norm,

    I am going to get some & try it.  Here is a sample of the the Aztec Gold

Hi Norm,

    I know what you mean by contamination.  I hate it when you can use another glaze with the metallic glaze.  I still have a bunch of the metallics that were made with lead.  I still use them as I don't make functional ware.  I had never heard of that trick of putting a low-fire metallic over a mid-fired clear.  That is pretty ingenious!  It would definitely give it a smoother surface which is one thing that the metallics need to be so shiny.  I will test as soon as I get some.  jhp

That's a lot of Aztec Gold glazing at $15.25 a pint! but it's reliable. Lead flux is still tough to replace in some glazes. Did you fire to ^6 before applying and firing the ^05 Aztec Gold?

Western Ceramic does have some interesting glazes. One of the few still selling leaded glazes. Sadly I've never been able to fire their ^05 Sea Cucumber into anything which resembles their test tile.

http://www.westernglaze.com/Western_Color_Chart.pdf

I wish I could find a reliable metallic silver glaze, either a recipe or commercial glaze. Amaco Palladium is not it. I have ^6 recipes for gold, copper, gunmetal, and pewter, but nothing for silver apart from raku, palladium gilding, or silver art clay.

I have never gotten the Sea Cucumber to work either.  That large jar was earthenware so it was ^04 bisque & ^05 glaze.  I will get some of Metallic Gold Mirror & see if it works.  I hope it isn't bothered by other glazes.  jhp

Can you share your recipe for ^6 copper Norm?

The best copper recipe I have is the Collin Pearson Bronze ^6 you currently use.

To manganese dioxide add 10% copper oxide for color and 10% china clay to control the viscosity.

I also have this low-fire leaded recipe:

I have ordered 5 lbs., so as soon as we lock down the shipping charge it hopefully will be on it's way.  Baileys has all Spectrum glazes on sale for 25% off through the end of the month, so that makes it doable.  jhp

Well, it looks like I won't be running any tests with it this weekend.  I just got my invoice from Baileys & it looks like delivery will be in 2-3 weeks.  Will keep you posted....   jhp

Axner shipped us a couple of pints of Metallic Mirror today, so I'll have test tiles in a couple of weeks.

I opted for the 5 lbs cause I want to mix things into it dry.  Also with the 25% discount, it was only $35.63 for the 5 lbs.  It will be interesting to see if I can get it to come out the same as the pre-mixed that you get Norm.  It' a race!!!!

Kathy - These are gold ^5/6 glazes, but you could certainly call them metallic copper.

http://www.kazegamas.com/Golds-C5.htm

The "sculpture glazes" are interesting as well.

http://www.kazegamas.com/Sculpture%20Glazes%205.htm

Jeff - Have you ever made a cobalt-saturation glaze?

I received the gold-hued Spectrum Metallic Mirror glaze and it's safety labelled for high levels of cobalt.

You can tell by the wet glaze color there's not a significant amount of manganese dioxide. It looks like just about any glaze which contains a significant amount of iron oxide.

I have it on a test tile waiting for a firing.

Hi Norm,

      No, but I would like to!  Do you have a recipe?  The best moly crystals I have gotten were with Steve's Brilliant Blue Ink.  It ran alot even at ^4 & it kind of acted like an ash glaze which is not good for moly.  They need a well melted glaze that doesn't move much, that allows the crystals to form.  Since I had to wait so long for the powder, I ordered 2 bottles from Axner.  They should be here tomorrow & I will test as well.  What kind of clay are you using to test on?  I think I can do a porcelain & also porcelain with a manganese slip over.  Also I have some red shards.  Let me know & thanks,  Jeff

B-Mix Cone 5 WC-401

http://www.lagunaclay.com/clays/western/wc401.php

Still too hot to open this morning, so we'll have wait until tonite.  If it was winter, it would have been cool enough but with summer, the kiln doesn't cool as fast after it shuts off.  jhp

This is our finished product with Spectrum 1116 Metallic Gold Mirror. It actually looks green inside as if it were a copper glaze. I don't understand why it's labelled for Cobalt.

This is Metallic Mirror with Weathered Bronze Green.

Metallic Mirror test tile both sides.

I only had the red clay shards & neither the MGM or the Gold liked it.  It didn't like the extra iron or the coarseness of the clay.  It also did not like the moly that I mixed in either.  I think both of these would do better on a porcelain or white stoneware.  Also I think they would look better sprayed.  It is very hard to get an even coat when brushing.  I will have to look & see if I have any ^6 cast ornaments left that I could spray.  I know I have ^04 ones, but they won't work for this.  jhp

As you can see the Spectrum 1116 Metal Mirror is more metallic looking on the porcelain test tile.

Even though the bowl made of WC-401 is a white clay, the glaze is far less metallic turning a shiny pewter on the base of the bowl.

I bought up as much Gold Filigree and and Duncan Sy 553 Antique brass when I heard they were stopping using the leaded ingredient.  Good to find the Aztec Gold, firing also at low temperature.

I also recently got a smaller electric kiln, though much newer than my older larger kiln and there is a difference with certain glazes being fired to the same temperature, like the Copper Adventurine glaze by Mayco and others.

Someone mentioned silver glaze,  I use these 2 by Duncan  Anique Pewter  sy1024 and Heirloom Silver sy 1025.

The pewter is most reliable,  sometimes I have trouble with the Heirloom when fired with certain glazes.

Although they dont recommend it, I usually fire both bisque and glazes together, doesnt bother all glazes and that way I always get a little present with each firing.

Thanks for all the great information!   Happy to find this site.

Smaller kilns tend to cool faster than larger kilns due to less thermal mass.

As a consequence, a computerized controller can be used to create a slow-cool between 1,800 F and 1,500 F to emulate the cooling characteristics of a larger kiln, or even a hard fire brick gas kiln.

Duncan Sy glazes I mentioned (with clear Black)

Well Diane, 

    I'm glad I'm not the only nut that hoarded the metallics before they were all gone.  I go a bunch of the Spectrum metallics as well, before they were reformulated.  I also bought a bunch of the reds before they were gone, too, as well as Super Spill(I think it had lead in the crystals).  One day I will have to take inventory of what I have.  I would buy it & then just shove it in the basement out of site.  I did actually use some Gold Filigree around Christmas and it wasn't even gelled or settled out or anything.  I was sure surprised since it has been sitting around for so long.  jhp

You calling me a nut Jeff!!   :-)    Well I guess I am also,  hoarding leaded/toxic glazes.  Though I dont think these kind are much of a problem.  Wasnt too careful in the past,  had my lead checked recently after years of using these glazes and all clean.

 Norm:  the smaller newer kiln fires faster and cools faster and is actually better with many of the glazes.

So it doesnt seem to cool too fast.  I am just surprised at the difference on how glazes fire in each kiln.

I was posting the difference in how glazes come out in different kilns partially because someone commented on how they couldnt get the beautiful Western Sea Cucumber glaze to turn out. I am going to buy some and try it in both my kilns.

Good luck to you with Western Pottery's "Sea Cucumber" glaze.

I've had very little success in firing Western Pottery Art Glazes to look like their sample tiles, especially "Sea Cucumber".  This is surprising since they're Low Fire glazes which are typically far less affected by cooling speed.  Most Low Fire glazes simply require a simple melt and cool as fast as you dare.

http://shop.clay-planet.com/western-art-glazes.aspx

My results with these glazes have been obviously too fluid, firing to their recommended witness cone 05.  I suspect they're lithium fluxed glazes with more than the usual amount of alumina.  At temperature these glazes flow considerably but when cool are typically very matte with a surface which feels like fine emery sandpaper.

I suspect duplicating their sample tiles requires a very thick four coats of glaze with a cooler than suggested firing temperature.  They are undeniably unique.

The body of the cactus sculpture below is "Sea Cucumber" fired to Cone 05.  I applied four layers after previously firing a single thin layer of "Sea Cucumber" to Cone 6, the same time the Cone 6 Praseodymium Yellow was fired.  Not very much like the tile in the photo below.

Incidentally the abstract cactus is Sea Cucumber is applied to Max's Paper Clay. 

I would have expected the excess brown in the glaze if I had applied it to a brown clay, as iron rich clays don't absorb excess iron in the glaze like white clays do.  But Max's Paper Clay is white with no measurable amount of iron.  I've also tried these glazes on New Zealand Frost Porcelain without success in duplicating the test tiles.

If you can figure out how to fire these glazes I'd love to know your secret.

Comment by Diane De Baun 4 hours ago

I was posting the difference in how glazes come out in different kilns partially because someone commented on how they couldnt get the beautiful Western Sea Cucumber glaze to turn out. I am going to buy some and try it in both my kilns.

No it doesnt look like the test tile!  too bad.  Well has anyone had any success, otherwise maybe I will just skip buying them.  The gold did look like it worked though

If I understand you added 4 heavier coats and fired to 05 to a piece that had been previously fired to cone 6 with one coat.  Have you any example of just firing to cone 05 only? Sorry if this is a dumb question and I am new to this discussion.

My best test tile with Western Pottery Art Glazes was fired at Cone 06, with the glazes applied over a glossy Mayco Gem glaze.  You can see small sections of these glazes where application went directly on the bisque and it's kind of dull.  Maybe I need to apply far more - but I lost interest. 

Their Turquoise is a nice glossy translucent glaze, Jon's Bronze is ok, but Aztec Gold is a real winner - especially when applied over a previously fired layer of Cone 6 Glaze and fired to Cone 04 to Cone 05.  Basically the less porous the surface you apply Aztec Gold on, the more glossy and flawless gold the surface fires.

I'm no longer sure which is which, but these include:

Irish Isle;

Moss Meadow;

Silver Blue;

Moss Green; and

Sea Cucumber.

all applied over one layer of some Mayco Jungle Gems glaze.  Like their Aztec gold, the less porous the bisque, the better their glazes fire.  On this tile the glossy under-layer glaze seals the bisque so the Western Pottery glazes float on top.

Thanks,  I am going to buy some of their gold and maybe try one of the others.   I was going to buy a bunch but  after this conversation I will just try one and see.  The test tiles were exciting glazes, disappointing.

Have you seen the new shimmer glazes from Duncan.  Just order a few and will see how they come out.

http://www.aardvarkclay.com/products.php?cat=466

I buy from Aardvark Clay alot.  If you have a resale number you get 30 % off on pints and 40% on 4 oz. glazes.