Norm, silver acrylic paint--I made many sample keys glazed by some of the metallic Amaco glazes--Palladium works the best, but it is very finnicky when fired. Then wouldn't you know, I dropped it on a slate floor and it shattered into a million pieces. :-( Amaco also makes what passes as a decent antiqued gold, Saturation Gold. You can see it here: http://cone6pots.ning.com/photo/oval-batik-textured-bowl?context=user. Hope this helps!
I love your gunmetal black! Palladium is like this where thinly applied.
PC-4 Pallladium is a “Metallic Float Glaze”. As with all float glazes it is important to achieve a good thickness. The float in these glazes consists of metallic materials that give a reflective metal look. If the glaze application is thin, the surface will look splotchy and the metal film will look incomplete. (Note: Palladium tends to be fluid so feathering the glaze near the bottom of a piece is advised or leaving extra room for the glaze to flow. It also looks best on a tight porcelain body.)
Also, Have you tried a "hold" at the top of your firing before cooling ever so slowly? I think Palladium likes it a little hotter to bring out the silver.
In any case, those metallic glazes sure are finicky, aren't they?
Amaco sells two really finicky glazes - Ancient Jasper and Palladium. On Digitalfire the Ancient Jasper recipe is called Floating Red. I wish I understood the chemistry of Palladium and the glaze below, but I don't yet.
Palladium does look best when it's far too runny, like a Cone 6.5, but it also has a big problem pin-holing on some clay. Based on my experience with frits this suggests it's a fluorine frit based glaze like 3269 or 5301 which foams with some clays. Under the surface, Palladium has a bluish cast while Metallic Mirror has a green cast.
For the past two years we've been slow-cooling the kiln at a very slow 50 F per hour between 1,800 and 1,500. Slow-cooling doesn't help Palladium, but I can't say it hurts the finished look either.
I have Palladium around my head on this porcelain self-portrait. Of course I hoped for a mirror like finish, but it came out not quite so mirrorish and the portrait a bit too cartoonish for my taste.
If you don't mind leaded glazes, Western Pottery / Clay Planet sells a terrific ^04 Aztec Gold. Apply it over a previously fired ^6 clear and it's a stunning Oscar Award Gold without the "texture".
Oooh I LOVE ancient Jasper--one of my favorite glazes--also loves to be layered and loves a thicker application. Amaco has great Tech Support--I am always calling them with pesky questions about their glazes. I make all sorts of notations on my glazes as to how they like to be applied.
I prefer my "Black Gold Matte" recipe in the Insight-Live Glaze database to Amaco Saturation Gold. It stays where you put it - not as glassy and doesn't wrinkle like Saturation Gold.
Norm Stuart
Silver acrylic paint on the ceramic key, or actually metal.
If the silver on the key is a ceramic glaze, many will covet the formula. Including me.
Dec 30, 2013
Teri Hannigan
Norm, silver acrylic paint--I made many sample keys glazed by some of the metallic Amaco glazes--Palladium works the best, but it is very finnicky when fired. Then wouldn't you know, I dropped it on a slate floor and it shattered into a million pieces. :-( Amaco also makes what passes as a decent antiqued gold, Saturation Gold. You can see it here: http://cone6pots.ning.com/photo/oval-batik-textured-bowl?context=user. Hope this helps!
Dec 30, 2013
Norm Stuart
Manganese saturation glazes make all sorts of "metallic gold" and brass colors. But silver is elusive.
The closest I have is a "Gunmetal Black" which is a variation of the golds.
Dec 30, 2013
Teri Hannigan
I love your gunmetal black! Palladium is like this where thinly applied.
PC-4 Pallladium is a “Metallic Float Glaze”. As with all float glazes it is important to achieve a good thickness. The float in these glazes consists of metallic materials that give a reflective metal look. If the glaze application is thin, the surface will look splotchy and the metal film will look incomplete. (Note: Palladium tends to be fluid so feathering the glaze near the bottom of a piece is advised or leaving extra room for the glaze to flow. It also looks best on a tight porcelain body.)
Also, Have you tried a "hold" at the top of your firing before cooling ever so slowly? I think Palladium likes it a little hotter to bring out the silver.
In any case, those metallic glazes sure are finicky, aren't they?
Dec 30, 2013
Norm Stuart
Amaco sells two really finicky glazes - Ancient Jasper and Palladium. On Digitalfire the Ancient Jasper recipe is called Floating Red. I wish I understood the chemistry of Palladium and the glaze below, but I don't yet.
Spectrum has a nearly identical glaze, with a gold color, Spectrum 1116 Metallic Mirror Glaze - good luck getting it to look lie this. http://www.axner.com/spectrum1116metallicmirrorglaze1pint.aspx
Palladium does look best when it's far too runny, like a Cone 6.5, but it also has a big problem pin-holing on some clay. Based on my experience with frits this suggests it's a fluorine frit based glaze like 3269 or 5301 which foams with some clays. Under the surface, Palladium has a bluish cast while Metallic Mirror has a green cast.
For the past two years we've been slow-cooling the kiln at a very slow 50 F per hour between 1,800 and 1,500. Slow-cooling doesn't help Palladium, but I can't say it hurts the finished look either.
I have Palladium around my head on this porcelain self-portrait. Of course I hoped for a mirror like finish, but it came out not quite so mirrorish and the portrait a bit too cartoonish for my taste.
If you don't mind leaded glazes, Western Pottery / Clay Planet sells a terrific ^04 Aztec Gold. Apply it over a previously fired ^6 clear and it's a stunning Oscar Award Gold without the "texture".
http://shop.clay-planet.com/pint-722-aztec-gold.aspx
Dec 30, 2013
Teri Hannigan
Oooh I LOVE ancient Jasper--one of my favorite glazes--also loves to be layered and loves a thicker application. Amaco has great Tech Support--I am always calling them with pesky questions about their glazes. I make all sorts of notations on my glazes as to how they like to be applied.
Dec 30, 2013
Teri Hannigan
I use B-mix with grog for most of my stuff.
Dec 30, 2013
Norm Stuart
I prefer my "Black Gold Matte" recipe in the Insight-Live Glaze database to Amaco Saturation Gold. It stays where you put it - not as glassy and doesn't wrinkle like Saturation Gold.
http://insight-live.com/insight/recipes.php?rz=8Mn1pKz7vr
Dec 30, 2013
Teri Hannigan
Oh yes, that is a very beautiful glaze, Norm! I haven't had issues with Amaco Saturation Gold running, but I have to say I haven't used it much.
Dec 30, 2013