Experiment No: 04

Experiment name: Glazing of a ceramic sample and inspection of its defects.

Objectives:
• To know about glazing.
• To know the methods of applying glaze to ceramic sample.
• To know the inspection procedures of a ceramic sample after glazing.

Introduction:
Ceramic glazes are an impenetrable layer or coating applied to bisque-ware that is used to decorate
pottery and can also be used to waterproof an item. There are many possibilities when glazing
pottery and ceramics, from colorful patterns to mineral reactions. The general process of glazing
ceramics is by mixing your glazes, applying the glaze to bisque-ware, letting it dry, then finally
loading it into the kiln for the glaze firing. The kiln is slowly brought up to the appropriate
temperature for the silica in the glaze to melt, then slowly cooled again. This makes your pottery
strong and solid, and impervious to water and the elements. The most practical purpose of glazing
ceramics is to make them food-safe and waterproof. Clay bisque-ware that has been fired once is
not yet waterproof or food-safe until the glaze is applied and subsequently fired again. Glazes are
a liquid suspension of finely ground minerals that are applied onto the surface of bisque-fired
ceramic ware by brushing, pouring, or dipping. After the glaze dries, the ware is loaded into a kiln
and fired to the temperature at which the glaze ingredients will melt together to form a glassy
surface. Glazing can enhance the fired clay piece both on an aesthetic and a functional level.
Visually, ceramic glazes can be decorative and a great source of color and texture. Practically,
glazes can seal your clay bodies once fired, making them waterproof and food-safe. Many clay
bodies are not vitreous without being glazed, meaning if you added liquid to an unglazed ceramic,
it would leak through the pores. Glazes are made up of three ingredients: glass-formers, fluxes,
and stabilizers. Depending on the type of glaze you are working with, there will be different
proportions of these three ingredients. Glazes have different effects on clay surfaces. In ceramics,
we refer to them as gloss or matte glazes. Gloss glazes create a shiny, reflective surface. Matte
glazes make a dull surface and satin matte glazes create a semi-shiny surface that is smooth to the
touch.

Glazing Procedures:
Step 1

Ensure your bisque-fired work is as clean as possible. Remove all dust before you start with a clean
sponge or lightly damp cloth. If you use water when cleaning off your bisque ware, make sure your
piece is completely dry before glazing.

Step 2
Mix your glazes well. Make sure that the heavier sediment, which has likely settled to the bottom
of your mixing vessel, is fully mixed to ensure a smooth consistency. You can do this by hand, by
mixing vigorously with a whisk for at least 1-2 minutes. Many ceramic studios attach a whisk to a
drill to mix their glazes quickly and thoroughly.

Step 3

Choose how you will apply your glaze. You can either dip your bisque-fired ceramics into the
glaze, pour the glaze on, or brush the glaze on. In ceramics classes at The Crucible, we use
underglazes to add color and pattern before applying a coat of glaze, which seals and waterproofs
the ceramics. Underglazes contain a small amount of gum, which makes it easier to control when
painting them onto your ceramics. Apply two to three coats. Make sure you wipe off any glaze
from the base of your piece before setting it aside to dry.

Step 4

Fire the glaze according to instructions. Glazes are classified as either low-fire or mid-fire, and
firing them at the wrong setting may cause your piece to break. Low-fire glazes are fired at 1845
degrees Fahrenheit. Low-fire glazes are great for when you have a very specific, controlled design
in mind. The resulting colors can be bright and predictable and do not melt together much. Midfire
glazes are fired at 2192 degrees Fahrenheit. The colors tend to have more variation and melt
together to create more romantic visual effects. High-fire glazes are fired at 2305 degrees
Fahrenheit, creating a strong and vitreous ceramic. The color range tends to be more limited.

Glazing Defects:
There are some defects that appear on the surface of the glazed sample. These defects are of many
types. These are:

Blisters:

A large bubble sometimes presents as a fault in ceramic ware. Blisters appear as large bubbles
either just below or penetrating the surface, leaving sharp, rough edges that collect dirt. The surface
of the glaze is very unpleasant and looks like a boiled mass of bubbles, craters and pinholes.
Crawling:

A defect that appears as irregular, bare patches of fired body showing through the glaze where it
has failed to adhere to or wet the body on firing. The cause is a weak bond between glaze and
body; this may result from greasy patches or dust on the surface of the biscuit ware or from
shrinkage of the applied glaze slip during drying. The fault is more likely to occur with once-fired
ware such as sanitaryware.

Metal marking:

Metal marks are dark lines, often accompanied by damage in the glaze, caused by the deposition
of metal during the use of metal utensils. The cutlery, or other relatively soft metal, will leave a
very thin smear of metal on pottery ware if the glaze is minutely pitted. A glaze may have this
defective surface as it leaves the glost kiln, or it may subsequently develop such a surface as a
result of inadequate chemical durability. The fault is also known as cutlery marking.

Pin-hole:

A fault that is commonly the result of a bubble in the glaze when it was molten that burst but was
only partially healed. The bubbles are most often from gas that originates from air trapped between
the particles of powdered glaze as the glaze begins to mature, or from gases evolved from carbonate
compounds. A specific example of pin-holes is Spit-out. These are pin-holes or craters sometimes
occurring in glazed non-vitreous ceramics while they are in the decorating kiln. The cause of this
defect is the evolution of water vapor, adsorbed by the porous body, during the period between the
glost firing and the decorating firing, via minute cracks in the glaze.

Discussion:
Glazing is the main protection of the ceramic body that protects its surface from corrosion and
other surface problems. In our lab we made a glaze sample according to the batch calculation given
to us. But unfortunately for some lab equipment difficulty we could not conduct the glazing part
on the ceramic sample. But from this study we have leant about the methods of applying glazes to
the ceramic body and the difficulties. We also learnt about the defects that the ceramic surface can
have after applying glaze.

Conclusion:
Glazing is an important part of ceramic manufacturing. It protects the ceramic sample and also
increases its finishing by which the ceramic sample becomes complete. So it is important for us to
know about the glazing procedure and its defects. I this experiment we have learnt about it
thoroughly.