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Post by RobertBriggs on Jun 10, 2019 6:49:21 GMT -6
Hi everyone, I usually just lurk, but lately I've been having a problem that requires me to ask the hive for help. I've been firing macro's for quite some time and just lately I've been getting in the rut of, 'not enough glaze and not high enough temperature' so my crystals are small and covered with secondaries (also the tops almost have no glaze on them). I think I know where my bad habit lies and can fix it, but my real question is this: How long can I leave Macrocrystalline glaze mixed before I have to throw it out? I've heard stories that if its a few days old, it will not perform as well as when you first mix it. This is why I only mix 500 gram batches and brush on all my glazes. I hate disposing of older glaze just because I think it's 'bad'. Does anyone keep glaze mixed up for long periods of time?....TIA
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nell
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by nell on Jun 13, 2019 20:49:34 GMT -6
I dry out left over glaze by putting it out in the full tropical sun until it is dry .Then it needs soaking and sieving to reuse. I have kept it for months and the crystals only seem a little smaller The down side is the sieving and soaking because the mix is hard especially if there is a flocculent in it
Nell
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Post by RobertBriggs on Jun 13, 2019 22:54:19 GMT -6
Thanks nell, I always want to turn back around and refire a few pieces with the same glaze I just mixed up. Usually it's never more than a few days to a few weeks old - I was always told that crystalline glaze doesn't keep well, so I throw it out.
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Post by evan cornish-keefe on Jun 14, 2019 1:08:58 GMT -6
I'd be very curious to hear peoples thoughts on this too, and if there are certain materials that tend to be responsible for glazes changing in time? The glaze I normally use suspends well at first but after about two weeks or so will start to settle quickly and hardpan, a drop or two of epsom salt solution tends to help. I wonder if a material is dissolving and causing the glaze to deflocculate over time, tho that's only a guess? I was meaning to keep a record of any changes in both specific gravity and viscosity as glaze sits in the bucket, as some glazes i've stored for years without noticing that much of a change, but I haven't gotten to it surprisingly-cause it sounds really fun....
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Post by halachmi on Jun 15, 2019 9:38:25 GMT -6
have a scrap bucket for all the test and glazes you would normally dump. Then check it out from time to time sometimes you get some good results. The only problem is when it’s really good you can’t repeat it.
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Post by mariewright on Jun 16, 2019 5:17:43 GMT -6
Hey Robert,
I routinely keep and reuse my wet glazes for 2 or 3 months. Occasionally I need to add more cmc if it cracks on brushing.
I find that glazes with iron tend to change, though - and not for the better. I toss the ones with iron after about a week.
Cheers, Marie
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Post by RobertBriggs on Jun 17, 2019 20:41:41 GMT -6
Thanks everyone, I will hang on to my glazes and use them to re-fire the pieces that come out less than perfect. I usually only need to keep them a couple of days to a week.
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Post by mohawkpiper on Jul 12, 2019 14:02:29 GMT -6
It’s been a while since ive been around here and even longer since ive thrown anything... but from my past experiences ive found that some glazes last forever and some hardly long at all. never could figure out what caused the ones that went bad to go bad. but the thing that my wife and i found worked best to keep any glaze alive as long as we could was to do what was mentioned above... dry it out in the sun if you are done with it. when u are ready to use it again we would weigh it and add water back in for its weight and throw it in the blender and most of the time it works pretty well. my wife just did so with some glazes that have been sitting for three years and they seem just fine.
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