Glaze Durability

Ceramic glazes vary widely in their resistance to wear and leaching by acids and bases. The principle factors that determine durability are the glaze chemistry and firing temperature.

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Ceramic glazes vary widely in their resistance to wear (cutlery marking, scratching) and leaching by acids and bases. The principal factors that determine durability are the glaze chemistry and firing temperature. In the supply industry, technicians are accustomed to evaluating glazes by looking at their oxide chemistry and rationalizing the relationship between it and fired durability. Glazes having plenty of Al₂O₃ and SiO₂, for example, are more durable (when they are melted properly). By contrast, potters tend to focus on the recipe. This is the reason that potters can be found using very non-functional glazes (often flux-saturated and therefore lacking in Al₂O₃ and SiO₂) or firing them in a non-functional way (e.g. underfiring or overfiring).

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Misconceptions are common. Many feel that just because a glaze looks melted, it is durable. Another common belief is that firing temperature is an indicator of durability; the higher it is fired, the more durable it will be. These beliefs, when coupled with the active traffic in glaze recipes online, greatly increase the chance that non-durable ware will be made. Sadly, a large proportion of online glazes are not durable and possibly not safe, even though they are published in fancy formats from apparently reputable sources. It is thus important to have a critical eye when looking at new recipes.

Another factor in why many people are using glazes of poor durability is the lack of appreciation of the basic science. The vast majority of glaze recipes available are for special-purpose colors and surfaces or are simply transparents with added colors and opacifiers. Quality transparent recipes, especially ones with documentation on how they were formulated and can be adjusted, are obviously less glamorous.

With some experience, it is possible to quickly judge durability issues when looking at a new glaze recipe. For example, at low temperatures (cone 06-04) boron is essential, so we expect to see a significant frit presence (or a natural boron source like Gerstley Borate), up to 80% is not uncommon. At high temperature, we expect to see no boron materials (feldspars, calcium carbonate, dolomite, wollastonite, and strontium carbonate are active melters there). At middle temperature, these do not melt well so they need help. That help is almost always boron, so you will see 10-40% frits or Gerstley Borate. Some middle temperature glazes use zinc and/or lithium in addition to or instead of boron (these are power melters). But it is important that melters not be in excess, as this will make the glaze leachable (since the SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ percentages are pushed down).

At all temperatures, you should see clay in the recipe. 15-30% is typical (and needed for slurry suspension and dry hardness). At all temperatures, you should see silica, from 5-40%. If there is no clay or silica that is a red light if it is supposed to be a durable functional glaze.

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Testing durability is common sense. Expose it to an acid (e.g. the GLLE test) and to abrasion and scratching by hard materials.

Please see the Limit Formula and Recipe Logic glossary topics for more information on how to look at a formula and judge its balance.

There is a common misconception that the R2O:RO ratio in glazes is an indicator of their durability. However, as already noted, durability is much more about producing a well melted homogeneous glass (but not over-fluid) with minimal phase separation and surface crystallization, good body fit and absence of large amounts of easily dissolved colorants.

Related Information

Glossy blacks are best made adding a black stain to a quality base transparent

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The glaze on the left is called Tenmoku Cone 6 (a popular, and old, CM recipe). It is 20% calcium carbonate, 35% Custer feldspar, 15% OM4 Ball Clay and 30% silica, 10% iron oxide. If you have any experience with glaze you will note two things that a fishy here: There is no boron, lithia or zinc sourcing material. How can this melt enough at cone 6? It looks melted, but the ease of scratching it shows it is not. So, it appears that if we saturate an incompletely melted glaze with a lot of refractory brown colorant on a dark body the effect can be black. A better idea is the glaze on the right. We start with a stable, reliable base transparent, G2926B. Then we add 5% Mason 6666 black stain (stains are smelted at high temperatures, quenched and ground, they are inert and relatively safe). A bonus is we end up with a slurry that is not nearly as messy to use and does not turn into a bucket of jelly.

Low fire glaze with the Al2O3 and SiO2 of a cone 6 glaze

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Look at how fluid G3879 is at cone 06 even though it has the Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ of a cone 6 (or even cone 10 glaze)! It have found that glazes with lots of boron can tolerate amazingly high levels of Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ and still melt very well. And they create many options to lower thermal expansion that would not otherwise be available. The G3806N recipe has the amazing ability to tolerate large additions of kaolin. Each addition sacrifices some melt fluidity but the glaze stays glossy and gets more durable (because of the increased Al₂O₃ and SiO₂). And the thermal expansion drops even more. A highly melt fluid, super gloss with low thermal expansion is super difficult at cone 6, but here it is. The secret is high boron. From frits.

3% and 2% Zircopax added to G2926B cone 6 clear. Why?

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If you are interested in the most functional possible surface, consider a 2% zircon addition to your transparent glaze recipe (the outside glaze on these mugs is a copper blue, but that is not the one we are interested in). The clear glaze on the insides of these two identical cone 6 porcelain mugs has 3% and 2% zircon added. It is not being added to opacify, it is being added to toughen the surface and reduce the thermal expansion. The presence of the 2% zircon has not affected the gloss or transparency of the glaze on the right. However, the 3% on the left has opacified it just slightly and made the surface a little silky. So that is too much for this glaze (although it might be OK if the melt fluidity was higher).

Can a cone 6 functional glaze having only whiting and feldspar melt enough?

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This flow test compares the base and base-plus-iron version of a popular CM recipe called "Tenmoku Cone 6" (20% whiting, 35% Custer feldspar, 15% Ball Clay and 30% silica, 10% iron oxide). Although iron is not a flux in oxidation, it appears to be doing exactly that here (that flow is just bubbling its way down the runway, the white one also fires to a glassy surface on ware). It looks melted in the tray on the right but notice how easily it is scratching on the tile (lower left). This demonstrates that looks can be deceiving. Cone 6 functional glazes always have some percentage of a power flux (like boron, lithia, zinc), otherwise they just do not melt into a hard glass. Maybe a glaze looks melted, but it has poor durability.

Links

Glossary	Dishwasher Safe Dishwasher safety is a concern in ceramic table ware, especially if the ware has been imported or made by a small company or potter.
Glossary	Food Safe Be skeptical of claims of food safety from potters who cannot explain or demonstrate why. Investigate the basis of manufacturer claims and labelling and the actual use to which their products are put.
Glossary	Transparent Glazes Every glossy ceramic glaze is actually a base transparent with added opacifiers and colorants. So understand how to make a good transparent, then build other glazes on it.
Glossary	Limit Formula A way of establishing guideline for each oxide in the chemistry for different ceramic glaze types. Understanding the roles of each oxide and the limits of this approach are a key to effectively using these guidelines.
Glossary	Leaching Ceramic glazes can leach heavy metals into food and drink. This subject is not complex, there are many things anyone can do to deal with this issue
Glossary	Cutlery Marking Ceramic glazes that mark from cutlery are either not properly melted (lack flux), melted too much (lacking SiO2 and Al2O3), or have a micro-abrasive surface that abrades metal from cutlery.
Tests	Glaze Leaching Test Simple tests to evaluate the stability of a ceramic or pottery glaze against leaching metals in food or drink.
URLs	https://www.astm.org/d4236-94r21.html ASTM D-4236 - Standard Practice for Labeling Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards - It is not what you think! A standard that "applies exclusively to art materials packaged in sizes intended for individual users of any age or those participating in a small group". It "concerns those chronic health hazards known to be associated with a product or product component(s) when it is present in a physical form, volume, or concentration that in the opinion of a toxicologist has the potential to produce a chronic adverse health effect". The word "toxicity" is not mentioned on the page nor any methods for determining such. Furthermore, the labelling refers to hazards to which the potter is exposed in applying the glaze to the ware, long term, in small hobby quantities. IT DOES NOT ADDRESS leaching hazards the ware presents to users of the pottery. Even then, the standard states that "it is the RESPONSIBILITY OF THE USER ... to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices ... based upon knowledge that exists in the scientific and medical communities". It also admits that "since knowledge about chronic health hazards is incomplete and warnings cannot cover all uses of any product, it is not possible for precautionary labelling to ensure completely safe use of an art product." It is interesting that one manufacturer displays this warning on pages relating to dipping glazes and accessory products (which are used by manufacturers): "Safety Warning: Tableware producers must test all finished ware to establish dinnerware status, due to possible variations in firing temperature and contamination." This warning does not appear on brushing glazes, even the reactive metal-saturated ones that potters and hobbyists use!

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By Tony Hansen
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