This Glaze Thinner is a solution of sodium hexametaphosphate in water. It is a very powerful thinning agent and should be added very sparingly. For example, 2 or 3 drops in a 4 oz. jar should have a significant effect. It is a useful product for thinning glazes, underglazes, etc. when you do not want to dilute the strength of the glaze by adding water.

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downloadable information sheet No more hard settled glazes, no more powdery glaze coatings, no more peeling glazes. All your suspension and application problems solved! Suspends ANY common glaze material, including dense granular materials, indefinitely. Works with or without clay - even zero clay formulations. Allows glaze carving and sgraffito without chipping. Allows unlimited layering of glaze or slip coats. Hardens unfired glaze and slip coatings. Does not change with age (requires preservative*). Does NOT deflucculate and cause curtaining and drips like CMC does. Almost completely burns away, leaving fired glaze or slip unaffected. For brush application, smooths application and hardens the coat like CMC but allows heavier brush loading and thicker coats than CMC. GLAZE/SLIP TYPE 100g batch (brushing) 100g batch 1000g batch 10,000g batch zero clay formula 0.7g 0.6g 6g 60g typical formula (10% clay) 0.6g 0.4g 4g 40g high clay formula 0.5g 0.3g 3g 30 For brushing glazes, increase recommendations by 0.1%. As a clay plasticizer, try 0.1% MAGMA. Two simple ways to add it to your slip or glaze: LIQUID GLAZE Add 40 grams MAGMA and 4 grams Copper Carbonate (CuCO3) to 8 ounces hot water. Wait approximately 6 hours. It will look like green goop. Add a little MAGMA gel to your liquid glaze - start with 1 teaspoon of MAGMA gel per pint of glaze. You can always add a more if you need it, but it’s better to err on the side of caution because MAGMA increases the drying time of the glaze. DRY GLAZE Determine appropriate quantity of MAGMA. Mix MAGMA powder with other dry ingredients. Add 0.04% (of total batch weight) Copper Carbonate (CuCO3) as a preservative unless Copper Carb is already included in the recipe. Example: 0.4g CuCO3 per 1000g dry glaze Add dry mix to normal amount of [hot] water for glaze batch. Glaze will be a little thicker than you are used to. Wait a few hours before sieving. Always glaze the outside surface first when using a glaze with MAGMA or any other additive. Recommended preservative: If you plan to store glaze mixed with water for more than one week, add Copper Carbonate (CuCO3), 0.04% of total dry batch (0.4g CuCO3 per 1000g dry glaze). The vast majority of glazes will not show any coloration from this small amount of copper, but it will prevent the gum from rotting. Test before mixing a full batch. CAUTION: MAGMA will dramatically thicken any glaze it is added to. Thinning the glaze to a “normal” consistency will cause very thin coats. MAGMA containing glazes must have more viscosity than typical glazes. MAGMA glazes also take more time to “dry” (the water moves into the bisque slower) after dipping or spraying. If high viscosity glazes will not work for you, and/or slow setting or drying glazes will not work for you, you should not use MAGMA.

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Veegum-T is a material used as in glaze recipes and clay bodies. In glazes, it is used as a suspender and thickener. In clay bodies, it is used as a plasticizer. When adding this material to a glaze slurry, it is very imporant that it is mixed with water before adding it to the rest of the materials. Improper hydration and variations in mixing conditions (water temperature, amount of water, time mixing, mixing power, etc) can produce varied results in glazes. Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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CMC Gum is a material that can be added to glazes to make them adhere better and slows drying. CMC Gum is used in many different applications in ceramics, most common being its use in brushing glazes. The powdered gum is nearly impossible to properly disperse in water, meaning adding it directly to a glaze is not as effective. To correctly mix the gum into a slurry, a gum solution should be made. This can be done by boiling water and the powder and mixing it vigorously with a mechanical mixer. Then to add it into your glaze, replace some of the water with the gum solution. Different glazes require different amounts to work correctly.  Information gathered from Digitalfire Ceramic Materials Database.

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