Ceramic Oxides For Making Colored Slips

Make some slip and add some oxides to create colors.

Ceramic oxides for making colored slips.

The best percentage depends on the color of the stain. The 3 red iron oxide and 5 black stain is based on dry weight. The amount of stain added is normally between 5 and 10 of the weight of the clay in the slip. The percentages of stains varies according to the intensity of color she is trying to achieve.

Slips made with a deflocculant require much less water to achieve the same degree of fluidity as those without deflocculants. The clay wilson uses is half half from laguna formulated for firing at cone 5 though she fires it to cone 6. 10lbs of slip minus 4lbs. Simply deduct 40 of the weight to reach dry recipe.

Adding oxides or stains to dry clay body and adding water makes a good slip. Brush oxides on greenware bisque and or glaze. Liquid casting slips are available in low fire midrange stoneware high fire stoneware and porcelain. We also have dry mix casting slips available in 50 lb.

Bags that require mixing with water and a deflocculant such as soda ash sodium silicate darvan 7 or darvan 811. To produce slips for casting into plaster molds the ingredients for slip are mixed with water to which 1 2 of a deflocculant such as darvan and or sodium silicate has been added. Of casting slip is roughly equivalent to one gallon. To get more random blotchy colors don t mix too well.

For oxides it will depend on the oxide especially the cobalts which are very strong and you only need a small amount. Brush oxides on then apply glaze. To prepare the clay slip wilson takes 100 grams of small pieces of bone dry clay and adds 10 50 grams of a ceramic stain. A quick video showing how i make firstly the slip for the under glazed colour for my pottery it s simple to do just mix up some slip from your waste clay slo.

Be very careful when handling as you may smudge the oxide. To get more uniform colors mix well. Casting slips are pre made ready to use for pouring and making casts in plaster molds. Brush oxide wash over an unfired glaze then fire.

The colored slip is essentially a decorative coating much like an engobe applied to a thrown or handbuilt form but in this case the coating is laid down first. To make colored slip you mix a powdered oxide or stain with clay slip. For stains i usually use a ratio of 10 stain to powdered clay body.