For even coverage white majolica glazes must be applied by dipping

Wednesday 31st July 2019

The mug on the left has three coats of Spectrum insight-live.com/glossary/59">Majolica base, painted on by brush. Drying was required after doing the inside coats, so the total glazing time was several hours. The glaze layer is way too thin and it is not even at all! The one on the right was dipped in a 5 gallon bucket-full of G3890 Arbuckle white (that was weighed out according to a recipe and slurried at 1.62 specific gravity). It took seconds to dip-apply, the thickness coverage is good. As is obvious, it makes sense to make your own base white. Then decorate using the overglaze colors (e.g. the Spectrum Majolica series). Another advantage of making your own white is that you can splurge on the amount of opacifier (in this case 9% zircon and 4% tin oxide), to achieve maximum whiteness and opacity. And, you can proportion a mix of two frits (having higher and lower thermal expansion) to fine-tune the fit with the body (a big issue at low fire).

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

White majolica bases have very, very low melt fluidity, Arbuckle Majolica glaze using Fusion Frit F-19, Lindsay Montgomery Majolica Plate: Lake of Fire (White Women Elected Trump), 2017, Majolica, Base-Coat Dipping Glaze, Glaze thickness

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