When to use vinegar and when to use epsom salts to flocculate a slurry

Thursday 16th July 2015

Slurries with more clay (like insight-live.com/glossary/35">engobes, slips) generally respond better to epsom salts. However the extra clay also makes them more likely to go moldy, so you may need to add a few drops of Dettol to kill the bacteria (if they are stored for any length of time). Vinegar works better for glaze surries, but only if they have sufficient specific gravity. Many people like to make an epsom salts solution and add that, but if you have a good mixer you may find it more intuitive to add the crystals (which you should crush to a powder) and wait 30 seconds for the viscosity to respond.

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

Epsom Salts, Vinegar, Flocculation, Thixotropy

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