Opulence Glaze Fired to Cone 10?

In the current day, access to different types of kiln and atmospheric firings of all Cone temperatures is more accessible than ever before.

This has led a lot of ceramists to search out versatile clays and glazes that can fire to all these temperatures. Because of this, we have customers frequently ask us if Opulence Glaze can be fired to Cone 10 in reduction gas and wood kilns.

Artists using Opulence Glaze have had great success firing our glazes to cone 10 for twenty years. While the glaze does flow a little extra, it is still within reason for anyone who has worked with flowing glazes.

Our Mate lines stay mate, and the gloss glazes develop new and richer colors compared to oxidation/electric kiln firings. All with the ease and consistency that comes from using our pre-mixed glazes.

However, as the glaze tech for Opulence Glaze, I would be remiss to not educate as to why glazes should only be fired to their designated cone.

All ceramic materials have an exact amount of heat work needed to complete the melting of the material. While we all understand the downsides to under-firing our work, over-firing ceramics is just as bad for the strength of your glaze.

If your glaze continues to melt past its cone, the bonds of the glass will weaken and break apart. This leads to components of your glaze being able to leech into food and a surface that can scratch from metal utensils.

While we do not add anything toxic such as lead or barium into Opulence Glaze, I prefer to not drink Iron and Cobalt in my lemonade! This is why I, as a glaze technician, recommend firing Cone 6 in your gas, wood and soda kilns for incredible atmospheric results when using Opulence Glaze!

About the author:

By Joseph McDaniel
Glaze Tech for Mid-South Ceramics on The Clay Lady’s Campus