How To Use Ceramic Stains

The primer will help the stain or paint to stick better and last longer.

How to use ceramic stains.

The stain is mixed with underglaze medium and the colour then brushed onto the glazed but unfired pottery. When introducing a ceramic stain into a glaze recipe it is best to mix powdered stain with hot water sieve through a 200 mesh screen then add to the wet raw glaze batch. Potters using majolica often mix 50 stain with 50 frit or gerstley borate to brush designs on top of the white majolica base glaze. Hydrogen peroxide is a bleach like chemical so before you use any other cleaning sprays or solutions in the kitchen wipe down the tiles thoroughly with water to remove any remnants.

Work through small sections at a time until you have covered. Mason stains can be mixed with water to create washes that add a splash of color. A very popular use of washes is on majolica glazed work. So match the stain to the glaze you are.

We recommend adding a small amount of dry ball clay to help the stain adhere better or a frit try frit 3124 to help the stain melt and give a polished look. Wipe the area with a towel cloths or paper towels. Mason stains are blendable and can be used alone or mixed with other mason stains to create custom colors. This in fact is the way in which the very famous blue and white chinese porcelain pottery paintings and designs came into existence.

This aides dispersion and reduces speckling. Potters and pottery painters borrow techniques from their screen and scroll painting cousins. This technique is known as majolica. Stir the primer before applying it on the tiles to make sure that it has not settled.

Hydrogen peroxide is particularly effective for cleaning coffee stains nail polish and blood stains on ceramic or finished tile. Ceramic stains can also be brushed over an unfired glaze to impart a softness of colour decoration to your ware. If the ceramic stains are refractory as listed by the manufacturer increase the flux use 1 part stain and 4 parts frit or gerstley borate. Using stains first the short version.

The more stain you add the darker the color will be. Some glazes have zinc and other will say zinc free. Using the 10 to one ratio for disinfecting fill a bucket with one cup of bleach and ten cups of hot water and mix the solution thoroughly. Use primer made for ceramic surfaces.

The numbers 5 6 7 or 8 tell whether the stain likes zinc or not. Ceramic stains can be used to mimic the look and effects of the most wonderful brush and ink paintings. Look at the numbers below each color on the mason stain page. Pour the diluted bleach over the stain or you can also put the solution in a spray bottle and spray it on the tile.