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How do I decorate my ceramics?

Oxides compared to stains

How does oxide compare to stain? An oxide is a raw material. A stain is a commercial blend of raw materials (including oxides) to achieve an accurate, consistent color. Glazes and slips made with stain will generally be more uniform, whereas those made with oxide will be more splotchy, speckly, and variable (in other words, beautiful!). There are 4 main colorants used. Sometimes you will see them as oxides, sometimes as carbonates. For example, cobalt oxide and cobalt carbonate. The oxides are generally stronger in color and coarser grained (more speckly.) The carbonates are generally finer grained.

Comments

9/3/2007 6:20:24 AM
Karil Rauss said:

Carbonates are more toxic than the oxides. They are highly soluable and, therefore, using gloves when working with them is imperative to avoid absorption through the skin.

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