Specific Gravity Of Ceramic Glazes
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A comparison of the weights of equal volumes of a given liquid and water.
Specific gravity of ceramic glazes. Commonly thought of as how thick the glaze is a value of 1 4 indicates a pretty thin glaze whereas 1 7 is pretty thick. This tells us how dense the particle count is and therefore how thickly the glaze will apply. How to measure the specific gravity of a glaze using a graduated cylinder and a scale. Specific gravity is a measure of the density of a liquid measured in grams per cubic centimeter.
Glazes are mixtures of clays minerals and water. Measuring specific gravity is a way to calculate the water content of a glaze to ensure that each time you glaze you have the same amount of water. Weigh 100 cc of glaze and divide by 100 to obtain the sg of the glaze. You may not need to.
In ceramics the specific gravity of casting slurries and glazes tells us their water to solids. Water has sg 1 0 which means that 1 cc of water weighs 1 gram. This is a short video showing how to measure glaze thickness or specific gravity. Consistency and application for each type of glaze are explained in the dipping glazes power point presentation.
Body slurries especially require tight control of this property for performance reasons. If the number is too low the glaze should be left to settle and water should be removed from the top because the glaze will be too thin when. Their specific gravity spgr tells you how much dry material is in the glaze. Specific gravity for glaze.
To calculate the sg of a glaze divide the weight of the glaze by the weight of an equal volume of water i e. In this video i demonstrate how to measure the specific gravity of a glaze i just mixed using a graduated cylinder and a scale. If your glaze has a higher specific gravity than the manufacturer recommends but it still. Video originally broadcast via fb live to my free social learning group understanding glazes with sue.
The specific gravity of a glaze is an extremely important number in ceramics it tells us how many particles of actual glaze material exist in a standard unit. While casting slips are thick measuring out around 1 75. Terra sigilatta is very thin it has an spgr of about 1 15. Videos and instructions include info on how to properly mix up and apply amaco dry glazes as well as adjust glazes within their recommended specific gravity.
This page describes how to adjust the specific gravity of ceramic glazes. It is intended for folks with some glaze mixing experience.