dried out glazes

Most glazes are simply water-based suspensions. They should rehydrate OK, but if they've solidified into a hard cake you may have to break them up a bit. You'll want to sieve them after you rehydrate. The idea here is not to block the chunks, it's to give you a chance to work them around on the top of the sieve with a brush until they dissolve and pass through.

If you don't have a sieve yet, go down to your supermarket and but one of those plastic coffee filters. The basket of the ones I've seen (Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) are brown, with a nice taper that just fits into the top of a 16-oz yogurt tub. The plastic mesh is 110 count, which is actually finer than you really need (80 or even 60 is probably enough), but it doesn't hurt... just takes a bit longer to get everything through.

Having said all that, however, I would caution that you check these glazes very carefully. If they are really old, they will almost certainly contain lead. If they are commercial glazes, you may be able to find out about that from the makers if you can read the numbers, colors, and types on the jars. If there is any doubt, I'd err on the side of caution and take them to the nearest toxic waste pickup station.

Best regards,

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

You can heat up your water to make dissolving the material easier (If you have delicate coloring then use distilled water and heat on the stove - I just take it hot out of the pipes but I have good water). If the glazes are clearly labeled and you know the ingredients

To continue (I was rudely interrupted by a misplace send)... I agree with Bob to put it shortly. If you don't know what your ingredients are (if the glazes do not have ingredient labels or the person you bought it from cannot tell you what is in the glazes, etc.) then I would not use them.

Donna

Thank you!!

light.spirited wrote: