Use of soluble salts as surface treatments for ceramics.

1. • Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
• Louis Katz (he is in Thailand)
• please vote for me for SDAL
Use of Soluble Salts as Surface Treatments
James (Alex) Ferrante

2. Needed vocabulary:
– Soluble in water: breaks down in water to form
a homogenous liquid , like salt or sugar
– The solubility in water: The amount of
material that can be held in solution
– Saturated solution: A solution that has the
maximum amount dissolved in it.

5. • Use of Soluble Salts as surface
treatments
• CaCl2 Calcium Chloride
• MgSO4 Epsom Salts
• Al2(SO4)3 Aluminum Sulphate
• FeSO4 Iron Sulphate a.k.a. Copperas,
Ferrous Sulphate

6. Sources
•CaCl2 Calcium Chloride – Ice Melt
(cheap), Damp Rid $$
•MgSO4 Epsom Salts -Pharmacy
•Al2(SO4)3 Aluminum Sulphate- Nursery
•FeSO4 Iron Sulphate- Nursery

7. • Unusual Cone 10 Clay Bodies Sources
“Bizen Stoneware”
– 1 Redart, 1 EPK, 1 C&C Ball Clay
“Newman Bizen”
– 1 Newman, 1 EPK, 1 C&C Ball Clay
Wadding
– 50 Kaolin, 50 White Sand

8. Straight Kentucky Stone
– Is going to have a high drying shrinkage
Straight Green Stripe
– Worried about Cristobalite
Straight Newman Red Substitute
– To much thermal expansion for normal cone 10
glazes, it cracks.

9. Simple punky white bodies
1. EPK 2, Silica Sand 1
2. EPK 9, Custer Spar 1

10. Simple Class Stoneware
• 2 Fireclay
• 1 ball clay
• 10% Feldspar

11. Teaism
Archie Bray Brick Clay + fireclay
Suwanee Natewong, carving
Note Scumming

12. Teaism
Yellow/Green from Calcium scum

13. Yellow/Green from Calcium scum

14. Less scum on the edge of Class Stoneware

20. Calcium Chloride Scum
Newman Clay straight Cone 6 Oxidation

25. Teaism
• Contact

35. Iron Sulphate

36. 12 FeSO4 + 3 O2 → 4 Fe2(SO4)3 + 2 Fe2O3

41. Calcium Chloride can be used strong
Epsom salts cannot be used strong
Iron Sulphate Oxidizes over time. It should
not be stirred.
Aluminum Sulphate is just scummy unless
used on well melted bodies.

42. Safety 1
No eating these things.
Keep them out of your eyes. Safety Glasses.
Iron Sulphate is a poison. Iron is the largest
single poisoning agent of children in the
world.
They make Acid vapors when fired. Vent your
kiln.

43. • Safety 2
• Do not mix these compounds with acids,
Boric Acid.....
• Consult your safety expert, and MSDS
sheets. I am not a safety expert.
• They are all corrosive.

44. • Contacts: email.....
• Handout and this powerpoint:
http://louiskatz.net/salts
Louis.Katz@tamucc.edu
• Jamesalexanderferrante.com
Txferrante@gmail.com