Plainsman Clays | ZIRC
Zircopax
Zircopax is milled zircon, and a common way to make a glaze white and opaque. The particles stay suspended in the glass instead of dissolving, and they scatter the light.
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Zircopax works by staying undissolved. Zircon bends light far more strongly than glaze glass does, so particles suspended in the melt scatter the light instead of letting it through, and the glaze fires white. A glaze commonly uses between a twentieth and an eighth of its weight in Zircopax, with a dense white at the upper end. Beyond that the opacity has little further to go and the extra mostly stiffens the melt. Colours under it fire paler and softer, because the scattering lightens them without changing the colourant. It does not suit copper reds, since the reduction a red needs does not happen with zircon in the glaze.
- Milled zircon, a common route to a white, opaque glaze
- Works by staying undissolved, the particles scatter light
- A twentieth to an eighth of a glaze
- Not suitable for copper reds
