Mixing & Application Instructions

1. What you'll need

• Something to measure water. A kitchen or postal scale (accurate to 1 gram) is ideal — water weight is the most accurate way. If you don't have one, a measuring cup with metric markings works fine as a fallback.
• Mixing bucket — one size up from what you think you need, so the glaze doesn't splash when you mix it.
• A mixer. A real one is best — any of:
  • Paint-mixer drill attachment + variable-speed drill
  • Immersion (stick) blender
  • Standing drink / milkshake mixer
  You can absolutely mix by hand with a sturdy paddle if that's what you've got — it just takes more time and more sieving passes to get the same result.
• 60-mesh sieve — or a paint-strainer bag from any hardware store. Both work; the mesh is the key number.
• Rubber spatula — for working material through the sieve and scraping the bucket.
• A sealable storage container — ideally the same bucket you mix in, with a lid that actually seals.

2. Weigh the water first

The water weight is printed on your bag's label. Weigh it into your mixing bucket using the scale — don't measure by volume. More water won't smooth out lumps; it just makes the glaze too thin, and you'll end up needing to evaporate it back down later. Less water concentrates the clumps you're trying to dissolve.

3. Add the dry to the wet (order matters)

Pour the full contents of the bag into the water — never the other way around. Dumping water onto dry powder hydrates the outer surface into a gummy shell that traps dry material inside, and you'll fight those clumps for the rest of the mix. Dry-into-wet is the one procedural step that's hardest to undo later, so get this right on the first try.

Shake the bag before pouring to redistribute any material that settled in transit, and scrape the bag clean with your spatula — every gram is part of the recipe. Leaving some dry material behind is the single most common reason a glaze fires "a little off" from the preview.

4. Mix thoroughly

If you have a power mixer, plunge it into the bucket and agitate for a minute or two, moving around the bucket so you break up clumps in every region — especially at the bottom, where the heaviest material pools. You're looking for a uniform, slurried texture with no visible dry pockets.

If you're hand-mixing, plan on ten to fifteen minutes of steady, vigorous stirring with a sturdy paddle, working the whole bucket — bottom, sides, middle. Hand mixing gets you to the same place, it just takes longer and usually needs an extra sieving pass at the end. Either way, don't rush: undermixing is the most common reason a glaze bites you later.

5. Sieve through 60-mesh

Pour your mixed glaze through a 60-mesh sieve (or a paint-strainer bag) into a second clean bucket. Anything that won't pass through — grit, undissolved lumps, any stray foreign material — gets caught. Work stubborn lumps back through with your spatula, or discard.

A single sieving pass is the difference between a glaze that dips smoothly and one that keeps surprising you with specks. Skip this step at your own peril.

6. Rest and remix

Cover the bucket and let the mixed glaze sit for at least a few hours. Overnight is better. Water slowly penetrates any stubborn bits that survived the first mix. Come back, give it a quick stir, and re-sieve if anything visible has separated. You're now ready to apply.

7. Consistency check

Target consistency is heavy cream — thick enough to coat a finger, thin enough to drip off smoothly. If it's too thick, add very small amounts of water (a teaspoon at a time), stir, and check again. If it's too thin, leave the lid off for a few hours and let water evaporate, stirring occasionally.

Rather than guess, use the water calculator on each glaze's page under My Glazes. It'll tell you exactly how much water to add to thin the glaze out to the right consistency — either for a fresh batch or for one you've already started mixing.

Before every application session, give the bucket a thorough stir to redistribute anything that settled. Glaze settles — that's normal and not a defect.

8. Application

Apply the glaze at a consistent thickness across your piece. All CMW glazes work with any standard method:

• Dipping — recommended. 2–4 seconds in a well-mixed glaze usually gives the right result.
• Brushing — use a soft haik or fan brush, apply 2–3 even coats, let each coat dry between applications.
• Spraying — great for even coverage on large or complex forms. Use an HVLP gun or airbrush, build up in thin passes until opaque.

Leave at least ¼" of bare clay at the foot of every piece. Wax resist on the bottom helps.

A reminder: the color previews on our site are theoretical. We engineer every glaze to match as closely as we can, but application thickness, your clay body, your kiln, and your firing schedule all shape the final result. We do our best to predict what you'll get out of your kiln — but we can't guarantee it.

9. Storage

Sealed container, room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Our wet glazes last 6 months to a year stored this way. If you'll store for more than 3 months, add one drop of unscented household bleach per pint — it prevents mold and burns off cleanly during firing.

Dry glaze powder (if you ordered it that way) lasts indefinitely in a sealed bag.