Start with a Clean, Dust-Free Pot

Everything that goes wrong at the glaze bucket can usually be traced back to the bisque firing. Your pot should be bone dry before it ever sees a kiln, and the bisque firing itself should be slow enough that any remaining moisture escapes without cracking the ware. A bisque temperature of around 1000°C works well for most stoneware, giving a porous surface that grips glaze without drinking it too greedily.

Before you dip anything, deal with dust. Bisque-fired clay sheds fine particles that will sit between the glaze and the pot, causing crawling and pinholing later. Wipe the piece with a barely damp sponge, or better, dust it with a soft brush and give it a quick rinse under running water. Let it dry completely again — a wet pot dilutes the glaze on contact and gives you a thin, patchy coating wherever the water has soaked in.

Wax the foot ring now, not after glazing. A thin, even layer of wax resist about 3-5mm up from the base keeps the glaze off the shelf and gives you a clean line to wipe back to later. Make sure the wax is completely dry before glazing, otherwise the glaze will slide off the wax and pool in a ring just above it.

Get the Glaze Consistency Right

Most glaze problems blamed on technique are actually problems of specific gravity. Buy a hydrometer, or at the very least learn the feel of a well-mixed glaze. For dipping and pouring, aim for a specific gravity between 1.40 and 1.50. For brushing, thin it slightly further, to roughly 1.30, so it flows off the brush without dragging.

• Stir thoroughly from the bottom up, not in a lazy circle on the surface. Heavy materials settle fast.
• Sieving through an 80-mesh sieve removes lumps that leave bumpy patches under the glaze.
• Flocculate with a pinch of Epsom salts dissolved in warm water if the glaze settles like concrete or drips off the pot too quickly.
• Test on a tile every session. Glaze batches change as water evaporates and materials settle.

A good test tile is a bisque strip roughly 10cm long, dipped in thirds with one, two and three-second timings, then fired alongside your work. After a few firings you will know your glaze's character better than any recipe card.

Dipping for Speed and Consistency

Dipping gives the most even coverage of any method, provided your glaze is the right thickness and your movement is confident. Hold the pot by the foot ring or with glaze tongs, lower it into the bucket at a slight angle to let air escape, and hold for a steady count. Two to three seconds is typical for a stoneware glaze at 1.45 specific gravity.

For a heavier coating, dip for two seconds, let the glaze dry to a matte finish — usually a few minutes — then dip again for two more seconds. This double-dip method builds thickness without the runs you get from one long soak. Rotate the pot slightly between dips so the second pass overlaps the first rather than landing on exactly the same surface.

Lift the pot straight out and let it drain over the bucket for a moment, then turn it upright. Keep your wrist relaxed. A jerky lift leaves ridges and drips down the side that will fire as visible lumps.

Pouring for Awkward Shapes

Large platters, sculptural pieces and anything too big for your bucket are best done by pouring. Ladle glaze over the surface in overlapping bands, working quickly so the edges of each band stay wet and blend into the next. If one band dries before you reach it, you will see a hard line in the fired result.

For the inside of a bowl or vase, pour glaze in, swirl it around to coat the walls, then tip it out into a second bucket. Keep the pot moving the whole time. A glaze that sits still in the base will dry thick and craze or bubble in the firing.

Set the pot on a banding wheel so you can rotate it as you pour. This is the simplest way to get an even coating on a round form without chasing drips around the rim with a sponge.

Brushing for Control

Brushing suits small work, decorative detail and glazes that do not dip well — many commercial brush-on glazes are formulated with a binder that helps them level out as they dry. Load the brush generously but do not scrub. Lay the glaze down in single, overlapping strokes in one direction, then cross-hatch with a second coat at a right angle to the first.

Three thin coats almost always beat one thick one. Let each coat dry to the touch before adding the next, and resist the urge to go back over a patch while it is still wet — that is how you lift glaze off and leave a bald spot. Use a soft, wide brush for large areas and a finer one for edges and rims.

Dealing with Pools, Drips and Thin Patches

Thick pools at the base of a pot are the most common cause of glaze running onto the kiln shelf. After glazing, wipe the foot ring clean with a damp sponge and check that the glaze thickness just above the wax line is no more than the rest of the pot. If it looks heavy, sponge a little back and blend the edge with your finger.

• Drips on the side: catch them while wet with a clean finger, then smooth the area with a damp sponge.
• Thin patches: touch up with a small brush before the glaze dries, blending the edges outward.
• Pinholes and bubbles: often a sign of too-thick glaze or a dusty bisque — check both before changing your technique.
• Crawling: almost always dust, oil from your hands, or glaze applied over wax residue.

Keep a notebook of what you dipped, poured or brushed, and how long each took. Two or three firings of honest notes will teach you more about your own glazes than any published recipe, and you will soon be able to judge a good coating by eye before the pot ever reaches the kiln.