The pottery glaze calculator estimates how much glaze you need for dipping, brushing, or spraying, and scales glaze recipes to your batch size. Enter your piece dimensions and application method to get accurate glaze volume and ingredient weights.
Glaze Volume Calculator
Results
Scale a Glaze Recipe
| Ingredient | % | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 100% | -- |
How to Calculate Pottery Glaze Amounts
Calculating the right amount of glaze prevents both waste and running short mid-session. The method varies significantly between dipping, brushing, and spraying techniques.
Dipping Glaze Volume
For dipping, you need enough glaze in your container to fully submerge the piece. The container should be at least 1.5 times the height of your tallest piece and wide enough for the widest piece. As a rule, prepare 30-50% more glaze than the estimated piece volume to maintain adequate depth.
Brushing and Spraying
Brushing requires approximately 0.5-1 oz of glaze per 10 square inches of surface area over 3 coats. Spraying is more efficient — about 0.3-0.5 oz per 10 square inches — but requires diluting glaze to spraying consistency (specific gravity ~1.35).
Scaling Glaze Recipes
Glaze recipes are expressed as percentages totaling 100. To scale to a batch weight, multiply each ingredient's percentage by the batch weight in grams. A 1000g batch is a standard starting point for studio potters — it produces roughly 32-36 oz of dipping glaze after water addition.
FAQ
How much glaze do I need to dip a bowl?
For a medium bowl (6 inch diameter, 4 inch tall), you need roughly 32-48 oz of dipping glaze to have enough depth for full submersion. The rule of thumb is the container should be 1.5x the height of the piece and wide enough to fit it, filled with glaze.
How thick should glaze be applied?
Most cone 6 and cone 10 glazes should be applied 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick (1.5-3mm). Dipping achieves this in 3-5 seconds. Brushing typically requires 3 coats. Use a pin tool to check thickness on test tiles.
What specific gravity should pottery glaze be?
Most dipping glazes should have a specific gravity of 1.40-1.50. Test with a hydrometer — add water to lower SG, add dry materials to raise it. Brushing glazes run 1.35-1.45. Spraying glazes are thinner at 1.30-1.40.
How do I scale a glaze recipe?
Glaze recipes are given in percentages that add to 100%. To make a batch, multiply each ingredient percentage by your batch weight. For example, for a 1000g batch with 25% silica, you need 250g of silica. This calculator outputs scaled batch weights.
Is this tool free?
Yes, completely free — no signup or download required.