What happens if my clay or glazes freeze?
When ceramic materials freeze, water pushes the ceramic particles apart. This makes clay and glazes temporarily unusable.
How do I get my clay and glaze back to usable condition?
Clay needs to be wedged thoroughly if it has been frozen, it may seem wet at first but continued wedging will result in the right consistency. Glazes need to be thawed and remixed with a drill or blender. Freezing diminishes the effects of gum solution which is added to commercial glazes to aid in brush application. If your glaze isn’t brushing on like it should you can buy gum solution here
Here is a video showing how to restore your glaze and clay after having been frozen.
At Sheffield Pottery, We Strive to deliver you the best quality product we can. This means, during the winter months as the temperatures drop we put a hold on our clay shipping as needed (until weather is warm enough for clay to be sent) We will ship glazes in freezing conditions.
Some materials (Wax Resist, Rubber Latex, Bisque Fix, and Suspendaid) must be protected from freezing. Once frozen these products will no longer work as intended and will have to be replaced.
We do not ship wax resist in freezing condition as there is not a way to reconstitute it once frozen.