Bamboo Ash  MS33 from Patricia  04/02/05
I love this glaze.  I read the other postings about how it is ugly, etc., and had this same experience on my first test of it.  However, someone told me to apply it thinly, and this works wonderfully--maroon/brown with yellow flecks.  I love this glaze, and it has turned out to be one of my favorites.  I also fire a bit hotter, and slowly cool my kiln.  Love it.

Turkish Amber and Green Tweed  from: Barb L Date: 12/15/03   Love this combination.  3 coats of Turkish amber and then drip or splatter green tweed. Comes out beautifully.

MS32 - Chun Red:  Patricia   24/01/04
I have used chun red glaze over redwood matt, and it is wonderful.  I brush on two regular coats of redwood matt, then a layer of chun.  It's very interesting.  On one bowl, I had reds, oranges, yellow, and green.  Most of the pieces glazed with this combo have sold well for me.

MS-128 Iron Phoenix  etienne1@ix.netcom.com   02/21/03  I fired 2 loads of Iron Phoenix to Cone 5 in an electric kiln. The first firing was beautiful--and looked much like the sample tile. The second firing, however, looked like a completely different glaze. It turned out to be a gun metal blue, whereas the first firing was brown earth tones with little bits of blue mixed in. Any idea what I did wrong, or is this the nature of the glaze?

Note 1/2003: The Peacock Blue has been reformulated to be stiffer and not run as was experienced in the past..  

Chun red  01/16/03  Great glaze when fired to high side of cone 5 or cone 6. When fired at lower temp, it is very poor with little or no red.

Chun Red email: rirwin@thegrid.net   nell  07/06/00 
Comment: Love color, fired cone 5, it really runs, I ruined a piece, it was glued to pin it was on.  It runs every time unless I use a thin coat and then the color is not true.

Note: The following comments were posted on the ClayArt user group.  Remember, they are opinions.  You will notice that different people got different results, some very good, some not so good.  Remember to test all glazes before you use them in large quantities or on important pieces!  We are contacting Laguna to verify whether some glazes should be fired to a lower temperature than listed, and will note it appropriately on our page. 

One member did, and these were his results:  Put some peacock blue glaze on the inside of some already bisqued porcelain pots and in a bisque load (Cone 04) (and antique blue on the outside at 04). Result? Worked great!!! Obviously the Peacock blue glaze (and the MS-4 forest green glaze too) will run if too high a cone. temp in the kiln. I believe these glazes are set a much lower cone.  I did finally test tile all the laguna glazes I bought. These are my test results using ^5 Laguna B-Mix Clay.  MS-3 wheat - (GOOD) / MS - 4 - Forest Green - transparent - runny - fire at much lower temperature for good results / -MS-9-Sandy matte opaque - Good / MS-13 Lemon yellow-matte opaque - Good / MS-20 - Royal Blue - opaque - Good- but slightly runny - careful / MS-27 - Peacock Blue - transparent - Very runny - fire at much lower temperature for good results / MS- 29 - Clear Bright - Good / MS-32 Chun Red - Fair - some reds - need to experiment more/ MS-35 - Sage - matte - opaque - Good / MS - 37 Turkish Amber - Good- but slightly runny- careful / MS-42 - Speckled Moss - matte - opaque - OK but not quite as shown in the catalog / MS- 43 - Amethyst - matte - opaque - OK but not quite as shown in the catalog / MS- 50 - Dutch Sprinkle - matte - opaque - Good / MS - 55 - Antique blue - Good - but needs (if spraying) several coats / MS - 57 - Cappuccino - Good- but slightly runny - careful / MS - 60 Walnut Spice - matte - opaque - Good / MS - 63 - Colonial White - opaque - Good / MS - 64 - Sunflower - opaque - Good / MS-75 Chive - Good / MS - 77 Jade - opaque - Good / MS - Forest Green - Good / MS - 79 - Alfred Blue - good, needs to reach full temperature / MS - 83 - Maroon - Good - but needs (if spraying) several coats / MS - 84 - Sunflower - opaque - good / MS - 90 - Blackberry Wine - Good - but needs (if spraying) several coats / MS - 94 High Gloss black - Good / 

12/99  I've had good results with cone 5-6 glazes made by Laguna, especially the Moroccan Sand, Oasis Blue, and fair results with Emerald Green. Their yellow glazes leave much to be desired, however.

12/99  Some months ago I fired the Laguna Chun red in reduction and got a beautiful solid red. I too had problems in oxidation and had intended to add some silicon carbide to bring out the red but never got around to it. Might be worth a try.

12/99  I too have tried the Chun Red. The only times it worked was when it was applied VERY thick. Then it was great. But it only works when it feels like it. There is no duplicating it. And you can't reapply and refire. It burns out completely and turns a really puke pale green.

12/99  I, too, use B-Mix 5 but have had wonderful results with the chun glaze- ---AFTER one bad attempt. It was on too thick and ran and was ugly. I moistened the pot the next time to prevent the extra thickness and it is lovely. It seems to do very well on textured or carved surfaces by breaking white. Once in a while I get some green in there and sometimes blue. I have fired it in oxidation only.

12/99 I've used Laguna Antique Blue and Sunflower glazes. Both pretty reliable when you eliminate the problems caused by my less than adept dipping.

12/99 I have used several of the Laguna Glazes -Oasis Blue is nice in the pre-mixed pints, fires well all the way to cone 8, but the dry mix doesn't suspend well - if I have to add stuff to it, I'll just make my own to start with.  Yellow Ochre is absolutely the ugliest shade of dog puke yellow you've ever seen, although it is, of course, the most consistent of their glazes I've tried.
Bamboo Ash Matte is also so ugly and bland and bumpy it makes you nauseous to look at it. It also has a tendency to blister and pinhole. And it's really, really ugly. Oh - and forget re-glazing over it - it rejects the new glaze onto your kiln shelves.
Note: this person also found AMACO glazes (another brand) to be very runny so glaze may have been to thick or firing temperature too high..  

12/99 I have used several of the Laguna Moroccan Sand glazes and find them extremely reliable at cone 5 to 6. They're not all that exciting but they brush on well and are great on a variety of clay bodies. The Walnut Spice has sold pretty well for and has been very consistent -- not pinholing or weird stuff happening. I am probably going to try others because I have mixed glazes for firing at electric 5 and find them more problematic. Anyway, that's my two cents.

12/99 If you are using Laguna Moroccan Sand Peacock-T your problem may be temperature sensitivity. I used Forest Green-T only on a test tile first. It ran badly. I called Laguna and was told that their T or transparent glazes are supposed to be fired to cone 4, no higher. They have an 800 phone number and are helpful. Remember to test each glaze batch before using it on a
whole kiln load. Time consuming to test but it saves much heartbreak. I've used lots of Laguna glazes in a teaching situation and they work for us. Some (maybe all) do need bentonite added to keep suspended. 

12/99 You are right about the peacock; we had to replace kiln shelves after using on the outsides of our pots too. It does look pretty nice on the inside though, like looking into a clear pool of water. We don't use on the outsides anymore.

12/99 Of the 21 glazes I've tried these are the ones giving me the most trouble. Grape, Royal Blue, Castile Blue, Rafia, Cerulean, Hyacinth and Dutch Blue. They are impossible to apply evenly regardless of whether I dip, pour or brush.

12/99 I've been using several Laguna glazes -^5-6 in my clay classes and the Chun red is a nightmare! Never ever even close to the sample shown and this is going on 4 years with many opportunities to show its true colors! We're putting it on Laguna B mix ^5-6

12/99 Try Double firing your Chun Red. That is right. Fire it twice! It works for me.

12/99 Laguna Peacock -- I had terrible running and blistering when I fired to ^5. One fateful day as I was making a visit to my supplier, he happened to mention he had pulled all the Peacock from his shelves explaining all the similar complaints with it. He had a call in to Laguna at that time...don't know if he ever heard back from them. He told me the Peacock was in the Laguna line of ^1 to ^5 glazes and he personally believed it had been mislabeled to ^5.   I haven't attempted to fire it to ^1 yet. That could be worth a try.
Chun Red -- I've used this a lot, both by itself and layered with other Laguna glazes. It seems to be temperature *controllable* for me. Cooler is better, you might try ^4. I have also gotten the green/blue pools with this glaze as well as nice khaki breaking. Contrary to another ClayArter's experience, I have refired it and gotten "redder" results.

12/99 There's a lot of good to be had from commercial glazes, especially for beginning potters and those who either don't care to formulate their own glazes or struggle with glaze formulation.  The Laguna line for mid-fire glazes is fairly extensive. I've experienced a lot of heartbreak using them as well as a lot of treasures from the kiln!  Just because they are pre-mixed and packaged doesn't take away the need for testing. 

12/99 Peacock Blue and Hyacinth......I was disappointed with both, However.. love to use them OVER other glazes....the hyacinth in particular can create almost an iridescence.  The WHEAT is wonderful.