Dip glazing

In order for porcelain to mature to its final usability, it needs a glaze. This glaze is applied to the biscuit-hard body in the double-firing production process and to the green body in the single-firing process. In both firing methods, the glaze is only applied as a "second layer" after moulding. In high-quality feldspar porcelain, the glazes also consist of the classic components such as quartz, feldspar and a number of other raw materials, which, as the name suggests, form a glassy, i.e. vitreous, layer at the end. The specialised profession for this stage of production is known as the "finisher".

The way in which glazes are applied differs greatly between traditional, handcrafted production and mechanised, industrial production, without affecting the quality - i.e. the transparency and hardness of a glaze. A highly mechanised glazing line is in no way inferior to hand glazing. Quite the opposite: there are porcelain moulds that cannot be glazed on a glazing line.

Watch our video above for a summary of different types of glazing methods used in the porcelain industry. The following sections are included in the video:

Full body glaze
Semi-automatic glazing
Glaze preparation
Fully automatic glazing lines
Dipping glaze (dipping) in a cycle line
Hand glaze (traditional, handcrafted glaze)
Overglaze

Each porcelain factory has its own way of glazing the porcelain. Individual glazes or coloured glazes can generally only be produced as hand glazes. As the base material of the glazes is of mineral origin, they can never be 100% identical. Even in the most modern porcelain factories, glazes have different characters that are barely visible to the layman.