Practical Alchemy: A Potter’s Guide to Gold Lustre Chemistry

The rare presence of raw gold in our local rivers didn’t just spark curiosity, it ignited a full-blown obsession. Scottish gold is exceptionally scarce, and the idea of capturing even a trace of it in glaze form felt like an irresistible challenge. What began as an idle thought quickly spiralled into a multi-year deep dive through research rabbit holes.

You’d think that in the internet age there’d be a wealth of information on something as old as gold lustre glazes. Nope. Almost everything I found was vague, incomplete, or buried in obscure discussions about china painting and surface application. The actual chemistry, the how and the why, was maddeningly elusive. That frustration is what drove me to document this journey, in the hope it might save someone else a few years and a few grey hairs.

Due to the lack of online information, I went analogue, I tracked down every book I could find that so much as mentioned lustre glazes, eventually amassing a small but expensive pile of disappointment. In the end, only three proved genuinely useful:

• Lustre by Greg Daly

• Pottery Decorating by Hainbach

• Industrial Ceramics, Volume 2 by Singer and Singer

Between them, they offered a glimpse into the mysterious alchemy of applying precious metal films to ceramics, and just enough technical scaffolding to begin my own experiments.

What I learned fairly quickly was that traditional recipes came with significant limitations:

• Many were chemically unstable, requiring fresh preparation for every use

• Others produced dull, patchy, or uneven gold films

• Some needed laborious burnishing to coax out any real shine — a fiddly extra step that didn’t always guarantee results

• Most created a stench that hung about your nostrils like a damp dog in a sleeping bag

Now, I’ve no doubt that, given time and dogged persistence, I could have coaxed one of these older methods into something capable of delivering the mirror-like finish I was after. But by that point, I felt my energy would be better spent looking forward, not backward.

Still, there’s something addictive about the alchemical spirit of those early recipes. They nudged me further down the path, and left me with a more pressing question: Why do modern bright gold lustres work so well?

The commercial stuff is flawless, mirror-like, consistent, stable, and reliable. So what’s in them? What’s the secret behind their chemistry?

That’s where the next phase of the journey began: digging into the science behind modern bright gold lustres — that’s where we’ll pick up from here.

From this point on, I’ll use gold as the primary example, but it’s worth noting that many of the processes described can be adapted for other metals, each unlocking its own palette of colours and effects within the broader world of lustre glazes.

What You’ll Learn

• The essential components of a resinate bright gold lustre glaze and what each part contributes

• The challenges and limitations of traditional recipes versus modern formulations

• How solvents and resins impact application and firing results

• The role of fluxes, micro additives, and other key ingredients in achieving that perfect shine

• Practical insights from trial, error, and eventual success

A resinate bright gold lustre glaze, to give it its Sunday name, is built from just a few core components. But each one brings its own set of properties, and the final result is all about balance. Think of it as a chemical symphony: every part needs to be in harmony. A single misstep, the wrong ratio, a misbehaving solvent, an underfired film and the whole thing falls flat. Instead of a brilliant, even layer of precious metal, you’re left with streaks, dullness, black spots, or a complete failure to bond.

So let’s break it down and look at each component in turn — what it does, how it interacts, and why it matters.

Page 1 – The Vehicle
The resin matrix that holds everything together once the solvent evaporates. Not just any resin, it needs to be structured and stylish, burn away cleanly, be pure for repeatability, work well with my solvents, remain inert to prevent unwanted side reactions, and ideally be commonly available.

Page 2 – The Flux
Encourages adhesion, softens the glaze surface, and promotes good film formation. Basically, your gold's wingman.

Page 3 – The Gold
Or whichever metallic compound tickles your fancy. But fancy this one is.

Page 4 – Micro Additives
Those subtle extras, other metals that enhance gloss, colour, flow, or the overall shininess of the finished result. Film formers, plasticisers and various things to bring the symphony together.

Page 5 – Solvents
Control drying time, application behaviour, and the quality of the pre-fired film. Not to be sniffed at. Literally.

Page 6 – Process
The how-to, from chaotic early trials to semi-reliable methods. What worked, what didn’t, and what should never be repeated unless you’ve got a good fire extinguisher nearby.