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The Clay Hole University · Glazing

Fixing Glaze ProblemsPrintable pottery guide

A fired pot with something wrong on it, diagnosed on paper: name the fault under a lamp, decide whether the coat, the pairing or the pot is to blame, know which faults a second firing can help, and keep a log of what each pot taught you.

$12.505 guides, 1 free
  • Skill level: Intermediate
  • 27 printable pages
  • 7 video picks
  • 8-question quiz + answer key

Flip through the free sample
  • Instant download
  • Prints on any printer
  • The lesson stays free
The printable, at a glance

What is the Fixing Glaze Problems printable guide?

It is the free “Glaze Problems, Causes and Fixes” lesson rebuilt for paper: six moves for naming a fault, the three kinds that decide whether a second firing is worth it (the coat, the pairing or the pot), what to change on the next pot, how to refire what can be refired, seven defects each with its causes and its verdict, and seven videos from other makers, each with a QR code. Built to be printed, kept beside the glaze bench and written on.

Prefer to read it online first? The “Glaze Problems, Causes and Fixes” lesson is free, and always will be.

  • 27printable pages, US Letter
  • 8quiz questions, with a full answer key
  • 7hand-picked videos, each with a QR code
  • 13glossary terms in plain language
  • 2workbook pages you fill in yourself
For anyone holding a fired pot with something wrong on it

Name the fault first, and the rest of the decision gets smaller.

You open the kiln and one pot is wrong: beads of glaze with bare clay between them, a scatter of pits, a net of fine cracks, a sliver missing from the rim. The hard part is not the feeling. It is working out what you are actually looking at, because the same-looking fault can have a cause that is nothing to do with the glaze.

The guide gives you the order to think in. Name the defect under a lamp. Ask whether it is in the coat, in the pairing of this glaze with this clay, or in the pot itself. Only then decide what to do, because that answer tells you whether a second firing can help, and whether it is worth spending one.

It is honest about the pots that cannot be saved. Some faults refire, some only sometimes, and two kinds do not refire at all. Knowing which you hold, and what to change on the next pot, is what turns a disappointing pot into one you learn from. The log at the back is where those lessons stay.

Look inside

Real pages, for the glaze bench

These are actual pages from the guide, shown here with the sample watermark.

  • Page 5 of the “Fixing Glaze Problems” printable guide: the six moves, shown with the sample watermark
    The six movesThe whole method on one page: name it, ask which kind it is, wipe the bisque, coat it in layers, refire what refires, and list the bad pairing.
  • Page 8 of the “Fixing Glaze Problems” printable guide: which kind is it, shown with the sample watermark
    Which kind is itThree questions, asked in order, sort a pot into the coat, the pairing or the pot, with a card for each saying whether a second firing can help.
  • Page 13 of the “Fixing Glaze Problems” printable guide: the seven defects, shown with the sample watermark
    The seven defectsA picture of six of the seven on test tiles, then each defect in three short parts: what caused it, what to change next time, and what to do about the piece in your hand.
  • Page 20 of the “Fixing Glaze Problems” printable guide: every pot with a fault, and what it taught you, shown with the sample watermark
    Every pot with a fault, and what it taught youA log to write in: what you saw, which kind you decided it was, what you did and how it came out, with two questions to answer at the foot.
Flip through the free sampleTen pages, free, no email required.
Why this one belongs on paper

A diagnosis is easier with the page beside the pot

You are standing over a fired pot with a lamp. A page on the bench suits that better than a phone.

  • Held next to the pot

    Find the tile that looks like your pot, then read its cause, the fix for next time and the verdict, with the pot turned in your other hand.

  • The verdict where you can see it

    Which kind, and whether it refires, sits in a short panel instead of a long scroll. You can tell in a glance whether you are holding a pot to rescue or a pot to learn from.

  • A log that shows your habits

    After a handful of entries you can see which faults keep turning up on your pots, and the habit behind them. A memory of what you did does not hold up as well as a line written that day.

  • It does not mind glaze on your hands

    Pin the one page routine above the bench. A sheet of paper does not lock its screen while you are holding a sponge.

How this one is built

Rebuilt for paper, and checked against our other lessons

Every guide in the series is set from scratch for print. Here is what that meant for this one.

  • Read against the studio’s other lessons

    We checked the lesson against our lessons on firing, brushing glaze, refiring, food safe glazes, grinding and test tiles. Where they disagreed, the guide now says what those lessons say.

  • A careful answer on crazed pots

    The guide says a crazed pot should not hold food, and explains why: the cracks hold drinks and are hard to clean. It suggests dry things or flowers instead.

  • Refire verdicts that are not over promised

    Some faults often come back with a refire, some only sometimes and some never. The guide says which, rather than treating a second firing as a cure.

  • A crack is read before it is blamed

    A crack that cuts sharply through the glaze is told apart from one the glaze has rolled into, because they began at different times and call for different habits.

  • Video notes that stick to the video

    Each video note says only what that video’s own description and chapters support, so a note never promises more than the video lists. Every link is a short Clay Hole address on a QR code, so a printed copy keeps working.

  • A quiz that explains itself

    A short quiz, and an answer key that gives the reason behind each answer rather than only the letter.

Why the University is free

The lesson is free. It always will be.

All of the teaching in this guide comes from the free “Glaze Problems, Causes and Fixes” lesson, and that lesson is not going anywhere.

Some faults cannot be fired out, and that is hard to hear about a pot you loved. It is also how the next one gets better.

Bring the pot to an instructor. They can usually tell you what happened just by looking.

Dan Pearce, founder of The Clay Hole
The series

Build a little pottery library

Each printable guide in The Clay Hole University series takes one free lesson and sets it for paper, with a workbook page, a one page reference, a glossary and a quiz with a worked answer key. A guide keeps its number for good, so the one you buy today sits in the same place next year.

Put any five printable guides in your cart and the cheapest one is on us. Put in nine and the two cheapest are on us. It happens automatically at checkout, no code to remember.

See every printable guide

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Sits next to

Three lessons that explain the ground this one stands on

Each one is free to read online, and the codes in the guide take you straight there.

Questions

Good to know

How is this different from the free lesson?
The teaching is the same, and the free lesson is not going anywhere. The guide is that teaching rebuilt for paper: a learning dashboard at the front, a log for your own pots, a one page routine for the bench, a glossary and a quiz with an answer key that explains every answer.
Does it promise to fix every glaze problem?
No, and it says so plainly. A fault in the coat can often be refired, some only sometimes, and two kinds cannot be fired out at all: a mismatch between glaze and clay, and a crack through the clay. The guide helps you tell which you are holding before you commit to a second firing.
Is a crazed pot food safe?
The guide says a crazed pot should not hold food. The fine cracks hold drinks and bacteria and are hard to clean, so it suggests keeping a crazed pot for dry things or flowers. One of the videos gives another maker’s view, and the guide asks you to read it beside that verdict.
Is this only for people who use The Clay Hole?
No. Naming the defects, sorting them into the coat, the pairing or the pot, and knowing what a refire can do suit any studio. Where something is only ours, the guide says so in a section on how it works here, so you can tell one studio’s rule from a fact of the craft. You do not need to be a member to read it.
Is this too early for me?
It is marked Intermediate. You should have glazed and fired at least a few pots, and it helps to have a pot with a fault on it, or a pot you want to get right before it goes in the kiln. A lamp and a magnifier are all else you need, and the glossary fills in the words.
Do I need a fancy printer?
No. It is set for an ordinary home or office printer on regular US Letter paper, with nothing important near the edges, so normal printer margins cut nothing off.
Does it print in black and white?
Yes. The text, the tick boxes, the tables and the log are black on white, and color is used for headings and small labels. The picture of the test tiles labels each tile by name.
Can I use it on a screen instead of printing it?
Yes, it is an ordinary PDF and opens on a computer or tablet. It is built for paper, though: the tick lists and the log are for writing on, and the video codes are made to be scanned from a printed page.
Can I print just part of it?
Yes, and most people do. The one page routine and the log are the two worth having beside the bench. They are numbered pages like any other, so you can print those and leave the rest on a screen.
How does delivery work?
It is a digital download. The link arrives by email and on the order confirmation page right after checkout, so you can have it printed and beside the bench the same evening.
What happens if the guide is updated?
Every edition carries its version number on the last page. When we correct or improve one, the new edition replaces the old one in the shop, and we can send the updated link to anybody who already bought it.
Can I share it?
It is licensed for your own use. Print as many copies for yourself as you like, on as many of your own devices as you like. Please do not pass the file on, upload it or use it with a class or a group without asking us first.

Hold it under the lamp, then decide

Name the fault, sort it into the coat, the pairing or the pot, and only then decide whether a second firing is worth it. The guide keeps the whole method where you can see it at the bench.

Get the guide · $12.50

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Depending on what you are doing, ceramics may involve extreme heat, kilns, electricity, gas, flame, sharp tools, spinning machinery, heavy equipment, pressurized equipment, silica-containing dust, fumes, chemicals, raw materials, stains, oxides, glazes, combustible materials, hot surfaces, breakable objects, and other hazards capable of causing serious injury, illness, property damage, fire, or worse.

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Terms version 2026-09-19b