Mason Stains are calcined, lead-free ceramic pigments made by Mason Color Works. Mix them into glazes, slips, engobes and underglazes, or wedge them into clay bodies, to create your own colors. Sheffield Pottery stocks one of the most complete Mason selections available, including blended colors most distributors no longer carry. Shop by color: black, blue, brown and orange, green, grey, pink, red and coral, purple, white, yellow, encapsulated reds and body stains.
Every Mason Stain is sold by the quarter pound and ships free. Quantity discounts apply automatically: order 4–19 of the same color (1 lb or more) and save 33%, or 20 or more (5 lb or more) and save 44%. All quantities of a color ship together in a single bag.
Open the Mason Stain Finder to search by stain number, old K-number or name, and filter by color and glaze chemistry.
What are Mason Stains?
How to Use Mason Stains
How Much Mason Stain Do I Use in Glazes and Slip?
Mason Stains FAQ
Mason Stain Guide
What are Mason Stains?
Mason Stains are manufactured ceramic pigments made by Mason Color Works. Metal oxides such as cobalt, chrome, iron, tin, zirconium and vanadium are blended and calcined (fired at high temperature) to form stable colored crystals, which are then finely ground. Because the color is already developed, a Mason stain fires far more predictably than raw colorants, and the fired color is close to the color of the dry powder.
Mason stains are lead-free. Use them to color glazes, slips, engobes, underglazes and clay bodies. We stock one of the most complete Mason selections available, including blended colors that many suppliers no longer carry.
How to Use Mason Stains
In glazes. Weigh the stain into your dry base glaze, add water and pass the glaze through an 80-mesh sieve so the color disperses evenly. Mason stains work in transparent and opaque glazes from low fire to cone 10. They are formulated for oxidation firing, and some colors change in reduction, so always fire a test tile first.
Match the stain to your glaze. Some stains need a zinc-free glaze, others fire best with zinc, and chrome-tin pinks, crimsons and maroons also need a glaze high in calcium (about 6.7–8.4% CaO, roughly 12–15% whiting). Each product page lists what its stain needs, and the Mason Stain Finder can filter stains to suit your glaze.
In slips, engobes and clay bodies. Stains show their truest color in a white clay body or white slip; darker clays mute the color. For coloring a clay body, choose one of our body stains, because not every glaze stain holds its color in a clay body. Fire to the clay's normal maturing temperature.
Safety. Mason stains are fine powders that contain metal oxides. Avoid breathing the dust: mix them wet or wear a properly fitted respirator, and clean up with a damp sponge instead of sweeping. The encapsulated reds and oranges contain cadmium and selenium. Follow the Mason Color Works safety data sheet for each stain, and have glazes for food surfaces tested.
How Much Mason Stain Do I Use in Glazes and Slip?
Start with these amounts, measured as a percentage of the dry weight of your base glaze or slip, and adjust after a test firing:
- Glazes: 1–3% for pale tints, 4–8% for full color, and up to about 10% for deep colors.
- Opaque pastel glazes: add an opacifier, for example 10% Zircopax with 5% stain, or 7% tin oxide with 8% stain.
- Slips, engobes and clay bodies: commonly 5–15%, depending on the stain and the strength of color you want. Strong colors such as cobalt blues and blacks need less.
More stain gives a deeper color, but too much can make a glaze dry or matte. If a color fires weak or changes, check the glaze chemistry before adding more stain. Our Mason Stains FAQ covers the most common problems.