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Underglaze Painting

Time to bring your clay pieces to life with underglazes. Underglazes act like paint for clay: you can layer, mix, and detail designs while your piece is still unfired or after bisque. Perfect for bold colour blocks, illustrations, or adding personality before the glossy top coat. Can be applied at greenware, leather-hard or bisque fired stages.

Difficulty: Beginner

Time: Detail Dependant

Technique: Decorating

What You Need

Underglazes

Paintbrushes

Pencil (optional)

Step-by-Step

Plan your design

Once you start it's hard to go back so make sure you know what you want to paint! For leather-hard (bone-dry) and bisqued pieces you can pre-sketch your design with a pencil. Graphite will burn off in the kiln.
Stir underglaze well

Pigments often settle — mix each colour until smooth and creamy. The consistency should be like thick acrylic paint. IMPORTANT: don't use acrylic on pottery pieces unless going for the air-dry gloss route.
Apply base coats

Use a medium flat brush to apply your base colours. Paint in thin, even layers; thick coats can flake or bubble during firing.
Layer for opacity

Most colours need 2–3 coats for full coverage. Let each layer dry to a matte finish before adding the next to avoid smearing.
Add details

Once your base colours are dry, switch to smaller brushes for line work, patterns, or highlights. You can mix colours right on a palette for subtle tones.
Clean edges

If you colour outside the lines, use a damp brush or sponge corner to tidy the edges before it dries completely.
Final check

Make sure all surfaces are fully dry before handling or glaze/glossing. Damp underglaze can smear easily.
Seal Underglaze

For underglaze applied at greenware or leatherhard let piece fully dry before bisque firing (minimum 10 days). If applied at bisque, wait 1 day before continuing to seal with either glaze or gloss. Check our other guides for Glaze vs Gloss.

Studio Secrets

→ Leather-hard vs bisque: Painting on greenware/leather-hard clay gives softer, more blended colours; painting on bisque offers crisp, opaque results.

→ For sharp clean lines: Use masking tape or paper stencils to block off areas before painting. Remove them once underglaze is fully dry.

→ Mix your own shades: Combine colours on a palette or layer them directly on the piece for unique tones — most opaque underglazes layer beautifully.

→ Test your colours: Underglazes often look lighter before firing. Use our swatches to gauge fired colour. If creating your own shades or continuing pottery it's best to always test on a fired swatch palette.

→ Use the right brush: Softer brushes make smoother gradients; stiff brushes are best for texture or stippling.

→ Don’t skip cleanup: Rinse brushes between colours — dried underglaze ruins bristles fast.

Helpful Fixes

Streaky coverage

Add another thin coat rather than one heavy coat. Uneven thickness causes cracking or dull patches after firing.

Flaking underglaze

The clay may have been dusty or too dry — lightly sand the area, clean, and repaint in thin coats.

Colours fade after firing

You may have over-thinned your paint or used too few coats. Apply 2–3 solid layers next time.

Smudging when overglazing

Ensure enough time has been left to let the underglaze dry fully.

Hard brush lines

Smooth them with a slightly damp sponge before it dries or blend with a second, clean brush.

Quick Checklist

Stir colours well

Apply 2–3 thin coats for opacity

Let layers dry fully

Clean edges and tools

Let dry fully before next steps

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