AMACO Glazes Review: Every Line, Cone Range and Safety Label Explained

AMACO glazes are among the most widely stocked brushing glazes in US pottery shops, and the range is big enough to confuse a new buyer. This review sorts every current AMACO line by cone, finish and safety label, so you can pick jars that suit your kiln.

It is research-based: we compared AMACO's shop pages, its Complete Guide to Clay, Glazes and Underglazes, the Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) seal definitions and US dealer listings. We did not fire these glazes, so every result described is AMACO's own description.

Verdict: a strong brand, as long as you match the line to your cone

AMACO's strength is choice. Potter's Choice gives cone 6 potters the floating, breaking surfaces that used to need a gas kiln. Celadon adds mixable transparent color, and Teacher's Palette and LG cover the low-fire kilns found in schools and small home studios. Most colors come in pints, many also in gallons, and some as 10 lb dry dipping mixes. A pint typically costs about $20 to $40 at US sellers in October 2026, depending on color; check the live price.

The catch is that the lines are not interchangeable. A cone 6 glaze will not mature at cone 05, and a cone 05 glaze is not made for cone 6. Food safety is labeled color by color, so read each product page rather than assuming a whole line qualifies.

AMACO glaze lines at a glance

Mid-fire AMACO glazes (cone 5 to 6)

Potter's Choice

Potter's Choice is AMACO's flagship stoneware line. AMACO promises "reduction effects in oxidation", meaning the floating, breaking and speckled surfaces of a gas firing from an electric kiln at cone 5 to 6. The range runs from PC-01 Saturation Metallic to PC-72 Fire & Ice, with floats, rutiles, iron glazes, aventurines and copper reds.

Most colors come in pints and gallons. Many are fluid, so they reward test tiles and close attention to thickness. Full detail is in our Potter's Choice review.

Potter's Choice Flux and Dipping & Layering

Potter's Choice Flux (PCF) glazes are, in AMACO's words, "designed for movement and flow" and made to sit on top of other glazes. Dipping & Layering (DL) is a dry-mix line: one bag plus one gallon of distilled water makes about 1.25 gallons of dipping glaze. AMACO says the DL colors were inspired by popular Potter's Choice layering colors.

Celadon

AMACO Celadons are glossy, transparent glazes that pool in carved lines and texture. AMACO calls them "100% mixable": C-11 Mixing Clear lightens a color and C-10 Snow tints it. AMACO recommends three coats, and three coats of Celadon is also the base it uses under Potter's Choice in its layering examples. See our AMACO Celadon review.

Shino

AMACO's Shinos aim at "the humble earthiness of tea ceremony bowls", a traditional high-iron look at mid-fire. AMACO says they blend for more matte or more gloss and can be layered with Potter's Choice.

Satin Matte

Satin Matte (SM) is the line for a soft, silky surface on mugs and plates. AMACO's Complete Guide says "All glaze colors are food safe", and the line is mixable: Clear Satin lightens, Satin Black makes shades and Satin White makes tints.

Cosmos

Cosmos glazes grow microcrystals in a normal medium-speed cone 5 to 6 firing with no special cooling, though AMACO says a controlled cool increases crystal growth. There are eight colors, sold in pints. AMACO says they are food safe "but due to durability" not recommended for food surfaces, so treat Cosmos as decorative.

Low-fire AMACO glazes (cone 05)

Teacher's Palette

Teacher's Palette (TP) is a 24-color gloss line for cone 05 over cone 04 bisque, sold in pints. AMACO describes the colors as completely intermixable with each other and with the Teacher's Palette Light (TPL) colors, AP certified, lead free and dinnerware safe.

LG Low Fire Gloss and LM Low Fire Matte

LG glazes fire to "a smooth, glossy finish at a witness Cone 05", and AMACO calls the surfaces "ideal for utilitarian pottery". LG-10 Clear Transparent is the line's studio clear and one of two clears AMACO names for covering Velvet and LUG underglazes on food surfaces. AMACO also advises: "Always slow fire lead free glazes for best results." LM is the smaller matte companion line.

What happened to the F series?

F-Series jars still turn up in some US retail listings, described as lead-free, non-toxic glazes that fire to a high gloss on cone 04 bisque. We could not find the F series on AMACO's current shop or in its current Complete Guide (checked October 2026), so treat any jar you find as older stock and read its label for cone and food safety. LG and Teacher's Palette are the current low-fire gloss lines.

Velvet and LUG underglazes

AMACO Velvet underglazes fire from cone 05 to 10 and go on wet clay, greenware or cone 04 bisque. Bare, they stay velvet matte; under clear, colors deepen. AMACO's guide calls them food safe only when "applied and fired under AMACO LG-10 or HF-9 clear glazes".

LUG (Liquid Underglaze) is the opaque line for sgraffito, mishima, wax resist and covering large areas. AMACO's LUG line page shows a cone 05 mark, while the LUG-1 Black page lists cone 05 to 10 and describes how that color changes at cone 6 and cone 10. Test a tile at your own cone. See our Velvet underglaze review for coat counts and colors.

AMACO glazes for cone 6

If your kiln fires to cone 6, your AMACO glaze lines are Potter's Choice, Potter's Choice Flux, Celadon, Shino, Satin Matte, Cosmos and Dipping & Layering. Velvet underglazes also fire at cone 6 under a mid-fire clear. AMACO says C-11 Mixing Clear "works well with most underglazes" but can mute V-315 Peach, V-316 Light Pink and V-323 Salmon.

One detail matters for mugs: AMACO's food-safe statement for Velvet names LG-10 and HF-9 as the clears, not C-11. Pair cone 6 glazes with a clay body rated for cone 6 (our clay and glazes hub explains why).

AMACO glaze layering combinations

Layering is the main reason Potter's Choice is so popular. AMACO's Complete Guide shows the basic pattern: two coats of a Potter's Choice glaze over three coats of a Celadon, so a fluid top glaze breaks over a stiffer, transparent base. The same idea works with an opaque Potter's Choice color as the base and a flowing or floating PC or PCF glaze on top.

AMACO's homepage featured these combinations when we checked in October 2026, written top glaze first:

• C-50 Cherry Blossom over C-10 Snow
• PC-32 Albany Slip Brown over C-20 Cobalt
• PC-43 Toasted Sage over PC-33 Iron Lustre
• CR-1 Black over PC-68 Golden Honey

We list them by name only, since we have not fired them. AMACO's free online layering database lets you search by top or base glaze and shows fired tiles. Layered glazes are thicker and run more, so stop the top coat well above the foot and fire on a cookie. Our AMACO glaze layering guide covers coat counts, drip protection and how to read the database, and Honey Flux combinations and Seaweed combinations go deeper on two of the most used glazes.

Pearlescent and crystal-effect specialty glazes

Pearlescent (P)

Pearlescent is AMACO's newest cone 5 to 6 line. AMACO's shop listed eight colors as new products in October 2026, from P-01 Black Pearl and P-10 Opal Mist to P-60 Sun Pearl and P-65 Sienna Frost, and the product pages said the series was available for pre-order through AMACO distributors. AMACO describes P-40 Limelight as "a fluid, spring green glaze with iridescent mottling where thick."

Application matters more than usual. AMACO recommends three brush coats over cone 04 bisque (two if heavy) and warns that too little glaze fires dry without crystals, while too much turns rough and may flow. The P-40 page says the glaze was tested for lead and cadmium release under ASTM C738-94; that is a lab test of the glaze, not a promise about your pot.

Cosmos and Opalescent

Cosmos (CO) is AMACO's microcrystalline line for cone 5 to 6, described in its 2026 guide as giving "iridescent, crystalline effects." It grows crystals in a normal firing, with more growth from a controlled cool, and AMACO does not recommend it for food surfaces because of durability. At low fire, AMACO's Opalescent (O) glazes are listed "for pearl-like surfaces" at cone 05 and are best over red clay or colored underglazes. True crystalline glazes with large crystals need special firing schedules; see crystalline glaze.

Dipping & Layering (DL): AMACO's bucket glazes

Most AMACO glazes are brushing glazes with gum added. Dipping & Layering is the separate line made for a dipping bucket. It comes as a 10 lb bag of dry mix with a label and instructions: add the bag to one gallon of distilled water and you get about 1.25 gallons of dipping glaze. AMACO's 2026 guide shows 14 colors rated for cone 5 to 6, marks the line food safe, and describes it as "designed to be dipped and layered with ease." Colors such as DL-10 Gloss Clear, DL-11 Enamel White and DL-01 Ebony are sold by US dealers.

DL is worth it when you glaze many pots in a few colors: a dip takes seconds and gives an even coat, where brushing takes three or four coats. It is overkill for a few pieces a month. Mix the dry powder with a NIOSH-approved respirator, since it contains silica. AMACO also sells some Potter's Choice and Celadon colors as dry dipping mixes, but warns that "all dry dipping glazes can be difficult to layer," so retest any brushing combination when you switch to buckets. Our dipping glaze and mixing glaze from powder guides cover the bucket setup.

AMACO ceramic inks

AMACO Ceramic Inks (INK) are printmaking inks for clay rather than glazes. AMACO's 2026 guide rates them cone 05 to 10 and lists eight colors "formulated specifically for printmaking on ceramics," for monoprints, screenprinting, stencils, linocuts, stamps, transfers and Gelli plate prints. US dealers sell them in 8 oz bottles, and dealer listings quoting AMACO say they go on greenware or bisque, work with or without glaze, and are food safe only under a proper glaze.

For a home potter, inks are a way to put a crisp printed image on a pot without drawing it by hand. Thin layers print best. If you prefer ready-made printed sheets, see underglaze transfers; for drawing, see underglaze pencils.

Glaze additives and aids: Gum Solution and Epsom salt

AMACO's main glaze aid is Gum Solution. AMACO explains that gum is added in manufacturing to make its glazes brush smoothly and stay in suspension, and that it "acts like a glue, helping bind the glaze together and adhere the glaze to the ware." Gum breaks down over time, which is one reason an old pint can brush badly. AMACO's fix for a thickened, poorly brushing jar is to blend in up to 1 tablespoon of Gum Solution per pint of glaze or underglaze, using distilled water if you also thin it, because tap water can speed up gum breakdown. Good Gum Solution is thick, gloopy and clear; AMACO says to discard it if it turns brownish or watery.

We did not find a separate AMACO brushing medium in its 2026 guide; Gum Solution is the product it lists to improve brushability and slow drying. Epsom salt is the other common additive potters use, mainly in dipping buckets, to stop glaze settling; the FAQ below explains what it does, and our glaze materials guide covers flocculants and the rest of the raw ingredients.

Where to buy AMACO glazes

AMACO sells through distributors, and its website has a Find a Distributor tool to locate one near you. New lines, such as Pearlescent at launch, are ordered through those distributors. In the US that means three kinds of seller:

• Local pottery suppliers: regional ceramic dealers carry the full range, gallons and dry mixes, and can tell you which glazes local potters fire on which clays.
• Online pottery dealers and art chains: Blick, Utrecht and pottery suppliers such as New Mexico Clay list AMACO pints and ship nationwide.
• Amazon: handy for a few popular pints and sets, but check the code, size and cone against AMACO's own page.

Buying from a local dealer avoids shipping on heavy gallons and dry bags, and avoids freezing in transit in winter.

AMACO tutorials, layering demos and glaze guides

AMACO publishes a lot of free help. Its resources section includes step-by-step tutorials (such as silk-screening on clay), the layering database, lesson plans written for teachers, a blog with artist interviews, a glossary of clay and glaze terms, and the downloadable Clay, Glaze & Underglaze Guide (2026 edition), which shows every line with its cone, coat count and food-safe marks. AMACO also runs AMACO Create, a free online community platform. Start with the guide when choosing a line, then use the layering database before mixing two glazes on a pot.

About AMACO

AMACO is the American Art Clay Company, founded in 1919 and based in Indianapolis, where it spent 75 years near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Its about page says it made the first American modeling clay, bought Brent potter's wheels and equipment in 1978 (which is why the company now trades as AMACO Brent), added Reward Glazes in 1979, and moved to larger facilities in 2004. AMACO's site does not describe any later sale of the company, so we do not report one.

Which AMACO line should a beginner start with?

1. Check the highest cone your kiln reaches and the cone printed on your clay bag. The glaze line has to match both.
2. Low-fire (cone 05) kiln: start with Teacher's Palette for color and LG-10 Clear Transparent as your clear.
3. Cone 6 kiln: start with Satin Matte or Celadon for predictable surfaces, then add two or three Potter's Choice colors to learn layering.
4. Painting and drawing: Velvet underglazes plus the clear that suits your cone.

Whatever line you choose, the basics of glazing stay the same: match the cone, keep the foot clean and apply the coats the label asks for, which our how to glaze pottery guide calls the three rules of glazing.

What the AP Non-Toxic seal means

The AP (Approved Product) seal on AMACO jars comes from ACMI, an association of art material makers. ACMI says AP products have been evaluated by a toxicologist and found to "contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans". AMACO's guide adds that the AP seal certifies a product as safe for use by all ages and that it conforms to ASTM D-4236, the US standard for labeling chronic hazards in art materials.

The CL (Cautionary Label) seal means the product has been evaluated and labeled for its known health risks. AMACO restricts CL products from children under 13 and says CL glazes are not safe for spray application. Read the label on the exact jar or bag you buy.

Are AMACO glazes food safe?

Some are, color by color. AMACO prints a Food Safe seal on qualifying colors and says the seal "indicates that all FDA Guidelines for a food safe surface have been met". Satin Matte is labeled food safe across the line, Teacher's Palette is described as dinnerware safe, and many Potter's Choice and Celadon colors carry the seal, but not every color does.

AMACO also warns that "Some glazes may be considered food safe but not recommended for use on food surfaces due to the durability of the glaze", which is how it treats Cosmos and Kiln Ice. Underglazes need a food-safe clear fired over them.

What AMACO does well

• Range: one brand covers cone 05 to 10 underglazes, cone 05 gloss glazes and cone 5 to 6 stoneware glazes.
• Labeling: cone, opacity, spray safety, mixability and food safety appear as marks on each product page.
• Layering support: AMACO runs an online layering database and publishes named combinations (see our AMACO glaze layering guide).

Weak points

• Many Potter's Choice glazes run. AMACO's own Seaweed page says to "pay attention to application thickness so the glaze does not flow onto kiln shelves".
• Batches vary: AMACO recommends test tiles "before using each new batch number of glaze".
• Dry dipping versions behave differently. AMACO says "all dry dipping glazes can be difficult to layer".
• Food safety has to be checked per color, and AP is often misread as a food-safe mark.
• AMACO typically recommends three to four coats of its brushing glazes, so a pint covers fewer pots than a dipping bucket.

Cone 6 starter: Potter's Choice PC-20 Blue Rutile

AMACO calls Blue Rutile "always one of our top selling Potters Choice glazes". It flows light blue where thick and breaks brown where thin, so it shows off texture and layers with many other PC colors.

• Glaze fire: Cone 5 to 6 (line rating)
• Finish: Opaque, fluid
• Sizes: Pint, gallon
• Label: AP shown on AMACO's page
• Food Safe seal: check the current product page

Who should skip it: Low-fire kiln owners, and anyone who wants a flat, even color.

Cone 6 clear: Celadon C-11 Mixing Clear

C-11 was made to thin Celadon colors, but AMACO says it can be used as a stand-alone clear: "a stiff gloss zinc-free glaze that works well with most underglazes". A stiff clear is less likely to blur underglaze lines, which makes it a practical studio clear at cone 5 to 6.

• Glaze fire: Cone 5 to 6
• Finish: Transparent gloss, zinc free
• Sizes: Pint, gallon, 10 lb dry mix
• Watch out: can mute V-315, V-316 and V-323 (AMACO)

Who should skip it: Cone 05 potters, who should use LG-10 instead.

Cone 05 clear: LG-10 Clear Transparent

LG-10 is AMACO's "brilliant, glossy transparent glaze" for cone 05, and the Complete Guide names it as a clear that makes Velvet and LUG underglazes food safe when fired over them.

• Glaze fire: Cone 05, 1,888°F (1,031°C)
• Finish: Transparent gloss
• Sizes: Pint, gallon
• Label: AP

Who should skip it: Cone 6 potters.

Who should buy AMACO glazes

• Cone 6 electric kiln owners who want gas-style surfaces: Potter's Choice and Celadon.
• Beginners with a low-fire kiln: Teacher's Palette and LG.
• Underglaze painters: Velvet and LUG with a matching clear.
• Potters who like to buy most of their color from one brand.

Skip the fluid lines if you want glazes that never move. If you only need one dipping clear and a liner, compare a local supplier's house glazes on cost per pot.

Alternatives to AMACO

• Mayco glazes: the other big US brand; compare them in AMACO vs Mayco.
• Spectrum and Coyote glazes: two smaller brands with mid-fire lines; check their cone and food-safe labels the same way you would AMACO's.

Sources: AMACO shop line pages for Potter's Choice, Celadon, Shino, Satin Matte, Cosmos, Teacher's Palette, LG Low Fire Gloss, Dipping & Layering, Velvet and LUG; AMACO product pages for PC-01, PC-17, PC-20, PC-42, C-11, LG-10 and LUG-1; AMACO Complete Guide to Clay, Glazes and Underglazes (amaco.com); ACMI seal definitions (acmiart.org); US retail listings for AMACO F-Series glaze (Walmart); US dealer search results (Blick, Utrecht, New Mexico Clay) for availability; AMACO shop "Most Popular Products" and "New Products" lists; AMACO product pages for P-40 Limelight, P-10 Opal Mist and P-60 Sun Pearl; AMACO Clay, Glaze & Underglaze Guide (2026); AMACO resources page (tutorials, layering database, Find a Distributor); AMACO about page; AMACO blog "The Solution to Glaze Issues" (Gum Solution); The Ceramic Shop listings for DL dry glazes; Clay-King and School Specialty listings for AMACO Ceramic Printing Inks; Digitalfire reference "Epsom Salts". Research-based, not hands-on. Specs checked October 2026.