Mayco Elements Glazes Review: Low Fire Float Glazes and Labels

Verdict

Mayco Elements are a strong choice if you fire low fire and want earthy, stone-like surfaces on textured or carved pieces. Each color has a main color and a second "float" color that pools in the low spots, so detail shows without extra work. Mayco designs them for cone 06/05 oxidation and gives clear brushing steps on its line page.

The thing to manage is labels. The line mixes AP and CL products, and dinnerware safe and decorative colors, and Mayco changed many labels in 2023. Mayco also merged the old Duncan Envision glazes into Elements and has discontinued ten colors since 2023. This review is research-based: we compared Mayco's line page, brochures, the 2026 Elements AP consumer information sheet, product pages and update notices, and did not fire the glazes.

For where Elements sit in Mayco's range, see our Mayco glazes review.

Mayco Elements at a glance

Price band: about $5 to $17 depending on size at US dealers in October 2026, with 4 oz jars at the low end and pints at the high end. Check the live price.

How Elements glazes work

Mayco describes Elements as two-tone: a main color with a secondary float color that settles into crevices on detailed pieces. On a smooth surface you mostly see the main color; on texture the float collects in the recesses and the main color thins on the high points. Mayco says the number of coats and the texture of the ware give different versions of the same glaze, and that application, firing temperature and shape all change the result.

Elements are not crystal glazes. The crystal-burst look belongs to Mayco Jungle Gems, a separate line. Some Elements, such as EL-207 Gold Mine, do show small crystals, but the line is built around the float effect.

The 12 colors in the Elements kit

The assortment kit is the easiest way in. Its dinnerware status below comes from Mayco's 2026 Elements AP consumer information sheet and its February 2023 label update.

Several of these colors get their own pages: Sea Spray, Malachite, Patina, Autumn, Sea Green and Copper Adventurine. This page stays with the line as a whole.

Discontinued, merged and renamed Elements

Mayco discontinued these Elements in all sizes effective January 15, 2025: EL-110 Mudslide, EL-154 Sea Mist Green, EL-157 Leaf Green and EL-204 Glowing Embers. From January 2023 it dropped EL-213 Painted Desert, EL-147 Creek Bed, EL-148 Smoked Lilac, EL-150 Fern, EL-151 Deep Water and EL-205 Jade Pebble. Stray jars may remain at dealers, but they cannot be reordered.

In February 2023 Mayco moved the Duncan Envision glazes into Elements. Mayco said the merged colors keep their names and formulas but take EL or FN numbers, which is why EL-152 Denim Blue through EL-161 Bottle Green and FN-218 Green Sapphire and FN-219 Lustre Green now sit in the Elements list. Mayco is also dropping dashes from item numbers, so EL-159 is becoming EL159 on newer labels.

What are Elements Chunkies?

Mayco still titles the line "Elements and Elements Chunkies," but neither its current line page nor its brochures say which colors are Chunkies or define them. Some dealers keep a separate Chunkies category. Use the same instructions for both, and read each color's product page for its own notes.

How to apply Mayco Elements

These steps follow Mayco's Elements line page.

1. Shake the jar for five to six seconds.
2. Pour some onto a palette. Mayco says not to dip the brush into the jar.
3. Moisten a soft brush, then apply the first coat.
4. Let each coat go matte-wet before the next, and build three to four coats.
5. On vertical pieces, limit the glaze on the bottom third, as Mayco advises, because Elements move.
6. Fire at a medium ramp of 250°F per hour to shelf cone 06.

Read the product page too. Mayco says EL-207 Gold Mine "will pinhole at three coats," flows considerably and is not overglaze compatible, which overrides the line's general three to four coat advice for that color.

Firing Elements at cone 6

Mayco says many Elements perform at cone 5/6 and 9/10, but colors change, the glazes may move, and firing flat or vertical changes the look a lot. It shows cone 6 results on labels and its website. Examples from Mayco's pages: Gold Mine's base turns a mottled orange, white and green at cone 6 with crystals that remain and melt, and Copper Adventurine turns sparkly black with enhanced mobility. Test on a tile with a catch tray first. Our low fire glazes guide explains what happens when low fire glazes go hotter in general.

Are Mayco Elements dinnerware safe?

Some are and some are not. Mayco's 2026 Elements AP consumer information sheet lists 16 colors as dinnerware safe: Oyster Shell, Blue Grotto, Sahara Sands, Rose Granite, Wheat, Slate, Sea Green, Turtle Shell, Rust Red, Grass, Cactus Flower, Dark Amethyst, Ginger Root, Rain Cloud, Lavender Flower and Denim Blue. It lists Amber Ash, Copper Adventurine, Autumn, Mirror Blue, Night Sky and Volcanic Glow as food safe but not dinnerware safe.

Mayco's February 2023 update moved 21 colors to "not recommended for dinnerware" after surface durability testing, including Spanish Moss, Burnished Steel, Black Ice, Black Adventurine, Gold Mine, Night Sky and the FN colors. The same update moved Sea Spray and Gold Mine to a CL health caution label. Colors outside the AP sheet, such as the CL colors, need a check of the jar label and product page.

Elements on light and dark clay

Mayco fires its Elements chips at cone 06 on earthenware and at cone 6 and 10 on stoneware. It does not publish results on red clay. Because the float color settles into texture and the main color thins on edges, a dark body will show through on high points; fire a tile on your own clay before a full piece.

Layering Elements

Mayco says Elements can be combined or layered with each other and with Pottery Cascades, Jungle Gems, Stroke & Coat and Foundations. Its published named combinations include:

• PC-601 Clear Cascade over EL-118 Blue Grotto (low fire)
• PC-602 White Cascade over EL-118 Blue Grotto (low fire)
• EL-132 Rust Red over SW-231 Lilac Speck, and the reverse, at cone 6 and 10, two coats each

For line work, Mayco notes that Designer Liner will not move over non-moving Elements, so lines stay crisp on those colors.

What Mayco Elements do well

• Texture comes alive: the float color fills carving and stamps.
• Clear brushing steps: shake time, coats, matte-wet drying and ramp are all published.
• Some food-surface colors: 16 AP colors carry a dinnerware safe listing.
• Range and sizes: around fifty colors in 4 oz and pints, some in gallons.

Weak points

• Labels vary color by color, and changed in 2023.
• Movement: keep the bottom third light on vertical pieces.
• Numbering confusion after the Duncan merge and the dash change.
• Discontinued colors: ten dropped since 2023.
• Chunkies undefined in Mayco's current material.

Who should buy and who should skip

Buy Elements if you fire at cone 06/05, make textured tiles, planters, figurines or display ware, or want a few dinnerware-listed colors with an earthy surface.

Skip them if you fire only at cone 6 and want predictable results, or you do not want to check labels color by color.

Where to start: the Elements kit

The kit is picked because it holds twelve core colors in 4 oz jars, enough to fire a tile of each on your clay. It mixes dinnerware safe and decorative colors, so label your tiles.

• Contents: 12 x 4 oz (EL-KIT2); pints as EL-KT2P
• Cone: 06/05
• Coats: 3 to 4
• Labels: mixed, see the table above

Who should skip it: potters who fire only at cone 6 or want only food-surface colors.

Alternatives

For cone 5 to 6, Mayco's Stoneware line gives float and breaking effects with mostly dinnerware safe labels, and AMACO Potter's Choice does the same from the other big brand. For bold color spots at low fire, Jungle Gems are the sister line.

Safety notes

Read Mayco's SDS and consumer information sheets before use. Mayco's AP sheet says to avoid spraying without protective equipment and to avoid dust, and notes the glaze contains a preservative that may cause an allergic reaction. Wet-clean spills, never dry sweep glaze or clay dust, and wear a NIOSH-approved respirator when grinding drips or handling dry materials.

Sources: Mayco Elements and Elements Chunkies line page; Mayco Elements brochures (2021 and 2023); Mayco Consumer Information Sheet, Elements AP (2026); Mayco Updates page (2023 and 2025 discontinued colors, 2023 Duncan Envision merge and label changes); Mayco product page EL-207 Gold Mine; Mayco glaze combinations page; dealer listings from Clay-King and Mayco Paint Store for price band. Specs checked October 2026.