Porcelain clay is the whitest, densest pottery clay you can buy: a fine body made mainly of kaolin, feldspar and silica that fires to a glassy, almost non-absorbent ceramic. Thin porcelain lets light through, which is its signature. It is also the most demanding clay to throw and dry. This guide covers what porcelain clay is, cone 6 vs cone 10 bodies, and how specific porcelains compare on their makers' spec sheets. It is research-based; we did not throw or fire these clays. Specs checked October 2026.
What is porcelain clay?
Porcelain is built around kaolin, a primary clay that is white and fairly pure but not very plastic. Feldspar acts as the flux that melts and glues the body together, and silica controls glaze fit. Many porcelains use grolleg, a fine English kaolin known for whiteness, and some leave out ball clay to keep the body as white as possible. Standard Clay notes that both its 365 Grolleg Porcelain and its 551 V.P. Porcelain contain no ball clay.
Leaving out ball clay is the trade-off. Ball clay adds plasticity, so a whiter, purer porcelain is often a softer one to throw. The Ceramic Shop describes Laguna's #16 porcelain (WC617) as "less white, but more plastic and forgiving" than Laguna's #15.
Craft products sold as "cold porcelain" or air-dry porcelain are not this material. They never go in a kiln.
The word porcelain also names the finished material: the hard, white, vitrified ceramic used for fine dinnerware, tiles and bathroom fixtures. Porcelain clay is simply that material before firing, sold moist in boxes for potters. Bone china is a related porcelain that adds bone ash to the recipe, and it is a factory product rather than a clay body you will find for a home kiln. For the minerals behind every clay, see what clay is made of.
What is porcelain clay used for?
Porcelain clay is used where whiteness, density or translucency matter more than ease of handling. Laguna lists these uses for Frost: tableware, jewelry, wind chimes, wall tile, small and medium throwing and hand-building, and crystal firing. In a home studio that usually means:
- Cups, bowls and plates: the dense body and very low absorption suit everyday tableware, glazed with a glaze rated for the same cone.
- Light-catching pieces: thin bowls, tea light holders and lamp shades that show off translucency.
- Jewelry, ornaments and small sculpture: the fine grain holds crisp detail.
- Bright decoration: the white base keeps underglazes, celadons and clear glazes true.
- Colored clay work: tinted porcelains for nerikomi and marbling.
Porcelain is also made as casting slip for molds; our clay slip guide covers that side.
Does porcelain clay need to be baked?
Porcelain clay needs to be fired in a kiln, not baked in a kitchen oven. It only becomes porcelain once it reaches its maturing cone, about 2,232°F (1,222°C) for cone 6 bodies on Orton's chart, which is several times hotter than a home oven can go. Most potters bisque fire it first, then glaze fire to the cone on the spec sheet. Unfired porcelain that is only dried or oven-warmed stays fragile and will soften in water. If you have no kiln, a community studio can fire for you; our pottery oven vs kiln page explains why an oven cannot stand in, and bisque firing covers the first firing.
Cone 6 vs cone 10 porcelain
Porcelain was traditionally a high fire clay at cone 10 and above. Modern cone 6 porcelains use stronger fluxes so they vitrify in a home electric kiln.
- Cone 6: Laguna Frost (WC437), Laguna #16 (WC617) and #15 (WC616), Standard 365 Grolleg Porcelain, Standard 551 V.P. Porcelain and Standard 213 Porcelain.
- Cone 10: Laguna lists Dave's Porcelain (WC384), Babu Porcelain (WC428) and English Porcelain (WC415); Standard lists 257 Grolleg Porcelain.
Cone 6 is about 2,232°F (1,222°C) and cone 10 about 2,345°F (1,285°C) on Orton's chart for self-supporting cones at 108°F per hour. If your kiln reaches cone 6, buy a cone 6 porcelain. A cone 10 porcelain fired to cone 6 will stay porous and chalky.
Porcelain clay for sale: bodies compared
Figures are from the maker's page unless noted.
| Porcelain | Cone | Shrinkage | Absorption | Maker notes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laguna Frost (WC437) | 6 | 11% | 0.5% | Exceptionally white and translucent | Check price |
| Laguna #16 (WC617) | 6 (titled ^5) | 13.9% | 0.12% | Very plastic; reduces crazing | Check price |
| Laguna #15 (WC616) | 6 | 14.9% | 0.009% | Translucent grolleg body for thin work | Dealer only |
| Standard 365 Grolleg | 6 | 13.5% | 0.35% | White, tight, translucent when thin | Check price |
| Standard 551 V.P. | 6 | 13.0% | 0.3% | Very plastic, good for throwing | Dealer only |
Source notes: Laguna's Frost page lists cone 6 and 0.5% absorption; The Ceramic Shop lists cone 5 to 6 and under 1%. Laguna's #16 page title says ^5 while its spec field lists cone 6, and a Laguna company article says Frost and #16 mature at cone 5 to 6. Check with your dealer and test at your own cone.
Porcelain costs more than stoneware. Laguna lists its cone 6 porcelains at about $1.20 to $1.40 per lb before shipping in October 2026, against about $0.80 to $0.90 for its B-Mix stoneware, and dealer prices for Frost run higher in small quantities. Laguna's online store sells moist clay in 50 lb steps; Amazon carries some Laguna porcelain in 25 lb boxes. Local ceramic suppliers are usually the best source for Standard bodies. Check the live price.
A few buying tips for porcelain clay. Buy a 25 lb box first, because porcelain behaves differently from body to body and you may not like the first one you try. Some dealers sell small sample bags, which are a cheap way to compare two porcelains. Order from a dealer near the plant when you can: Laguna lists facilities in California and Ohio, and Standard Clay is based in Pittsburgh, so freight to your door varies a lot. Laguna also makes colored porcelains at its Florida facility if you want tinted bodies for nerikomi or marbling.
Laguna Frost
Frost is the porcelain to choose if translucency is the goal. Laguna lists it at cone 6 with 11% shrinkage, lower than most porcelains here, and 0.5% absorption.
- Cone: 6 (The Ceramic Shop: 5 to 6)
- Shrinkage: 11%
- Absorption: 0.5%
- Color: white, translucent when thin
Pros
- Very white and translucent
- Lower shrinkage than most porcelains
- Fires in a cone 6 kiln
Cons
- Soft and less forgiving on the wheel
- The most expensive per pound of these bodies at dealers
Who should skip it: beginners still learning to center, who should start with a stoneware.
Laguna #16 Porcelain
#16 trades a little whiteness for plasticity. Laguna calls it very plastic and good for throwing and hand-building, and lists 0.12% absorption.
- Cone: 6 (Laguna's page title says ^5)
- Shrinkage: 13.9%
- Absorption: 0.12%
Pros
- More plastic and forgiving than purer porcelains
- Very low absorption
- Laguna says it reduces crazing
Cons
- Less white than Frost or #15
- Higher shrinkage
Who should skip it: potters chasing maximum translucency.
Standard 365 Grolleg Porcelain
Standard Clay describes 365 as a white, tight cone 6 grolleg porcelain with a parian-like quality that is translucent when thin. It contains no ball clay.
- Cone: 6
- Shrinkage: 13.5%
- Absorption: 0.35%
Pros
- Translucent when thin
- Grolleg whiteness
- Widely stocked by dealers in the East
Cons
- No ball clay means less plasticity
- Amazon availability not confirmed
Who should skip it: anyone far from a Standard dealer who does not want to pay freight.
Why porcelain is translucent
When porcelain vitrifies, much of the feldspar and silica turns into glass, and the white kaolin particles have very little iron to color it. Thin, dense, glassy and white together let light pass through. The thinner the wall and the more fully vitrified the body, the more light comes through. Bodies built for translucency, such as Frost and #15, are the ones to pick if you want that glow.
Throwing and hand-building porcelain
- Use less water. Porcelain softens fast, so throw with a sponge or slip rather than lots of water.
- Throw in fewer, steadier pulls and do not over-work the walls.
- Compress rims and bases with a rib to prevent cracks.
- Trim at a firmer leather hard than stoneware, because the clay tears more easily when soft.
- Join pieces at the same moisture level with plenty of scoring and slip.
Our porcelain throwing tips page goes step by step, and wheel throwing for beginners covers the basics first.
Warping, cracking and drying
Porcelain shrinks a lot (13% to 15% for most bodies above) and moves more as it vitrifies. Dry it slowly and evenly under loose plastic, and turn pieces so rims do not dry ahead of bases. Keep walls and bases an even thickness. In the glaze firing, set wide forms on a flat, clean shelf; some potters fire plates and wide bowls on a setter or a thin bed of alumina to help them move evenly. Wide, flat forms are the hardest shapes to keep true.
Glazing porcelain
Porcelain's white, dense body makes glazes look brighter and clearer than they do on stoneware. Clear, celadon and pale transparent glazes show the body underneath, and thin walls can glow through the glaze. Because porcelain is so dense, glaze fit matters: a glaze that crazes on stoneware will often craze on porcelain too. Laguna says its #16 body "reduces crazing," and several makers publish a COE figure (Frost lists 7.14) to help match glazes. Use glazes rated for the same cone as your porcelain, and test before you glaze a whole batch. Our clay and glazes guide covers glaze basics.
Porcelain vs stoneware at a glance
| Feature | Cone 6 porcelain | Mid-fire stoneware |
|---|---|---|
| Fired color | White, translucent when thin | Cream, buff, gray or brown |
| Absorption (maker examples) | 0.12% to 0.5% | 1.8% to 3% |
| Shrinkage (maker examples) | 11% to 14.9% | 11% to 13.9% |
| Throwing | Soft, needs little water | Forgiving, holds shape |
| Price at Laguna list | About $1.20 to $1.40 per lb | About $0.80 to $0.90 per lb |
For a full side-by-side, see stoneware vs porcelain.
Common mistakes
- Using too much water on the wheel, which collapses walls.
- Firing a cone 10 porcelain at cone 6.
- Mixing porcelain scraps into stoneware reclaim, which changes both bodies.
- Drying too fast, which causes S-cracks and rim cracks.
Safety: porcelain is high in silica. Porcelain dust is very fine, so wet clean only, never dry sweep or sand indoors without dust control, and wear a NIOSH-approved respirator when handling dry materials.
What you need
To work in porcelain you need a kiln that reaches its cone, glazes rated for that cone and patience. If you are new, start with one of the stoneware bodies in our best clay for pottery guide, then try porcelain. Our stoneware clay guide explains the difference.
Sources: Laguna Clay product pages for WC437 Frost, WC617 #16 and WC616 #15, and Laguna's cone 10 clay listing; Laguna company article on its clay range; The Ceramic Shop listings for Frost and #16; Standard Clay product pages for 365 Grolleg Porcelain and 551 V.P. Porcelain, and its porcelain collection page; Laguna Frost product page (applications list); Orton pyrometric cone chart. Specs checked October 2026.