Absolutely beautiful glaze when used with obsidian underneath. I did 3 coats brush on obsidian then 5 coats of brush on smoky merlot - they were thin coats evenly brushed on and I allowed at least 5 hours or overnight between each layer on the large bowel I was doing as I had see this glaze turn brown when others used it. Mine turned out spectacular and I think it was all the layers that were allowed to dry really well between layers. It was fired at cone 6 - no soak in a communal kiln and I asked for extra space around it. Not used it by itself yet!