Substitutes for gum arabic in vernice bianca?

[polkat]

Gum arabic is one of the key ingredients in vernice bianca, but the stuff (liquid or powder) is getting hard to find and the price is soaring! I got to thinking about what the arabic does and was wondering if I could find a working substitute in...say, grocery stores or hardware stores.

I know that there are others here that use this as a ground and I'm interested in their opinions.

Thanks!

[Fjodor]

Hi!

I recently ordered some gum arabic from Kremer.

http://www.kremer-pigmente.de/shopint/inde...p;product=63300

I found the price quite reasonable, about 3,30 € /100 g

They also have it in powdered form for the same price.

cheers, Fjodor

[MANFIO]

It can be found also on pharmaceutical products suppliers.

[Wm. Johnston]

Kremer's price for gum arabic seems to have changed little in the nearly 10 years since I last bought it from them. That I still have most of the 100g that I originally bought is also an indication of how I feel it works as a ground.

[Melvin Goldsmith]

I seem to remember Sacconi implying that cherry gum might be useful also

[Berl Mendenhall]

I seem to remember Sacconi implying that cherry gum might be useful also

Melvin,

Isn't that what Gum Arabic is? I might be wrong, I've never really checked into the stuff. I've got some, it's on the shelf with Dragon's Blood, Rubio's Ground, and half a dozen other things I bought thinking I would use (and never did).

Berl

[Oded Kishony]

I haven't had any problems with using gum arabic as a sealer. It has excellent acoustical properties (according to Martin Schleske) increasing speed of sound and decreasing damping in tonewood. It is also very stable with a long history. I wonder if it isn't the source of the protein often found in old varnish samples (I only know that part of the chemical name contains the word 'protein')

I tried cherry gum as well as some other water soluble gums.(plumb comes to mind) The method for processing them is quite different. They ares not really soluble in water. The process is to soak the cherry gum then put it inot a cloth bag and squeeze out the usuable gum. I did not have much luck with it.

Oded

[chrisandcello]

Acacia apparently..........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_arabic

[Oded Kishony]

One of the things I didn't see mentioned in the article is that gum arabic is a wonderful emusifying agent. It will very easily combine with varnish, resin or oil to form an emulsion.

Oded

[joerobson]

Gum arabic is one of the key ingredients in vernice bianca, but the stuff (liquid or powder) is getting hard to find and the price is soaring! I got to thinking about what the arabic does and was wondering if I could find a working substitute in...say, grocery stores or hardware stores.

I know that there are others here that use this as a ground and I'm interested in their opinions.

Thanks!

My guess: Try the protein powder that body builders use: dairy whey.

On we go,

Joe

[Oded Kishony]

You can add a bit of salt to the whey and make yourself some ricotta cheese

Do you think this would work Joe? Can whey be made so that it is viscous like gum Arabic?

Oded