dsbake Report post Posted October 12, 2020 Good day all Maestronetters. A long time reader of the forums here. I just went to order a bottle of Strasbourg Turpentine from Kremer, to brew some Varnish with, as I did many years ago. I was saddened to see it is no longer available. A google search did not yield much either. Does anybody know of where to buy Strasbourg Turpentine these days, or if there are any viable alternatives (bearing in mind I will be cooking it down to make Varnish with). David Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joerobson Report post Posted October 13, 2020 My inquires say that the families who were collecting the Strasbourg Turpentine are no longer interested in doing it. Joe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dsbake Report post Posted October 13, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, joerobson said: My inquires say that the families who were collecting the Strasbourg Turpentine are no longer interested in doing it. Joe Oh dear, that is a shame. But it explains why it can no longer be found anywhere. Thank you. Edited October 13, 2020 by dsbake reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francesco piasentini Report post Posted October 13, 2020 hard to find in Europe. Only way to have something similar is to harvest silver fir resin (oxidized) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xraymymind Report post Posted October 13, 2020 20 minutes ago, francesco piasentini said: hard to find in Europe. Only way to have something similar is to harvest silver fir resin (oxidized) anyone know whether Larch turpentine or Canada Balsam might be viable alternatives? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andreas Preuss Report post Posted October 14, 2020 Did you check out Kremer pigments? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael_Molnar Report post Posted October 14, 2020 On 10/12/2020 at 4:40 PM, dsbake said: Good day all Maestronetters. A long time reader of the forums here. I just went to order a bottle of Strasbourg Turpentine from Kremer, to brew some Varnish with, as I did many years ago. I was saddened to see it is no longer available. A google search did not yield much either. Does anybody know of where to buy Strasbourg Turpentine these days, or if there are any viable alternatives (bearing in mind I will be cooking it down to make Varnish with). David Wouldn’t silver fir rosin work? Try it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Burgess Report post Posted October 14, 2020 Doesn't the the definition of "Strasbourg Turpentine" go all over the place? One resin in various combinations with another, with various solvents? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
not telling Report post Posted October 14, 2020 The de Mayerne manuscript, if I remember right, has the historical recipe.. At least, I accepted that it is the historical recipe. I'm not really anyone who knows anything. But when I was looking into this more deeply it used to really bother me how many recipes and definitions there are around these historical mediums. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Yacey Report post Posted October 14, 2020 17 hours ago, xraymymind said: anyone know whether Larch turpentine or Canada Balsam might be viable alternatives? Larch is Venetian turpentine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Yacey Report post Posted October 14, 2020 11 minutes ago, not telling said: The de Mayerne manuscript, if I remember right, has the historical recipe.. At least, I accepted that it is the historical recipe. I'm not really anyone who knows anything. But when I was looking into this more deeply it used to really bother me how many recipes and definitions there are around these historical mediums. It's like the thousands of bread recipes floating around. Everyone has a slightly different spin on what it should be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xraymymind Report post Posted October 14, 2020 6 hours ago, Bill Yacey said: Larch is Venetian turpentine. I had thought that Venetian turpentine is a mixture of Larch turpentine and Colophony. Therefore, Larch is maybe the purer product. It'd be interesting to hear if Larch turpentine would make a good varnish like Strasbourg did. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Yacey Report post Posted October 15, 2020 I might be wrong, but that's what I remember.The Venetian turpentine I'm familiar with is a thick, honey-like viscous liquid. Colophony is the hard residue left behind after distilling the volatile turpentine out of pine tar. Strasbourg if I recall correctly is made from balsam fir sap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JacksonMaberry Report post Posted October 15, 2020 Silver fir, larch, and canada balsams can all be made into fine varnishes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HoGo Report post Posted October 15, 2020 I've always thought... Strasbourg = raw abies alba resin Venetian = raw larix decidua resin canada = raw abies balsamea resin Of course some companies do mix/add other resins just to increase their margin or lower price. I think all the fir (abies) resins will work very similarly. You can try to tap a fir yourself (if it grows near you). True larch resin behaves slightly differently (won't crystalize/dry) as fast as fir resins nad can be very red colored. But once cooked into varnish the differences won't be as noticeable, I believe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xraymymind Report post Posted October 15, 2020 1 hour ago, JacksonMaberry said: Silver fir, larch, and canada balsams can all be made into fine varnishes. I had been under the impression that Larch may make a slower drying, and softer Varnish than Canada balsam or Silver fir. But I could be completely wrong here...? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
francesco piasentini Report post Posted October 15, 2020 20 hours ago, Michael_Molnar said: Wouldn’t silver fir rosin work? Try it. At least in US you have a supplier. Here in EU didn't found any. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Yacey Report post Posted October 16, 2020 See subsection: Uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larix_occidentalis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Szyper Report post Posted October 18, 2020 On 10/12/2020 at 10:40 PM, dsbake said: Good day all Maestronetters. A long time reader of the forums here. I just went to order a bottle of Strasbourg Turpentine from Kremer, to brew some Varnish with, as I did many years ago. I was saddened to see it is no longer available. A google search did not yield much either. Does anybody know of where to buy Strasbourg Turpentine these days, or if there are any viable alternatives (bearing in mind I will be cooking it down to make Varnish with). David Hi David, do you have any specific reason looking for strasburg turpentine? I tried what i considered to be the most authentic resin: I collected about 8 kg of northern Italy alpine spruce pitch and clarified it. Makes quite a nice varnish, but it doesn't cook as nice and red as the cheapest "bastard" colophony i bought a few years ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
