[belton]

can anyone help, imp working on a silver ink for a collage project and need to find an emulsifying agent I can add to the mix to stop it from separating....any takers?

Thank you and kind regards
Brook Morton

[Borek]

Why do you want to do it by yourself - can't you buy ready one? I recall some type of silver paint that was used for covering of hot metal in chimney/ventillation ducts, no idea if it still in use.

What pigment do you want to use? Aluminum powder will be probably the best, although you may have troubles buying it, as it can be used to make explosives.

[belton]

im using the aluminium paint that your talking about as a base as it contains aluminium flakes and have thinned it with white spirit and some additives for staining but after about 2 hours the mix will separate paint at the bottom and spirit at the top.....just want to know I there is anyway of stopping or reducing the separation?


Thank you and kind regards
Brook Morton

[Borek]

just want to know I there is anyway of stopping or reducing the separation?

If it is thinned the separation is just a gravitational sedimentation, I doubt you can do much about it. Does shaking helps?

[P]

It's thinned with white spirit....  can you thicken it up again to a level where it wont seperate?   also, you could try the addition of some surfactant to help the dispersion.  (see what surfactants you have available and try some out).      Sometimes raising the pH can help stop seperation in waterbased systems.  When pH is raised the surface of the pigments can become charged and thus repel - stopping flocculation of the pigment.  Good luck.

[Borek]

When pH is raised...

...Al dissolves.

[P]

Al dissolves at elevated pH?   What effect would this have on a paint Borek?  Surley when the 'solvent'  evapourates the Al would be left coated on the substrate?    

[Borek]

Al dissolves at elevated pH?   What effect would this have on a paint Borek?  Surley when the 'solvent'  evapourates the Al would be left coated on the substrate?    

It will dissolve chemically, so once the paint dries there will be no metallic Al but some salt - and it will be no longer silver in color.

[belton]

will try adding surfactant.....am at an artschool so not much acsses to chemicals. any recomendations?

(thank you all for your post....you guys are dimonds)

[P]

OK just something to try, may or may not work, but what about a dash of washing up liquid  or soap  - -  these are surfactants that are cheap and readilly available.   If you need something a bit more sufisticated then you'll need something else, but soap is a good start I rekon.

(take my snacks away if this is a really daft sugestion, but I've found washing up liquid does the same job as many a high tech surfactant  - -     oh wait!!   I don't have any snacks at all!!!!!     )