make your own matt varnish

[homer]

Here in Turkey, gloss varnish is widely available and cheap but they don't seem to make matt or satin varnish - other than cellulose based - which has limited uses. The matting agent that you can add to gloss doesn't seem to be available either. Imported satin varnish is available but at 10 times the price of home produced gloss! So thought I would try matting some gloss by stirring in a little talcum powder. Seems to work ok. Is this an old trick or something new? Can anyone see any snags?

 

[sarabande]

hmm.

Talc is Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
Varnish is a blend of alkyd resins and aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents.


Exposed to the sun, it will mutate into something resembling cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine. AKA a form of plastic explosive.


Just be careful when you stir the tin.....

 

[GrumpyOldGit]

Thanks for the potted chemistry lesson, now those stubborn barnacles are at my mercy !!

 

[LadyInBed]

So thought I would try matting some gloss by stirring in a little talcum powder. Seems to work ok. Is this an old trick or something new? Can anyone see any snags?

A ploy I have known for 30 to 40 years! I have never seen it go bang

 

[Allan]

I used to work on equipment that applied Solder mask (the green ink) to the surface of printed circuit boards. Our matt ink products were pretty much gloss ink with talc added.
Allan

 

[ytd]

I've also used wood dust from the collector bag of a sander. Although this will give it some colour as well as mattness.