Dundas: Flake White by Modern Process

While I really love the idea of following the historic method for making flake white, I have also decided to try and create this pigment using some of the newer methods developed within the last century.

I’ve come to realize that in making flake white I am creating a pigment by taking my ore through a number of small steps. In short, the ore is being slowly dissolved using acetic acid fumes and then reacting with the carbon dioxide released from the manure (the heat helps quicken the process). You can imagine that there is an awful lot of different ways to make this happen beyond the traditional Dutch stack method …

My first help in trying to create a modern process came from Reiner. In an old plumbing book he owns, he found a recipe combining glacial acetic acid with hydrogen peroxide that claimed it would dissolve old plumbing solder. Putting it to the test, it did just that; creating a lot of bubbling and over roughly a day completely liquefied my ore.

Step one complete!

Leave a comment