How much white lead?

[shamus]

How much white lead do I mix with linseed putty for seams? It is really necessary is it? As I have searched the country for premixes such as Interlux white to no avail. Even tried to buy it from the States, but am told it can't be shipped as it is a hazardous substance. Hazardous putty- wonder if that's the lead or the linseed oil?

[Thomas Garber]

You can make your own white lead paste with powdered lead carbonate and linseed oil. The lead carbonate can usually be found at a pottery supply store, as it is used in glazes.

[Scott Rosen]

White lead paste dries pretty hard and may not be ideal for a seam compound. The Interlux white has no lead and is a very, very slow curing linseed oil based product. You must be able to order it by mail, no?

[ 06-02-2005, 09:28 PM: Message edited by: Scott Rosen ]

[shamus]

Scott, I tried ordering it from Jamestown, but they say they can't ship it here because it's a hazardous substance. I presume this is because they only ship overseas by air. I guess anything in a can looks scary to a 'plane company. International Paints in Aus just say 'we don't stock it".

In previous threads on this topic, some replies (principally from the Brits I think) have mentioned using ordinary linseed putty mixed with some white lead paste. Presuming that the white lead serves as a fungicide and really is necessary, I wonder how much to add? I gotta do something, I know that.

Maybe, I can just use putty huh?

[ 06-02-2005, 11:22 PM: Message edited by: shamus ]

[Bruce Hooke]

Originally posted by Thomas Garber:
You can make your own white lead paste with powdered lead carbonate and linseed oil. The lead carbonate can usually be found at a pottery supply store, as it is used in glazes.

That may once have been true, but these days my experience has been that very few ceramics supply places stock it because most potters avoid using lead because, among other things, people don't like to buy stuff that contains lead. That said, pottery supply stores may still know where to find it because there are occassional potters (mostly sculptors) who still want to use it. The next trick will be finding a real pottery supply store that sells materials. Here in the US my experience has been that in your average state there are one or two places that sell the raw materials potters need...i.e., not that many!

[Bob Cleek]

What you really want is white lead paint (or "paste.") In the US, Kirby's sells it by the gallon very reasonably. White lead putty is made by mixing ordinary whiting with the white lead paint. Mixing the lead powder with linseed oil is an extra step you don't need to take, and one which exposes you to lead powder, which is a lot easier to ingest than lead paint.