Die, Paint, high spot blue, sources.

D

dkemppai

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Hi All,

Been reading up on scraping on/off over the years. Just haven't had time to give it a shot yet (OK, one small odd project, but that doesn't really count).

What's the current state of the art for die/paint/marking fluid for marking surfaces for scraping?

Some of the old time materials seem to be out for health/environmental concerns, etc. It would be nice to find water cleanup materials that are safe to handle and use in a basement shop. It would also be nice to find something that can be ordered in smaller quantities. Maybe even multiple colors, for contrast, etc.

So, what are the current recommendations? I see Dapra sells some water based spotting ink, but that seems to be hard to find.

Thanks!
Dan
 
I used to buy and sell Canode water soluble bluing and yellow ink. The company that made it was a small 3 person company. The owner passed away and his daughter closed the company. They sold it to Volk, Dapra, Artco and several others. It can't be found anymore. I now buy a ink Tom Lipton of OxTool told me about. It comes in several colors. I have found the red mixed with Windex works better then the Yellow Canode or Yellow Charbonel. I buy the Prussian Blue and apply in on first with a soft foam paint roller and then use a hard rubber brayer to thin it after the foam roller. I buy it from Amazon and I have heard art supply stores has it or can order it. https://www.amazon.com/Charbonnel-E...10163&sprefix=charbobonnel+ink,aps,185&sr=8-9
 
When I was a kid we used Red Lead powder we mixed into a paste and Dykem High spot blue but it stained your fingers and clothing. OSHA banned the sale of Red Lead commercially. Like lead based paint. Ive used Permatex bluing but it smears like crazy. There is an English products called Stewarts Engineering blueing that works good too. I ordered it off eBay and it came from England. I now use Charbonnel .
 
Richard King 2 said:
I have found the red mixed with Windex works better then the Yellow Canode or Yellow Charbonel. I buy the Prussian Blue and apply in on first with a soft foam paint roller and then use a hard rubber brayer to thin it after the foam roller. I buy it from Amazon and I have heard art supply stores has it or can order it. https://www.amazon.com/Charbonnel-Etching-Ink-60-Tube/dp/B008UG8918/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1B4Y38SHA8HKJ&keywords=charbonnel+ink&qid=1675110163&sprefix=charbobonnel+ink,aps,185&sr=8-9
Click to expand...
Looks like a good substitute. I see it's available in what appears to be a "AquaWash" ink as well as normal oil based ink.
Apparently the aqua wash inks are oil based inks. They claim the oil is an emulsion that is water washable. Not sure what the differences are in texture, etc.

Found some info here:

While I was typing this, I made a phone call to a supplier. Turns out the AquaWash inks are out of stock in a lot of places, and may even be discontinued. So, have a tube of Prussian Blue, and Red coming. Probably a lifetime supply for me, and certainly enough for me to become dangerous!

The supplier claims there are other companies making water washable oil based inks for the same purpose. So, maybe there are some easy to clean inks out there.

Thanks for the info!

Dan
 
Yes I order the water base ink from them. I've been telling folks about it. I hope I didn't do that about going out of business. I did buy some ink in the Walmart art supply area. Acrylic paint for $2.00 a tube. It worked OK for the 2nd color but not for the bluing. I know some use concrete coloring powder and carbon black powder mixed into a paste too. I've never tried it.
 
Richard King 2 said:
Yes I order the water base ink from them. I've been telling folks about it. I hope I didn't do that about going out of business. I did buy some ink in the Walmart art supply area. Acrylic paint for $2.00 a tube. It worked OK for the 2nd color but not for the bluing. I know some use concrete coloring powder and carbon black powder mixed into a paste too. I've never tried it.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I guess I wasn't clear.

They told me Charbonnel is discontinuing water washable ink. No Prussian Blue Charbonnel was left in stock...
 
I was looking on Amazon and there are several other mfg's. who make aqua engraving Blue inks. I will buy some others and test them and let you know.
 
Mr King,
Thank your for your many efforts to find a solution to this problem.
I and many other hobbyists are very grateful.

Daryl
MN
 
I still have some of the water soluble blue and red spotting compound I got from Dapra, are they not still selling it?
 
I just called Beth at DAPRA 1-800 -243-3344 and she said because the owner of the company who made Canode died and they closed down the company they no longer sell Canode. They are buying from a new place and I believe we discussed them. They are making only Blue color in 1 1/2 and 8 once bottles. She said prices change a lot and they are only selling now thru distributors. So if you want to buy some call them and they will give you a distributors number. I'm a distributor but never sold the inks. I might make .40 cents per bottle, not worth it.
 
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