Jump to content

Make Gouache Ink Waterproof?


David0966

Recommended Posts

Hello, folks

 

I am new to all of this; I do love my fountain pens, and especially the MB 149 by wife gave me....what a writing experience!

 

So, my hobby (and it is new to me) is medieval illumination/calligraphy.....I would like to mix me up some dewaxed shellac flakes (I used to be a woodworker until Rheumatoid Arthritis sidelined me.)

 

Anyhow, I had the idea of being able to make lines w gouache that would not be altered by subsequent layers of watercolor/gouache.

 

Given that background, does anyone know of a reasonable starting point for a 'cut' of shellac? A cut is weight in shellac dividing by volume, in pounds/gallon.

 

Isn't this how ink in made waterproof?

 

Thanks for considering my question.

 

David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 5
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • David0966

    2

  • inkstainedruth

    1

  • WalterC

    1

  • Eclipse157

    1

Probably you already know this: do not use shellac in a fountain pen! It will most likely clog it, possibly permanently (alcohol dissolves shellac, I don't know what it does to pens).

 

For dip pens or brushes, I found this link that has some ancient ink recipes using shellac: https://evanlindquist.com/othermedia/oldinkrecipes.html

 

There are also commercial shellac inks in various shades, for example https://www.dickblick.com/products/sennelier-shellac-ink/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gouache ink is basically opaque watercolor ink (when I took a watercolor painting class in college we used gouache). I don't know as how I'd put that in a fountain pen to begin with, and will echo what other people said about shellac (which is of course the problem with India ink as well.

In theory I could put India ink into an Osmiroid I bought at an estate sale last year (the case includes a gadget to remove the nib and feed for thorough cleaning) but I haven't tried it. There is such a thing as "safe" FP "India ink" (I have a bottle of some cheap Chinese ink and a bottle of Pellikan Fount India) but I wouldn't use it for long term and would flush it fairly often (the same way I would flush an iron gall ink or a pigmented ink more frequently than a normal ink).

The commercial inks that WalterC mentioned are pretty much for dip pens only.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you only need to make a part of the painted surface resistant to subsequent applications of paint you can coat those parts with masking fluid or gum arabic...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

And to your ink, you can add Noodler's Ghost Blue.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...