Sunday, April 29, 2012

Ultramarine pigment

Ultramarine blue is a versatile pigment with an extensive history.  In modern times it is made by taking pure kaolin clay, sodium sulfate, sodium carbonate and sulfur and roasting it in a kiln.  The pigment is lightfast, and stable to air and alkaline environments.  It is useful in coloring mediums such as  linseed oil, acrylic emulsion, milk paint, plaster, cement. and soap. 

It is very intense blue and only a little is needed for coloring.  I used it quite a bit in soap making and I frequent start with ultramarine blue when mixing up paint for my art

2 comments:

  1. Hello Friends,

    This is a really informative post. Ultramarine is a blue pigment consisting primarily of a zeolite-based mineral containing small amounts of polysulfides. It occurs in nature as a proximate component of lapis lazuli. Ultramarine blues is used in many types of printing ink, in both liquid and paste varieties. Thank you for sharing it with us....

    Pigment Manufacturer

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  2. Thanks for the comment. Yes the polysulfides are key here. Also I should mention that it is a translucent pigment and works well in acrylic and oil based paint.

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