topofmurrayhill Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Anybody here a guru on the more exotic additives? I would like to make sure I have this right:Luster Crystals - High melt point polyethylenes that increase hardness, opacity and gloss. Same as Opaque Crystals and Gloss Poly.Clear Crystals - Fischer-Tropsch synthetic polymeric wax to increase hardness and gloss without increasing opacity. Same as Translucent Crystals.So if that's correct, I'm puzzled to see one supplier selling Luster Crystals, Clear Crystals, Opaque Crystals and Translucent Crystals all at the same time. I think they must be selling multiple types of polyethylene and F-T, right? Or maybe there's an ethyl vinyl acetate thrown in there. Confusing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDweller Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Glue sticks are cheaper lolI've always wondered the same thing.. why all? It has been years since I've used paraffin and these additives, though I did try both. I seem to remember the luster crystals being white in color, so it would obviously give a more opaque finish. The clear crystals are just that...did the exact same thing as the luster, but enables the natural translucency of the wax to remain.I don't know who would use these types of additives unless they were into fussy finishes. I didn't find them useful for my needs but had to try them out just because! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I fussed with the luster crystals and the other. Luster crystals will also give you a nice white to that glossy look. The transparent crystal stuff ended up being iffy to me. Sometimes it gave the translucency I was looking for and sometimes it just didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Where's my inhaler..???? Wow!!!Do you think sometimes two much is two much(chemical wise)????Kind regards,linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Anybody here a guru on the more exotic additives? I would like to make sure I have this right:Luster Crystals - High melt point polyethylenes that increase hardness, opacity and gloss. Same as Opaque Crystals and Gloss Poly.Clear Crystals - Fischer-Tropsch synthetic polymeric wax to increase hardness and gloss without increasing opacity. Same as Translucent Crystals.So if that's correct, I'm puzzled to see one supplier selling Luster Crystals, Clear Crystals, Opaque Crystals and Translucent Crystals all at the same time. I think they must be selling multiple types of polyethylene and F-T, right? Or maybe there's an ethyl vinyl acetate thrown in there. Confusing!Because sometimes things made by one manufacturer are just a little bit different than things made by another. Some people just prefer one over the other so people carry both. *shrugs* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted July 29, 2005 Author Share Posted July 29, 2005 Where's my inhaler..???? Wow!!!Do you think sometimes two much is two much(chemical wise)????Kind regards,lindaIt's all chemistry my friend, though we don't always have to concentrate on it that way. I've been wanting to understand more about the less popular additives though and unfortunately the suppliers just toss around common names without making it very clear what the substance is. I just like to dig a little deeper. For instance, I now know that Gloss Poly C-15 is actually Epolene C-15 polyethylene wax from Eastman Chemical Company and there is actually test data on how it affects paraffin at various addition rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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