Hi all
Personally I am disappointed that what works on this side of the pond is not working on your side. Though my artist friend sent me an e-mail this morning with another piece of information. According to what he has found out, companies supplying Art quality Copal source there supplies from many different places around the world, and in consequence what you may buy today may not be the same as two years ago, let alone some thirty years ago!
Keith the mineral Talc is number 1 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness so the chances of it reducing the life of chequering tools is extremely slim. Infact it is sometimes used as a dry lubricant, so using it as a polishing medium would be rather tedious to get some sort of result I would have thought. I am guessing now but those Victorian craftsmen where no fools they did not use the standard fillers using Quarts or Chalk powder because of the wear it would inflict on expensive tools. And I still cant understand why rottenstone is recommended for use as a grain filler because it is a known abrasive, and why the use of Talc for that purpose has slipped in to obscurity, because it has so much going for it other than its extremely low price.
Ernie.
