RECIPES:

63200 Casein

Borax - Casein - Glue

Casein powder needs to be soaked thoroughly overnight, if possible. After soaking it must be hydrolyzed with specially suited alkalis. The hydrolyzing agents determine to a large extent to what purpose the casein glue can be used. The extraordinarily permanent lime-casein, made with lime putty or clear lime water, has already received its well-deserved praise in reference of materials for mural painting. For the purpose of easel painting, however, borax casein has proved the best one, although theoretically it may appear that ammonium casein is better, because all alkaline residues evaporate after complete hydrolyzation. It has been found in practice, however, that liquid casein retains its ammonia residue for a long time, losing its viscous consistency after three days and decomposing relatively quickly. Strong alkalis, such as soda (sodium carbonate) or potash (potassium carbonate), should not be used to hydrolyze casein intended for painting. Borax (sodium tetraborate), on the other hand, is a weak alkali that has proved useful in practice, but mainly in easel painting, where weather-resistance is no factor. Crystalline borax containing water of crystallization, the kind available through the retail trade, should be used when making casein medium. The anhydrous variety should be avoided.

1.

Borax Casein according to Wehlte

40 g casein powder, let soak for approx. 12 hours in 125 ml cold water, 16 g crystalline borax dissolved in 125 ml hot water. The casein is usually prepared in a large porcelain mortar with a pestle, but any enamelled or plastic bowl will do. While the casein is soaking, the bowl is kept covered with a thick, wet cloth folded several times, which prevents the formation of a dry top layer. No unsoaked granules should remain on the edge of the bowl. It is best to leave it overnight to make sure that the casein absorbs as much water as possible. The hot borax solution is stirred into the granular, pulpy casein and stirred again after a few minutes. It is then left standing. Within 1-2 hours one may observe that the viscous, yellowish, translucent mass no longer contains recognizable casein granules, a sign that the hydrolyzation is complete. Nevertheless, it is sometimes left standing up to a full day in order to make the casein medium even more viscous. If casein medium is to be kept for several days or weeks, it must be preserved with a desinfectant. It is advisable to prepare only small amounts of casein and not keep it for long periods. As an additive for size paint it is recommended to dilute the prepared medium with water to a total volume of 1 litre, thus obtaining a concentration of 4% casein in the size paint. 1 litre of casein paint is sufficient to paint about 10 m2 of a smooth and non-absorptive ground. Borax casein lasts longer when it is hygienically prepared, i.e. using boiled water and clean containers. Borax casein can then be stored for half a year, sometimes even longer, without adding preservation agents.

2. Ammonia Casein according to Doerner

40 g casein is first mixed with very little water, and then 250 ml moderately warm water is added. In the meantime 10 g ammonium carbonate is dissolved in a few drops of water, and after all the lumps have been pressed out, the solution is poured into the casein. Promptly there is effervescence; the carbonic acid escapes. After a little stirring, as soon as there is no longer any foam, the casein solution is ready. Ammonia casein is easily kept undiluted in a clean, well-corked bottle. Water may be added immediately before use. For wall purposes, dilute with 1 liter of water. Ammonia-casein is not very stable when prepared with ammonium carbonate, even when preserved it can turn very thin relatively quickly. Advantage: Its solvent is perfectly harmless and it evaporates completely. The same is not true of soda and borax solutions.
Page 1 of 3 Dr. Georg Kremer, Dipl.-Chemiker, Farbmhle, DE-88317 Aichstetten/Allgu, Phone +49-7565-91120, Fax +49-7565-1606 kremer-pigmente@t-online.de, www.kremer-pigmente.com

Lime-Casein-Glue (Excerpt from Kurt Wehlte The Materials and Techniques of Painting) Recipe for Lime Casein:
The fresh curd (5 parts by volume) (also called cottage cheese or pot cheese) is first squeezed in a cloth to remove the excess whey (water and soluble proteins). The resulting crumbly mass is put into a mortar with the slaked lime (1 part by volume). In practice the quantities are never actually weighed, for the proportion need not be exact, unlike with neutral lime-casein. The lime should have a buttery consistency as it comes from the lime pit in which it had been stored. Curd and lime are ground together thoroughly with a pestle. To make certain that the mixtures will not go lumpy, the curd can be ground beforehand. Within the short span of one minute, the hydrolyzation process will be complete. The result is a viscous liquid. It the consistency is slack, the curd contained too much water. Instead of a mortar, one may use a small porcelain, plastic, or enamel dish and a bulbous, wooden stirrer: curd and lime can even be mixed on a color-grinding slab or an ordinary glass plate by carefully working them through with a spatula. The latter method has the disadvantage that casein glue tends to run off the flat plate at the moment of hydrolyzation. Another phenomenon should be mentioned here that can prove irksome with casein. Thick, concentrated casein glue starts to gel, sometimes in as little as one hour after preparation. This makes it useless, since it cannot be liquefied again, neither by warming nor by renewed grinding with a small amount of water. This unpleasant characteristic can be obviated by grinding the colors at once and diluting the remaining medium with water. Diluted casein and casein-pigment mixtures do not gel. All casein paints and even some casein tempera colors are, however, subject to another phenomenon: certain pigments are highly thixotropic. Thixotropy is a curious occurrence found in colloids. It turns normally bound paint in tins into a thick jelly overnight. Even small additions of water would turn this paint into a thin liquid without body. If, on the other hand, thixotropic paint is simply stirred without adding water, it immediately regains it original consistency. Sometimes it is enough to tap the side of the tin, or to knock it on the table a few times, to counteract thixotropy.

Recipe for Lime Casein:

40 g powdered casein (alkali-soluble), 125 ml cold water, and 33 g thick, slaked lime. The weighed casein powder and the water are placed in the mortar or mixing dish, covered, and left to soak for several hours in a warm place. It is best to leave it overnight to make sure that the casein has swelled completely and has absorbed as much water as possible. The resulting casein sludge is treated like fresh curd by hydrolyzing it with the given amount of lime (20 %). This recipe never fails to produce a good, thick casein glue of even consistency. It has, however, the disadvantage of gelling even faster than casein glue made from fresh curd and must therefore be used to make paints or diluted as soon as possible. All limecaseins are to some extent weatherproof and therefore represent a special group among the mural media. (We recommend to dilute the Wehlte casein recipe with 3-5 parts of water. 1 Liter dilution can be mixed with about 1 kg pigment (marble dust, quartz powder with respective pigment). It is recommended to make samples due to chalking and peeling problems, since the amount of binding agent is different for each pigment. In the case of lime casein, it is recommended to use pigments which are fast to lime.) Lime casein is weatherproof. The soaked casein glue has to be diluted within 15 minutes after adding the lime, otherwise it turns to an insoluble jelly and cannot be further used!

Page 2 of 3 Dr. Georg Kremer, Dipl.-Chemiker, Farbmhle, DE-88317 Aichstetten/Allgu, Phone +49-7565-91120, Fax +49-7565-1606 kremer-pigmente@t-online.de, www.kremer-pigmente.com

Or: Dry casein color mixed with lime: (Source: Brhl "Kasein") Lime casein is not water soluble when dried. Mix thoroughly 5.5 parts of Chalk of Champagne, 1.5 parts of China Clay (or Kaolin), 0.2 parts of dextrin and 1.2 parts of casein. Disperse 1 kg of this mixture into 830 ml of water, let soak for approx. 5 hours or even best over night. Mix well together and add about 200 g of Pit Lime (mix thoroughly before adding for a homogenous consistency, i.e. no clumps). Let rest for 1 - 2 hours. The Chalk of Champagne can be partially or completely substituted by other pigments. It should, however, be taken into consideration that the quality of the color can be influenced by the special properties of the pigments. It should therefore always be recommended to carry out preliminary tests. Or: (Casein color, white also for outside) 450 g Chalk of Champagne, 123 g Titanium white, 123 g Zinc White, 168 g China Clay, 23 g Dextrin, 112 g Casein = approx. 1 kg dry mixture + disperse in approx. 830 ml water and let soak for about 5 hours. Mix thoroughly and then mix with about 200 ml of a homogenous pit lime. Should cracks, flaking or peeling effects occur, it is an indication for too much color. The amount of casein has to be reduced. Chalking effects is an indication for not sufficiently bound color or not well dispersed pigments: increase the amount of casein or the pigments have to be ground better. This casein color is also suitable for exterior painting. The pigments used have to be fast to lime. Use protective goggles when painting! The paint should be used soon since it starts to smell within a few days (according to weather). The paint can be preserved with Preventol (concentration see our Catalogue). Another suitable preservation agent is zinc sulfide (46350): add 0.35 parts of the total dry mixture and mix well with the dry components.

Page 3 of 3 Dr. Georg Kremer, Dipl.-Chemiker, Farbmhle, DE-88317 Aichstetten/Allgu, Phone +49-7565-91120, Fax +49-7565-1606 kremer-pigmente@t-online.de, www.kremer-pigmente.com