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I was in a real artist supply store yesterday, where the hired help actually KNOW SOMETHING. Since the price of acrylic gesso is so outlandish, I asked if there was a real difference between acrylic gesso and real gesso. The clerk said yes, that real gesso has more calcium carbonate in it.
...(wheels clicking & creaking)....
The reason I was in there was to order whiting (incredibly cheap, about $3 for 5 lbs). Whiting is calcium carbonate (aka ground chalk). So, the acrylic gesso that I have used in the past was so thin that it was nearly useless for smoothing PM.
So, I am wondering if just adding a judicious amount of whiting to cheap white acrylic paint would produce the effect I am after? It would be cheap enough to find out, so I'll post when I reach that point.
But if someone else tries it, please let us know, okay? There's no point in reinventing a wheel that doesn't roll.
Sue
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8) Yes, you can do that. Water in a bowl: Sift in the chalk without stirring. Allow to settle fully. Drain off the surplus water. Mix in the acrylic paint. Add a bit of PVA (white glue). Add a touch of linseed oil if you wish (helps smoothing). Apply. Much cheaper.
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Great! Thank you very much!
Sue
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to make the water hard? I wonder if a pet store might be even cheaper than an art supply store.
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"Is calcium carbonate the same stuff you put in fish tanks to make the water hard?"
I'm not sure. I THINK it may be used to raise the pH in aquariums if your water is too acid, but I'm just not sure. I've never even had a gold fish.
If you find out, post, okay? We're always open to new sources!
Sue
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"Is calcium carbonate the same stuff you put in fish tanks to make the water hard?"
I'm not sure. I THINK it may be used to raise the pH in aquariums if your water is too acid, but I'm just not sure. I've never even had a gold fish.
If you find out, post, okay? We're always open to new sources!
Sue
It might be the same stuff. But calcium carbonate is not water soluble. So in order for it to be useful in aquariums it would need to be reduced to calcium bicarbonate, which is water soluble. There may be aquarium systems that do this reduction reaction for the purposes of balancing water. I am not sure. Now that I am typing this I am very curious so off to Google I go...
Yes, there are Calcium Reactors that use CO2 to reduce the calcium carbonate to bicarbonate. So it is very feasible that calcium carbonate might be found at a high-end aquarium store. Make sure that they don't confuse calcium carbonate with calcium bicarbonate, which is a very different compound and will not work for whiting.
Boy, the lengths we will go to to avoid buying a gallon of GE$$O! 
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"Boy, the lengths we will go to to avoid buying a gallon of GE$$O!"
At $50 a gallon for the cheap stuff? Too bloody right!
Sue
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