Quote:
Originally Posted by nicam49
All the above makes absorbing reading, is there any way of making any of the above (apart from the molasses) thixotropic so it can be applied to a vertical surface without dripping off?
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As no one has suggested anything better, you could use "fumed silica" (i.e. extremely fine silica powder) as sold under the names of Cab-O-Sil and Aerosil.
There are some sellers on ebay. You need to add the silica at a concentration of around about 5wt% or a little more, so 50g of silica in 1 litre of water. Anything to do with silica powder sets the Health and Safety bells ringing, so check out the SDS sheets for those materials, use a mask and work in a well-ventillated place if you do use them. They are in widespread use as thickening agents for foods, cosmetics, etc, etc.
Regarding electrolysis, a sacrificial iron anode seems like the only way. I tried what I thought was carbon rod but that disintegrated and stainless steel releases harmful chromium compounds.
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