asbestos

BeschreibungAsbestos is a fibrous silicate of magnesium and calcium. However, the “extender”, known as “asbestine”, that has come to the forefront in paint making, is really a ring silicate of magnesia and slightly alkaline, but without the fibrous texture of asbestos or amianth. Asbestine pulp (as a certain variety of the material mined at the foot of the Adirondack mountains is known to the trade), although it is sold in the dry powdered form, belongs really to the soapstone or talc variety. But it is not as unctuous as either of those, has a harder texture, and is of whiter color than either soapstone or talc.

VerwendenAsbestine pulp or asbestine in its various varieties has been used for many years by manufacturers of paints, not so much as an adulterant, but rather to make the paint more buoyant in order to keep it from settling to any extent, as this compound is of very low-specific gravity and a great oil absorber.