[ains]

Hi, I have been experimenting with some various stuff to make "dressing" to go inside a leather bagpipe bag.  The outcome has a few critical points; some sort of anti bacterial, must absorb moisture and must have a slight "hole plugging" ability as some of the pores in the calf hide it is used on are bigger than others.  The "dressing" aids the transfer of moisture from the breath, into the skin..

In days gone by, Honey and Scotch were the way forward...

I have a recipe that has:
Glycerine, Alum and gum Aribica (Gum of Arcacia)

this recipe works, but the liquid is too runny, I was going to try Propelne Glycol, as I think is may be thicker...  is it?  But is sounds like it may be a bit of a nasty?

Is there anyway of thickening and or making Glycerine more sticky....?

any ides on a substitute for the gum Aribica as its a bit problematic to get liquid...  I have to add water, and then heat, but the result doesn't add much, if any, to the thickness of the final solution...

Any ideas?  All comments welcome....

[zaphraud]

have you tried experimenting with almond oil? benzaldehyde is great stuff, and it smells good too. I know nothing of bagpipes, but if you are looking for natural products to gum stuff up with this might be a great place to start.

[fledarmus]

Did you try dissolving the gum directly in the glycerine? It sounds like you're getting too much water in your final mix. You might also try adding a polyethylene glycol (PEG) to thicken it up - like http://www.personalformulator.com/wvss/product_info.php?products_id=192 - or switch to another gum, such as Xanthan gum.