The reason they behave differently is because of the difference in the way they mix with water. While they are both called alcohols they are actually different chemicals. Surgical spirit mixes more readily with water. It is Ethyl alcohol (the same kind of alcohol you find in Bourbon or Scotch) with 2% methyl alcohol added to it so you can't drink it. Isopropyl, or "rubbing alcohol" is a larger molecule that doesn't mix with water (or water-based paints) as easily as Ethyl.
I would think the IPA has dried out, therefore the inks haven't 'bloomed' - the surgical spirit appears to have taken longer to dry, which allowed the inks to bloom. Great experiment, thank you.x
it is because the initial ink drops you used is isopropyl based. Therefore when you put more IPA on the paper, it dilutes the ink. The Surgical spirit has different properties and therefore the reaction is less dilute.
You are a strong, brave lady. I have been through a similar experience several years ago. You can get through this maybe not as devastating as some of it may sounds. I will be praying for you and hope to hear how you are progressing.
I finally can comment again! Long story! Nina I love all of your videos but these have been sooo interesting! I have tons of photo paper and had no idea what a find they were! Just got some dylusion inks in my stash so I will be waiting to see what you find out! Good job! And thank you!
Another eye opener :D I think you still have remnants of that mad scientist in you lol! You go girl...looking forward to the next science lesson ;-) Love & Hugsss xxx
Great video. I had asked the question about IPA on your next video before seeing this one! It was really good seeing how surgical spirit worked. I think I may try it before sending for the IPA. TFS. Thumbs up :) xx
Interesting results. I'm in the US and never heard of surgical spirits until I saw you use it. We have IPA available in most pharmacy and grocery stores. They even sell it at the dollar stores.
I have no idea why rubbing alcohol can't be purchased over the counter. Health and safety I suspect! I won't bother replacing mine when it runs out, I'll stick to surgical spirits from now on. I was very surprised with the results as I was convinced IPA would work better! I find this so interesting :)
omg, wonder woman, you're amazing! Great discovery, can't wait to give this a go... I'd given up on ever trying this as not prepared to get or pay for EPA on line!! whoo hooo!!!
Nina, thank you for doing this experiment. I had never thought of using the backside of photo paper because I was told, the front doesn't work well with alcohol inks. Since, I am in the US, IPA is easy to get, however, I want some of the other product for use with photo paper! There is always something that is a " gotta have!" Looking forward to your future experiments!
Hello Nina :) Thank you for the comparison, it was very interesting :) Now I have to get my hands on some surgical spirits, lol :) The IPA probably doesn't bloom the second time because it dries almost instantly, so it was probably dry before you added the second drop :) tfs, and Have an Outstanding Day :) amy
Hello Amy :) Thanks for shedding some light on the IPA experiment. I find it fascinating! Hope you manage to get your hands on some surgical spirits! Have a great weekend. Nina xx
hiya lovely, thanks for this i was wondering whether to invest in ipa but will stick with surgical spirits. I did use nail varnish remover in my mmm and it did work but not as big circles as you get with the surgical spirit, must depend on what brand you use tfs love and big hugs Caorline xxx
I found far better results with surgical spirits and acrylic paint also...(as in mixed media morsels), rather than the isopropyl too. (IPA is quite expensive here in Australia...the main reason I was trialling surgical spirits instead)...Di xx
Great seeing the result, I had to buy surgical spirit because I couldn't get alcohol and it worked fine. Never thought to use photo paper, something new I learned. Tfs Marina :))
Thanks Marina. I had shelved my photo paper because I tried it a while ago and the results weren't great and I ended up investing in Yupo. It never even occurred to me to try the inks on the reverse side of the photo paper. What a result!!! Tfw, Nina xx
You can purchase the surgical spirits on Amazon, or EBay for international customers. But it must be within your country that it's sold, it will not be allowed to be transported out of your own country. I haven't seen if anyone has answered your question about the difference: so please accept my apologies if this has been answered in any previously written posts. "Rubbing alcohol, USP / B.P. is a liquid prepared and used primarily for topical application. Highly flammable in both air and water, it is prepared from a special denatured alcohol solution and contains 97.5-100% by volume of pure, concentrated ethanol (ethyl alcohol)[1]. Individual manufacturers can use their own "formulation standards" in which the ethanol content usually ranges from 70-99% v/v.[2] In the UK the equivalent skin preparation is surgical spirit which is always based on an ethyl alcohol-methyl alcohol mixture. The term "rubbing alcohol" has become a general non-specific term for either isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) or ethyl alcohol (ethanol) rubbing-alcohol products. The confusion comes from the greater popularity of isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and as a result, individuals requesting "rubbing alcohol" generally expect and get an isopropyl alcohol product." Hope this is helpful, in other words in order for anyone from the states to get surgical spirits you would need to purchase ethanol, denatured alcohol, which goes by several different . Which is not too easy, as it's extremely dangerous to use, highly flammable. Apparently only a heat source near the bottle can make it burst into flames. I've seen videos where a man actually uses a torch with the 70%, now it's really frightening to see that! Frankly it's all quite confusing. Even with all the information. 💛❣️❣️❣️
+Tara Gillen-Howie Thanks for this Tara. Gosh, it is confusing. I might have to read this a few times to make sure I've got my head around it! Hugs xxx
Nina sorry! It IS so darn confusing! Believe me, I've read so many things and the more I read the less sense it makes! I'll look for a better description! Xoxo
Nina that’s so awesome thank you so much 😊 it is fascinating isn’t it. I’ve busy making cards at the moment but I will try to do some mixed media soon x Maggie.
fab results hunni x I buy my IPA from ebay it is £8 with free P&P and lasts me ages I transfer mine into my old tim holtz solution bottle much easier to work with for me. But I think it might be worth checking out surgical spirits x Thank you for sharing hunni x and for the tip on photo paper x I got a ream of it from lidl ages ago for my alcohol work but it didnt work properly so it has been sat doing nothing until now x
I had thought IPA was much more effective than surgical spirits, so this came as a big surprise! As did the photo paper, I hadn;t throught (until yesterday) to turn it over and try the other side and mine had been shelved too! Hope you're well. Must pop over and see what you've been up to recently. Not enough days in the week!! Love and hugs, Nina xxx
Thank you for this video, it will make life easier to buy and use surgical spirit in future rather than having to order from Amazon. Although I still have uses for IPA, I can save it and uses SS instead when it comes to alcohol inks. Xx
Rubbing alcohol is fine too, it's just that we all thought that we were missing out by not using it, when in fact they both produce just as good results :) xxx
I actually like the blending affect of the SS better than IPA. Thank you for the video, my mind is already working on how to incorporate this into upcoming pieces. :-)
I love the effect of the sugurical spirits. it's not as white as the alcohol. leave a lot of color. I don't know where you would buy that in the States. I wonder what denatured alcohol would do. I think I'll try that, it has ethnynol in it also. great series of videos, very helpful. thanks.
Yes. when I played the video back, I noticed that it didn't bleach the colour as much. I have had a look to see if I can find any info online, but I'm no help I'm afraid. Have you tried asking for plain old Ethanol? Let me know how the denatured alcohol goes, and I'm so glad you are finding this series helpful xx
Hi I attended an Alcohol Workshop 8 days ago where we used surgical spirits and we did our art on white glazed tiles. My tiles are still wet to the touch how long should it take to dry?
I’m sorry to hear that. It should only take 2 or 3 days for your inks to dry. I am not sure what to suggest other than putting the tile in a nice warm place such as under a radiator to see if that helps.
I'm going to check if I can get surgical spirit here in Spain. I can get alcohol here easily, even in the supermarket. What about the cheap oil paint brush cleaner? Joy xo
My conclusion is that your alcohol ink is ethanol based. Most of the ones we get in the states are IPA based, and don't react that way with IPA at all. In fact, we get the reaction that you got on your ethanol card.
NINA I FEEL ITS THE PAPER, COS IVE USED LOTS OF ALCHOHOL INKS/ISOPROPHEL BUT ON THE YUPO AND IT WORKS WELL. SOMETHING IN PHOTO PAPER GOES AGAINST 100% ISO. THE IS JUST A THORT FROM AN AUSSIE 🐨...CAMILLE 😊
Thanks for your thoughts Camille, apparently its because they mix differently with water. Surgical spirits mixes more readily with water. Fascinating! :)
In South Africa it is against the law to have IPA in a higher concentrate than 91% (rubbing alcohol) and that you can only buy from a chemist. You need an industrial license to purchase a higher concentrate and no private person can import it not with Amazon from the UK or US. You can end up in jail just for trying. But the 91% works just as well, as long as you work on acetate, high quality gloss paper or Yupo.
I find it fascinating that the isopropyl alcohol is so hard to find in Great Britain ( and Australia, apparently) and so much cheaper than ethyl alcohol is, when the situation is exactly reversed in the United States. Most places don't sell ethanol at all, the ones that do don't sell it over 70%, at least not over the counter, and the 70% is about twice as expensive as the 70% of isopropyl alcohol -- at least it is in my city. I suspect this may be a left-over remnant of Prohibition from the 1920's in America. Heat® which you put in your car says it's methyl alcohol. It doesn't say the strength but does say it's flammable and should be used in a well-ventilated area which argues it's high-strength. I don't know how it would work for this but it sounds iffy to work with.
You can buy denatured alcohol at the hardware store which is usually 98% ethanol and 2% methanol. It will react almost identically to pure ethyl alcohol, but the methanol makes it poisonous, and, thus, bypasses the laws requiring a liquor license to sell it.
perhaps the back of the photo paper may have reacted after a while when you tried to add more ink thus stopping it blooming again.....also there's some ladies that have been making their own alcohol inks using sharpies insides...cheaper option
Which product is stronger that can clean every kind of paper that are stained with colors paper like money and stuff like that isopropanol alcohol and ssd solution 😊
You can buy it at any hardware store under the name "denatured alcohol." It is ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol) with some methyl alcohol (wood alcohol) added to it to make it poisonous so that it doesn't fall under the same laws as consumable alcohol and doesn't require a liquor lisence to sell.
I LOVED the results with the surgical spirits. HOWEVER, it did not DRY. There must be some sort of oil in the surgical spirits. I leaned my surgical spirit/alcohol pieces against the wall to dry and the next morning the colors bled (ran) and the pieces did not dry. Also, there were some fiber-like textures in the pieces. There must have been some sort of chemical reaction. So, my experience with surgical spirits was not successful. Maybe what you purchase in the UK has active ingredients different from what you can purchase in the US?
The trick is to mop up some of the excess liquid. I mopped some of mine up onto a piece of mixed media paper which I either share at the end of this video or one of the others in the series. I hope that helps 💕
Hmmmm, it would appear to me that the IPA is likely oxidizing and thus, creating a bit of a molecular barrier with the paper. The Surgical Spirits (known as 'Rubbing Alcohol' to me) is probably not as reactive and easier to work with as a result (at least initially). Just a bit of a guess on my part, but a real chemist would know for sure! :P On a side note, I would assume that Hydrogen Peroxide is difficult to find as well? BTW, 'very nice tutorial'... Cheers,
Thanks for your thoughts on this, I find the reactions fascinating. I didn't think to try Hydrogen Peroxide and that is readily available from the Chemist here. I might have some in the cupboard, so I'll give that a go too!
Isopropyl alcohol is a different viscosity/ weight (heavier) which makes it muscle it's way on the paper. The spirits is not as strong and blends instead of pushing the colors.
Very interesting video, thanks for posting. Can I ask which UK photo paper you found works please? I have tried several but it just sinks into the paper and doesn't move.
I use the Kirkland Signature photo paper. You can buy it from Costco or Amazon. You need to use the reverse side of it for alcohol inks which is very similar to Yupo paper. It is also worth trying the reverse side of old photographs as the alcohol inks will cover any branding.
Australians can buy Methelated spirits in any supermarket or hardware store, it works almost as good s the surgical spirits, which you can get in some pharmacys.
I've tried both "Rubbing alcohol" (which was 70% Isopropyl Alcohol) and Methylated Spirits (which was 95% ethanol) with my alcohol inks. I found the Methylated Spirits to be just as good for some things, and better for others (like setting your alcohol ink on fire, on purpose, it is a really cool effect) and MUCH cheaper (in Australia) than the Isopropyl Alcohol, so I'm going to be using the Methylated Spirits from now on. I found the Wikipedia entry on Denatured Alcohol to be quite enlightening; apparently methanol (which is poisonous) is added to ethanol in order to make it undrinkable, so that it won't be taxed at the high rate that drinkable alcohol is taxed, and one of the reasons why drinkable alcohol is taxed at such a high rate is so that it won't be cheap enough to encourage drunkenness and alcoholism (as well as to make a ton of money for the government, she said cynically). Given that information, and the fact that you mentioned that your Surgical Spirits were 90% ethanol and 5% methanol, it seems to be very similar to Methylated Spirits; just slightly different proportions (and that might vary depending on the brand, anyway). I'm puzzled by your results too, because even with the explanation that the IPA, being 100% IPA, evaporated faster, I don't think that would explain why the alcohol inks themselves refused to spread, because if the IPA had all evaporated, why would it *prevent* the ink from spreading the way the ink had spread on the bare paper?
Me back again ,must see if I can get some surgical spirit here in Australia, it sounds like its got some metholated spirits in the mix and I know I can get that from the chemist.I found it interesting that the nail polish remover didn't work ,cause I use it to get the same result in watercolour paintings, then remembered that it needs to be a acetone nail remover.I buy litre bottles of acetone from the chemist ,thats it in its pure form.
+Faye Cook The surgical spirits are 90% ethanol. I was surprised that the nail polish remover didn't work, it was acetone too, although I'm not sure how strong. I also tried white spirits, and that didn't work either.
You can use everclear or another similar grain alcohol. As long as it is above 90% ethyl alcohol it should work. I have used everclear before and it worked.
I don't have surgical spirits so not sure about that product. But I have found that the higher the % of alcohol, the better the result. Maybe surgical spirits has a much higher % of alcohol than the isopropanol you are using. Just a thought.
Thanks for your thoughts on this Carol. The IPA I was using in the experiment was 100%, whereas the surgical spirits is 90% ethanol. Interesting! I was very surprised by the results as I was convinced the IPA would work better.
![36] ALCOHOL INK : Getting Started - INFO - DEMOS - How to Use Alcohol Inks for Beginners](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3gfjq1sTCf4/mqdefault.jpg)
![36] ALCOHOL INK : Getting Started - INFO - DEMOS - How to Use Alcohol Inks for Beginners](/img/tr.png)
The reason they behave differently is because of the difference in the way they mix with water. While they are both called alcohols they are actually different chemicals. Surgical spirit mixes more readily with water. It is Ethyl alcohol (the same kind of alcohol you find in Bourbon or Scotch) with 2% methyl alcohol added to it so you can't drink it. Isopropyl, or "rubbing alcohol" is a larger molecule that doesn't mix with water (or water-based paints) as easily as Ethyl.
Thanks so much for explaining this to me Linda :)
excellent, i was going to say to buy vodka or something and use that.
I was about to say the same thing....I will be getting my alcohol inks this week so i will get some surgical spirits and try it out.
I would think the IPA has dried out, therefore the inks haven't 'bloomed' - the surgical spirit appears to have taken longer to dry, which allowed the inks to bloom. Great experiment, thank you.x
+Sooz3112 Thanks for the explanation. I find alcohol inks fascinating x
it is because the initial ink drops you used is isopropyl based. Therefore when you put more IPA on the paper, it dilutes the ink. The Surgical spirit has different properties and therefore the reaction is less dilute.
Thanks so much for the explanation.
You are a strong, brave lady. I have been through a similar experience several years ago. You can get through this maybe not as devastating as some of it may sounds. I will be praying for you and hope to hear how you are progressing.
I finally can comment again! Long story! Nina I love all of your videos but these have been sooo interesting! I have tons of photo paper and had no idea what a find they were! Just got some dylusion inks in my stash so I will be waiting to see what you find out! Good job! And thank you!
Thanks so much for your kind comment Linda. I have enjoyed experimenting with the inks. The Dylusions one will be up soon!
For anyone interested, surgical spirits is the stuff nurses use to clean your skin before giving an injection or taking blood.
Another eye opener :D I think you still have remnants of that mad scientist in you lol! You go girl...looking forward to the next science lesson ;-) Love & Hugsss xxx
I am amazed by the results of these experiments Karin! Definitely mad, lol! Luv n hugzzzz xxx
Hi Nina, I am absolutely loving this series on alcohol inks. I was so surprised at the surgical spirit! can't wait for the next episode. xx
Thanks so much Sharon for your great feedback. I am thoroughly enjoying the experimenting! They'll be another one very
soon :) xx
Great video. I had asked the question about IPA on your next video before seeing this one! It was really good seeing how surgical spirit worked. I think I may try it before sending for the IPA. TFS. Thumbs up :) xx
I did wonder, but being typically British, I didn't like to ask! I must admit, I was surprised by the results! xx
:D
I definitely like the surgical spirits better!! So pretty!!
Thanks Sheryl. I was pleasantly surprised as I expected the IPA to work better ❤️
Interesting results. I'm in the US and never heard of surgical spirits until I saw you use it. We have IPA available in most pharmacy and grocery stores. They even sell it at the dollar stores.
I have no idea why rubbing alcohol can't be purchased over the counter. Health and safety I suspect! I won't bother replacing mine when it runs out, I'll stick to surgical spirits from now on. I was very surprised with the results as I was convinced IPA would work better! I find this so interesting :)
Nina that’s so fascinating and I was so surprised that the surgical spirit was better 😮 thank you so much xxx Mags
I was surprised too 💕
omg, wonder woman, you're amazing! Great discovery, can't wait to give this a go... I'd given up on ever trying this as not prepared to get or pay for EPA on line!! whoo hooo!!!
Thanks for your super comment Jenny! I am so glad that this was helpful and that you can now go and give this a try! Nina :) xx
Nina, thank you for doing this experiment. I had never thought of using the backside of photo paper because I was told, the front doesn't work well with alcohol inks. Since, I am in the US, IPA is easy to get, however, I want some of the other product for use with photo paper! There is always something that is a " gotta have!" Looking forward to your future experiments!
Thanks Cheryl. This experiment was a real eye opener for me!
Hello Nina :) Thank you for the comparison, it was very interesting :) Now I have to get my hands on some surgical spirits, lol :) The IPA probably doesn't bloom the second time because it dries almost instantly, so it was probably dry before you added the second drop :) tfs, and Have an Outstanding Day :) amy
Hello Amy :) Thanks for shedding some light on the IPA experiment. I find it fascinating! Hope you manage to get your hands on some surgical spirits! Have a great weekend. Nina xx
thank you for this, bought some surgical spirit yesterday! thrilled to find this video x
Glad it was helpful ❤️
Thank you so much Nina that was interesting wasn't it. Thank for experimenting for us!!
Thanks Mags. I love experimenting :)
hiya lovely, thanks for this i was wondering whether to invest in ipa but will stick with surgical spirits. I did use nail varnish remover in my mmm and it did work but not as big circles as you get with the surgical spirit, must depend on what brand you use tfs love and big hugs Caorline xxx
+Caroline Withington I assumed I was missing out not having IPA and was very surprised by the results. So now we know! Love and big hugs, Nina xx
Some more interesting results you got there!! These videos are really helpful, so thank you again very much!! :) xxx
I am so glad you are enjoying these alcohol videos Katerina :) xx
Basically, I enjoy every one of your videos!! :) I take one at a time, though! xxx
I found far better results with surgical spirits and acrylic paint also...(as in mixed media morsels), rather than the isopropyl too. (IPA is quite expensive here in Australia...the main reason I was trialling surgical spirits instead)...Di xx
That is good to hear. I assumed (and had been told) that IPA was superior, but as we can see, it isn't. Makes life easier for a lot of us! xx
Yaaaay at last. Off to Boots I go...thank you so much. No more expensive online + waiting to play. Whoot.
Good video. I wanted a comparison between ethanol and IPA for this exact application. Thank you for posting this video. It helped a lot!
Thanks Eric. Glad it was helpful.
Great seeing the result, I had to buy surgical spirit because I couldn't get alcohol and it worked fine. Never thought to use photo paper, something new I learned. Tfs Marina :))
Thanks Marina. I had shelved my photo paper because I tried it a while ago and the results weren't great and I ended up investing in Yupo. It never even occurred to me to try the inks on the reverse side of the photo paper. What a result!!! Tfw, Nina xx
You can purchase the surgical spirits on Amazon, or EBay for international customers. But it must be within your country that it's sold, it will not be allowed to be transported out of your own country.
I haven't seen if anyone has answered your question about the difference: so please accept my apologies if this has been answered in any previously written posts.
"Rubbing alcohol, USP / B.P. is a liquid prepared and used primarily for topical application. Highly flammable in both air and water, it is prepared from a special denatured alcohol solution and contains 97.5-100% by volume of pure, concentrated ethanol (ethyl alcohol)[1]. Individual manufacturers can use their own "formulation standards" in which the ethanol content usually ranges from 70-99% v/v.[2] In the UK the equivalent skin preparation is surgical spirit which is always based on an ethyl alcohol-methyl alcohol mixture.
The term "rubbing alcohol" has become a general non-specific term for either isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) or ethyl alcohol (ethanol) rubbing-alcohol products. The confusion comes from the greater popularity of isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and as a result, individuals requesting "rubbing alcohol" generally expect and get an isopropyl alcohol product."
Hope this is helpful, in other words in order for anyone from the states to get surgical spirits you would need to purchase ethanol, denatured alcohol, which goes by several different . Which is not too easy, as it's extremely dangerous to use, highly flammable. Apparently only a heat source near the bottle can make it burst into flames.
I've seen videos where a man actually uses a torch with the 70%, now it's really frightening to see that!
Frankly it's all quite confusing. Even with all the information. 💛❣️❣️❣️
+Tara Gillen-Howie Thanks for this Tara. Gosh, it is confusing. I might have to read this a few times to make sure I've got my head around it! Hugs xxx
Nina sorry! It IS so darn confusing! Believe me, I've read so many things and the more I read the less sense it makes! I'll look for a better description! Xoxo
Nina that’s so awesome thank you so much 😊 it is fascinating isn’t it. I’ve busy making cards at the moment but I will try to do some mixed media soon x Maggie.
+Mags Nash Thanks Maggie, Alcohol ink is such an interesting product as its so unpredictable and produces some exciting patterns x
I have been wondering what the difference was Thankyou Nina it is fascinating 🎨❤️
Thanks Chel. Glad you enjoyed this :)
Fabulous! Thank you so very much Nina! Lovely, and so much to try. When I'm through with my convalescence.xoxoxo💛
How cool, I'm going to see if we can get surgical spirits here, tfs Nina
I do believe it is available in Australia Maggie, so fingers crossed you will be able to get it in NZ too.
I hope so I loved the results you got with it
fab results hunni x I buy my IPA from ebay it is £8 with free P&P and lasts me ages I transfer mine into my old tim holtz solution bottle much easier to work with for me. But I think it might be worth checking out surgical spirits x Thank you for sharing hunni x and for the tip on photo paper x I got a ream of it from lidl ages ago for my alcohol work but it didnt work properly so it has been sat doing nothing until now x
I had thought IPA was much more effective than surgical spirits, so this came as a big surprise! As did the photo paper, I hadn;t throught (until yesterday) to turn it over and try the other side and mine had been shelved too! Hope you're well. Must pop over and see what you've been up to recently. Not enough days in the week!! Love and hugs, Nina xxx
Thank you for this video, it will make life easier to buy and use surgical spirit in future rather than having to order from Amazon. Although I still have uses for IPA, I can save it and uses SS instead when it comes to alcohol inks. Xx
+Chris Harrison I was surprised by the results as I assumed IPA was much better!
We don't have surgical spirits here, just the rubbing alcohol. Oh well lol.....Thanks so much for the great info!!!! Hugs xxx
Rubbing alcohol is fine too, it's just that we all thought that we were missing out by not using it, when in fact they both produce just as good results :) xxx
I actually like the blending affect of the SS better than IPA. Thank you for the video, my mind is already working on how to incorporate this into upcoming pieces. :-)
+beftefur1 Thanks for your comment and I hope you've had a chance to play!
Interesting results Nina! Tfs Hugs, Ginny :o)
I was very surprised by the results, as you could see! Thanks for watching Ginny. Are you feeling any better? I'm a bit behind on your videos! xx
Yes thank you, I am much better now. :o)
Yay! That's good to hear Ginny xx
I love the effect of the sugurical spirits. it's not as white as the alcohol. leave a lot of color. I don't know where you would buy that in the States. I wonder
what denatured alcohol would do. I think I'll try that, it has ethnynol in it also. great series of videos, very helpful. thanks.
Yes. when I played the video back, I noticed that it didn't bleach the colour as much. I have had a look to see if I can find any info online, but I'm no help I'm afraid. Have you tried asking for plain old Ethanol? Let me know how the denatured alcohol goes, and I'm so glad you are finding this series helpful xx
Denatured alcohol is the same as surgical spirits.
Hi I attended an Alcohol Workshop 8 days ago where we used surgical spirits and we did our art on white glazed tiles. My tiles are still wet to the touch how long should it take to dry?
I’m sorry to hear that. It should only take 2 or 3 days for your inks to dry. I am not sure what to suggest other than putting the tile in a nice warm place such as under a radiator to see if that helps.
@@NinaRibenaMixedMedia Thank you, Ill give it a try.
Once you have added the surgical spirit do you blow dry it?
It’s best to either let it dry naturally or use a hair drier as a heat tool will melt the paper.
Thanks Again for demos. Jane
I'm going to check if I can get surgical spirit here in Spain. I can get alcohol here easily, even in the supermarket. What about the cheap oil paint brush cleaner? Joy xo
Just tried brush cleaner and no go, it didn't work at all. Binned with the nail polish! So interesting!! Nina xx
Wish I had known this before I sent off for large bottle of isotopic stuff!.... Will definitely keep surgical spirit in mind if I run out 😊
I was very surprised by the results because I had been led to believe that IPA worked much better. I won't be replacing mine either :) xx
My conclusion is that your alcohol ink is ethanol based. Most of the ones we get in the states are IPA based, and don't react that way with IPA at all. In fact, we get the reaction that you got on your ethanol card.
NINA I FEEL ITS THE PAPER, COS IVE USED LOTS OF ALCHOHOL INKS/ISOPROPHEL BUT ON THE YUPO AND IT WORKS WELL.
SOMETHING IN PHOTO PAPER GOES AGAINST 100% ISO.
THE IS JUST A THORT FROM AN AUSSIE 🐨...CAMILLE 😊
Thanks for your thoughts Camille, apparently its because they mix differently with water. Surgical spirits mixes more readily with water. Fascinating! :)
In South Africa it is against the law to have IPA in a higher concentrate than 91% (rubbing alcohol) and that you can only buy from a chemist. You need an industrial license to purchase a higher concentrate and no private person can import it not with Amazon from the UK or US. You can end up in jail just for trying. But the 91% works just as well, as long as you work on acetate, high quality gloss paper or Yupo.
I find it fascinating that the isopropyl alcohol is so hard to find in Great Britain ( and Australia, apparently) and so much cheaper than ethyl alcohol is, when the situation is exactly reversed in the United States. Most places don't sell ethanol at all, the ones that do don't sell it over 70%, at least not over the counter, and the 70% is about twice as expensive as the 70% of isopropyl alcohol -- at least it is in my city. I suspect this may be a left-over remnant of Prohibition from the 1920's in America.
Heat® which you put in your car says it's methyl alcohol. It doesn't say the strength but does say it's flammable and should be used in a well-ventilated area which argues it's high-strength. I don't know how it would work for this but it sounds iffy to work with.
You can buy denatured alcohol at the hardware store which is usually 98% ethanol and 2% methanol. It will react almost identically to pure ethyl alcohol, but the methanol makes it poisonous, and, thus, bypasses the laws requiring a liquor license to sell it.
Hi what is the strength of the IPA you are using...by the way I love your videos
Don't worry i just realized you said at the beginning
perhaps the back of the photo paper may have reacted after a while when you tried to add more ink thus stopping it blooming again.....also there's some ladies that have been making their own alcohol inks using sharpies insides...cheaper option
Thanks Anna. I must try making homemade inks, something I’ve not got around to yet.
Which product is stronger that can clean every kind of paper that are stained with colors paper like money and stuff like that isopropanol alcohol and ssd solution 😊
I would say 99.9% IPA is your best option.
Interesting experiment.. now I want to research what’s available here.. there seem to be a number of different alcohols available..
I hope you have fun trying it out 💕
Thanks !👍🏻
I too like the surgical spirits best! I will have to see if I can get it in Michigan
You can buy it at any hardware store under the name "denatured alcohol." It is ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol) with some methyl alcohol (wood alcohol) added to it to make it poisonous so that it doesn't fall under the same laws as consumable alcohol and doesn't require a liquor lisence to sell.
Hi just seen this so went out and got some surgical spirit and loving it thank you so much love your videos.
Thanks Susan, I’m glad this was helpful to you 💕
Very interesting results!!!
I always assumed that IPA was better. Glad I have discovered this!!
I LOVED the results with the surgical spirits. HOWEVER, it did not DRY. There must be some sort of oil in the surgical spirits. I leaned my surgical spirit/alcohol pieces against the wall to dry and the next morning the colors bled (ran) and the pieces did not dry. Also, there were some fiber-like textures in the pieces. There must have been some sort of chemical reaction. So, my experience with surgical spirits was not successful. Maybe what you purchase in the UK has active ingredients different from what you can purchase in the US?
The trick is to mop up some of the excess liquid. I mopped some of mine up onto a piece of mixed media paper which I either share at the end of this video or one of the others in the series. I hope that helps 💕
Hmmmm, it would appear to me that the IPA is likely oxidizing and thus, creating a bit of a molecular barrier with the paper. The Surgical Spirits (known as 'Rubbing Alcohol' to me) is probably not as reactive and easier to work with as a result (at least initially). Just a bit of a guess on my part, but a real chemist would know for sure! :P
On a side note, I would assume that Hydrogen Peroxide is difficult to find as well?
BTW, 'very nice tutorial'...
Cheers,
Thanks for your thoughts on this, I find the reactions fascinating. I didn't think to try Hydrogen Peroxide and that is readily available from the Chemist here. I might have some in the cupboard, so I'll give that a go too!
Can we use spirit as rubbing alchol for cleaning my pc
What paper is good for alcohol ink to spread in a big scale ?
Any kind of synthetic paper such as Yupo or Nara paper will work 💕
Very interesting. Great information.
Glad it was helpful!
Mmm so we can use both in same work for controlable ink(isopro) and interesting results (surgucal)
I found both to work well. Let me know how you get on!
Isopropyl alcohol is a different viscosity/ weight (heavier) which makes it muscle it's way on the paper. The spirits is not as strong and blends instead of pushing the colors.
Thanks so much Charlotte, I find all these explanations fascinating!
I had a bad experience of using surgical spirit while I used dryer to spread it didn't gave me the required results
That’s a shame. Could it have been the paper you were using?
Very interesting video, thanks for posting. Can I ask which UK photo paper you found works please? I have tried several but it just sinks into the paper and doesn't move.
I use the Kirkland Signature photo paper. You can buy it from Costco or Amazon. You need to use the reverse side of it for alcohol inks which is very similar to Yupo paper. It is also worth trying the reverse side of old photographs as the alcohol inks will cover any branding.
Interesting I bought some Surgical Spirit for the first time last year. Boots are now charging over £4 for it now.
WOW! That’s expensive!
@@NinaRibenaMixedMedia Yes, that is what I thought too. £4.40
I wonder what or if there’d be a difference between 91% and lower percentages of rubbing alcohol.
I have only tried the higher strength, but from comments I have received and other videos I have watched, the higher the %, the better the results 😊
Australians can buy Methelated spirits in any supermarket or hardware store, it works almost as good s the surgical spirits, which you can get in some pharmacys.
I haven't tried Methylated spirits. I'll have to dig around in the garage and see if I can find some! :)
I've tried both "Rubbing alcohol" (which was 70% Isopropyl Alcohol) and Methylated Spirits (which was 95% ethanol) with my alcohol inks. I found the Methylated Spirits to be just as good for some things, and better for others (like setting your alcohol ink on fire, on purpose, it is a really cool effect) and MUCH cheaper (in Australia) than the Isopropyl Alcohol, so I'm going to be using the Methylated Spirits from now on.
I found the Wikipedia entry on Denatured Alcohol to be quite enlightening; apparently methanol (which is poisonous) is added to ethanol in order to make it undrinkable, so that it won't be taxed at the high rate that drinkable alcohol is taxed, and one of the reasons why drinkable alcohol is taxed at such a high rate is so that it won't be cheap enough to encourage drunkenness and alcoholism (as well as to make a ton of money for the government, she said cynically). Given that information, and the fact that you mentioned that your Surgical Spirits were 90% ethanol and 5% methanol, it seems to be very similar to Methylated Spirits; just slightly different proportions (and that might vary depending on the brand, anyway).
I'm puzzled by your results too, because even with the explanation that the IPA, being 100% IPA, evaporated faster, I don't think that would explain why the alcohol inks themselves refused to spread, because if the IPA had all evaporated, why would it *prevent* the ink from spreading the way the ink had spread on the bare paper?
im in new zealand and not easy getting ipa,,,i be getting some meths now,,,thank you so much
Thanks for that I will be switching to methanol
Do the surgical spirits have glycerin?
No.
What inks did you use?
I used Ranger alcohol inks 🙂
Me back again ,must see if I can get some surgical spirit here in Australia, it sounds like its got some metholated spirits in the mix and I know I can get that from the chemist.I found it interesting that the nail polish remover didn't work ,cause I use it to get the same result in watercolour paintings, then remembered that it needs to be a acetone nail remover.I buy litre bottles of acetone from the chemist ,thats it in its pure form.
+Faye Cook The surgical spirits are 90% ethanol. I was surprised that the nail polish remover didn't work, it was acetone too, although I'm not sure how strong. I also tried white spirits, and that didn't work either.
Fellow Aussie here! I've used Methylated Spirits to good effect with alcohol inks, and it's much cheaper to get than IPA here.
Perhaps the alcohol evaporates faster than the surgical spirits?
Thanks Tina, someone else has suggested this might be the reason too. It's fascinating!
Cool. TFS.
You're welcome Sharon :)
Is surgical spirits the same as methylated spirits?
Its very similar. It contains 95% methylated spirit and castor oil. Methylated spirit contains a purple dye whereas surgical spirit does not.
Well then. how about vodka or gin?
You can use everclear or another similar grain alcohol. As long as it is above 90% ethyl alcohol it should work. I have used everclear before and it worked.
what about dettol ? will it works
I’m not sure it would have a high enough alcohol content, but there’s only one way to find out. Happy creating 💕
What happens when you use white spirit
Surprisingly, not a lot. I did try it!
I don't have surgical spirits so not sure about that product. But I have found that the higher the % of alcohol, the better the result. Maybe surgical spirits has a much higher % of alcohol than the isopropanol you are using. Just a thought.
Thanks for your thoughts on this Carol. The IPA I was using in the experiment was 100%, whereas the surgical spirits is 90% ethanol. Interesting! I was very surprised by the results as I was convinced the IPA would work better.
+Nina Ribena very interesting. At 100% I would have thought differently, too.
Hi,. Are you dropping down drops of dye reinker? Thankyou
No, I’m using Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks 😊
OMG photo paper😱
+rad viejo How fab is that!
did you use the IPA that is 91%
Hi Bren, it was IPA 98.8%
I wonder why it is so hard to get alcohol?
+rad viejo Unfortunately we have too many people here trying to drink it! 😬
Really?! gross🤢
well I never...
I know, fascinating!
tfs, btw ;)
You're welcome. Having fun experimenting! :)
I CAN GET RUBBING ALCOHOL FROM THE CHEMIST.
BUT THE 100% ISO I HAVE TO GET FROM THE HARDWARE SHOP.
(BUNNINGS HERE AUST)
Camille Fulton
You can also use isocol antiseptic, you can get it from Woollies 👍
Angela Christiansen and
Debra Peterson?