HOMEMADE ROUGHING COMPOUND

Hey everyone, I'm back to elaborate on an idea I previously mentioned in another post:

https://magigram.com/es/club/beginners/la-alacena-del-mago-antiderrapantes-ceras-blu-tack-puntos-de-pegamento-y-cinta-de-doble-cara-1185/

While I did talk about using art varnish (and other varnishes) as a roughing compound, I didn't go into some key details.

The varnish, applied to both cards (as a two-sided roughing agent) can work, but it's not quite perfect.

It really depends on how evenly you apply it across the entire surface; using too little or too much can be a big problem in both scenarios.

Too little, and it won't work at all; too much, and it'll work "too" well, to the point where the cards can't separate properly.

A way I've found to solve this problem and make a better roughing compound with varnish is to add dextrin to the mix.

(On this post, the DEXTRIN is the MOST IMPORTANT thing to keep in mind)

Basically, by applying minimal amounts of this varnish and dextrin mixture, it creates a fine grit texture that works perfectly under card pressure, but when that pressure is reduced, it allows the cards to separate more easily than if they only had varnish on them.

Generally, the ratio would be 75% varnish and 25% dextrin.

You can, however, experiment and make variations to fine-tune the proportions.

You can mix it in separate containers (which is probably better), or directly in the varnish bottle.

Obviously, everything needs to be well-mixed before use.

I've tried it with both acrylic varnish and water-based varnish.

In both cases, it works excellently, although ultimately it will always depend in part on how you apply it (I use a very small, fine brush).

I recommend practicing first on regular stiff cards (like a notepad).

The original idea comes from a roughing compound used for many years that relies on alcohol, rosin, and dextrin.

The problem with that roughing compound is how tricky it is to use/apply.

Rosin is VEEERY sticky and hard to apply correctly (requiring a ton of patience), so using varnish instead of alcohol-based rosin is a much better alternative.

In fact, rosin is used in another magic prop, more specifically in the formula for Octopalm (which is super easy to make at home).

Cheers and happy magic!