Fanning Powder, or Simply Zinc Stearate

I wanted to tell you about this wonderful powdered substance, zinc stearate (known commercially as Fanning Powder).

It has many uses (even in daily life) and is great for cards, especially for:

· Fanning: If you treat a deck with a fine layer of zinc stearate, the cards will glide much more easily. The stearate is transparent and is used by magicians and casinos alike.

· Cleaning Decks: You can apply zinc stearate to a cotton pad to clean cards that might be dirty or marked by hand grease or heavy use.

Because of its fine texture, it fills in any minor scratches the cards might have.

This fills them in, making the deck handle smoother and faster.

Seriously, it's a fantastic substance.

Not to mention, if you're like me and your fingertips tend to get sweaty (especially in the summer), you'll appreciate a thin layer of this powder on your hands.

It's, no pun intended, magical.

On a personal note, I couldn't get a good Spring flourish (smooth and consistent, from a distance) until I started using this powder.

Anyway, like I said, this product is cheap if you buy it outside the magic industry 🙄 🤫 😅 (I checked Julio's shop and didn't see it, which is why I decided to share this 'open secret').

-It's easy to find at any online chemical supplier.

-It's not a dangerous or toxic substance, unless you ingest a large amount, so... DON'T EAT IT (or lick your fingers after handling it).

-And the best part? The more you buy, the cheaper it gets.

In my case, a 2kg tub was 13 Euros plus 7 for shipping (20 Euros total), which works out to 1 Euro per 100g.

That's a steal compared to Fanning Powder, and I guarantee you'll have enough for a lifetime (or maybe not 😂).

Here's the link to where I bought mine (for those outside of Spain, it might be better to buy it from a local store to avoid higher international shipping costs; I don't know, you'll have to check).

https://factorchem.com/productos/todos-los-productos/industria-y-laboratorios/estearato-zinc/

(I've seen it on Amazon, but it's more expensive there)

This is the 2kg size.

Obviously, a container that big isn't practical to handle every time you want to use it.

In my case, I used two empty baking soda containers and a smaller vitamin supplement bottle. I washed and dried them beforehand, labeled them (my personal touch), and filled them with the powder.

I've got powder for days...

Cheers everyone, good magic and great flourishes!!!