Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Making white lead the old way

Morgan - 26-2-2018 at 17:51

Just sort of interesting and sad for those that did it.
The Worst Jobs in History: Rural (Rural History Documentary) | Timeline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L8oweV0Cs0#t=30m53s


[Edited on 27-2-2018 by Morgan]

j_sum1 - 26-2-2018 at 22:51

Hehe. I can't listen to that voice without my mind hearing him talk about turnips.

It is pretty large scale -- I would not have thought there was that much demand for artists' paint. Most of the process is just a bit nasty. But handling the soluble lead salts is downright scary. And the health check they did is a bit suspect to say the least.

Morgan - 27-2-2018 at 07:27

Asides and tidbits ...
Titanium, zinc, or lead: Choosing the perfect white pigment
https://born2invest.com/articles/titanium-zinc-or-lead-choos...
Consumer groups file petition to ban lead acetate in hair dyes
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lead-acetate-hair-dye-mens-us-c...

Bert - 27-2-2018 at 09:41

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
It is pretty large scale -- I would not have thought there was that much demand for artists' paint.


Not just artist's paints, once the chemical was available in sufficient quantity, they used white Lead in nearly all top end oil based paints, particularly for colors.

The older guys who hand painted signs are still unhappy about the total Lead ban, they say nothing replacing it in their paint was ever quite as good- You wanted a very opaque paint to cover the white background of a sign board in a single brush stroke, but also frequently a brilliant color for emphasis, White lead filled the bill (and the colored paints "body").

It was an important industrial chemical, required in larger and larger quantities as the industrial revolution progressed. White Lead was used for applications as diverse as wealthy women's foundation makeup, the plumbing putty for joining Iron waste pipes and various other construction cements/glues. White Lead was a feedstock for synthesis of several other Lead compounds- Lead tetroxide and dioxides, Lead chromate & etc. and was used in large quantities in glass and ceramics glazes, to the point where Lead poisoning was nearly universal among Victorian era potters.
Quote:

Women in the Roman Empire used lead makeup to whiten their faces, and in the 16th century, English nobles did pretty much the same thing. One of the most famous figures to use lead makeup was Queen Elizabeth I, who used it to cover her smallpox scars.

This mixture of lead and vinegar that Elizabeth used was known as Venetian ceruse, or the spirits of Saturn. While it may have smoothed a woman’s complexion day-to-day, over time it caused skin discoloring, hair loss, and rotted teeth.




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[Edited on 27-2-2018 by Bert]