Source: David Griffith preferred "mucilage" glue for rigging

[wefalck]

I did a bit of research on 'mucilage', not as a product name, but as a class of substances. It appears to me that it is essentially a solution of arab gum. This has been/still is used extensively to produce the sticky backs of stamps (the ones you have to lick), the sticky strips on envelopes, and as a binder for (artists) paints (e.g. in water colours). On this basis, it should be easily obtainable in every country. Check out artists' shops.

wefalck

[BillThePill123]

Hello - you can try that, but when I first started on this "quest" I bought some gum arabic at an artists shop, hoping it would work as a substitute, but it was not very sticky, and did not work as a glue. Maybe it can be doctored with other substances; that's outside my skill set.

[wefalck]

I found a recipe for a paper glue with 25 g gum arabic, 100 ml of water as solvent and 3 ml of glycerine to make the glue more elastic. Also added is a pinch of ascorbic acid as preservative.

I remember a confectioned glue like this from my childhood in Germany and that was pretty sticky. On the top of the bottle it would dry to a clear, somewhat brittle layer. I thought it had long disappeared from the market, but just discovered that it is still available:



I gather one could vary the ratio between gum arabic and water to make it suitable for different applications.

[Pagodaphile]

For those not interested in going in to glue making, I just received that box of the "Longo" Mucilage from the Canadian source.

I'm holding out a few bottles for myself and a few more for those who have already expressed an interest. I'll post the remainder on the forum trading post for what I have in to these, about $3.25 USD (money order) and your postage per bottle....if interested contact me there or by p/m.

edit: I noticed that this stuff is now imported by a company called "Longo" into Canada, rather than the old "LePage" branding. FWIW.