Re: GBlist: Science lab floor finishes?

Norbert Senf (mheat@mha-net.org)
Sat, 22 Mar 1997 17:01:22 -0400

John Bower wrote:
>
> Sodium silicate, also called water glass, is quite non-toxic. I saw a
> salesman drink some once (Don't try this at home!!), and it's been used
> to harden egg shells. It reacts with the calcium and lime in the
> concrete to form a crystaline structure in the surface, so it is
> supposedly a permanant sealer. I'm not sure how it would hold up to
> student abuse—that's a tall order. You might apply it to colored
> concrete to get away from the standard gray.
> --

We used to use water glass to preserve eggs many years ago before we had
refrigeration. They stay fresh for up to a year, amazingly.

It is also refractory, and is added to fireclay to make air-setting
firecement. Potters use it as a deflocculant to keep clay particles in
suspension when they slip cast into plaster molds.

Unfortunately, it is water soluble, so wouldn't make a good concrete
floor sealer.

--------------------------------------------------------
Norbert Senf email: mheat@mha-net.org
Masonry Stove Builders mheat@hookup.net
RR 5, Shawville website: http://mha-net.org/msb
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voice: 819.647.5092
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