I'm reading that turp does not dissolve it, which is ideal so I can mix paint on top of it.
chromacity•Apr 25, 2026
It's a relatively soft plastic and I don't think you can realistically build a uniform, good-looking layer that's 1/8" thick, if that's what you mean. If you need that thickness, high hardness, and nice appearance, I think your best bet is just a sheet of glass or acrylic on top.
It can be used as protective varnish, but that would be a very thin layer, probably 0.1 mm or something like that.
boppo1•Apr 25, 2026
Does it not level from gravity like other resins?
greygood•Apr 25, 2026
Purchase as crystals and dissolve in acetone or ethanol to desired concentration. It will self level based concentration, allow to evaporate before applying next layer
boppo1•Apr 25, 2026
Oil painter here, this is news to me and if it doesn't dissolve in gamsol this is EXACTLY what I've been looking for for about 2 years.
card_zero•Apr 25, 2026
I followed the link to flexographic ink, and now I'm wondering whether boutique fine art flexography could or should exist. Like lithography, but more plastic.
bfivyvysj•Apr 25, 2026
What's the application?
uxhacker•Apr 25, 2026
It is used to strengthen materials. For example if plaster has crumbled, or the paint on a canvas has become flakey, or wood rotten, Paraloid B-72 can be used to hold everything together. The issue is that generally it is not reversible. Therefore one should always look at varnishes that can easily be removed and reapplied, but sometimes only Paraloid can hold everything toghther.
colordrops•Apr 25, 2026
They should make non-yellowing transparent phone cases out of this stuff.
CarVac•Apr 25, 2026
I've done some DIY piano maintenance and I saw what was presumably this available to firm up the hammers. My piano needs them softened, though.
clort•Apr 25, 2026
Yes it mentioned firming piano hammers in the article. From what I remember, a piano hammer is a shaped piece of wood (or several?) with a leather strip around the striker part? What is the difference for you between hardening and softening the hammer, and how would it be done with this .. is it penetrating? (acetone base would enable that, it is used for carrying chemicals through a surface). Could you soften the hammers by replacing the leather strips, or soaking them to loosen & expand the presumably compacted fibres?
In my wider life in the UK, speaking to people associated with pianos (from a piano tuner, to school premises teams), it is often not worth the commercial expense to repair old pianos unless they are of particularly good quality or have some sentimental value.
CarVac•Apr 25, 2026
The hammer is felt around wood. You don't replace the felt, you'd replace the entire hammer, but then you'd likely want to replace all the hammers to get matching sound anyway.
There's a solution you can add to soften the hammers, but I don't know what chemical it is or how well it works since I haven't tried it yet; you can also needle the felt to fluff it up.
aejm•Apr 25, 2026
This post has exactly zero relevance to my professional career or personal projects, and this is exactly the type of esoteric content I love about HN!
uxhacker•Apr 25, 2026
The issue is that it does yellow but after 25 to 50 years. The challange is that it is very difficult to reverse.
On the restoration of my house I allow its use on very specific cases. It very useful for example in strengthening wood that has rotten. Sometimes Paraloid is the only thing that can be used, but it needs to be used with care.
It does not turn yellow, Paraloid B66 does. B72 has a low Tg, 40°C, so it can soften and creep when warm
lollapalooza•Apr 25, 2026
Didn't really know of the different 9(!) versions of it.
Thanks for pointing it out.
uxhacker•Apr 25, 2026
It does discolor over time. The point is that one should be thinking about the impact over centuries and not years.
It needs to be used with care and other alternatives need to always be considered.
For a painting or building that has survived for half a millennium we need use methods that will preserve the object for another 500 years.
Too many times I hear people say we will just use Paraloid.
lollapalooza•Apr 25, 2026
Agreed.
My gf uses it regularly as she's a furniture restorer, finding the definition here it's a bit of a surprise, though.
Great, unique material.
glimshe•Apr 25, 2026
Not many, but there are a few amateur and professional musicians here benefitting from better piano hammers made possible by Paraloid B-72!
Note: I thought this was about Polaroid, not Paraloid, at first!
nmstoker•Apr 25, 2026
Yes, but that esoteric nature is the charm of HN at its best.
This is unusual as posts go, but it's not totally unreasonable and even though I wouldn't have an immediate use, it's fascinating, leads to further exploration (like another commenter mentioning the inks) and knowledge gets filed away.
I try to remember posts like this when people are less positive about HN! :-)
Eduard•Apr 25, 2026
I'm especially curious about the high upvote count, considering the Wikipedia article as well as the substance in general is not that interesting IMHO.
FpUser•Apr 25, 2026
Am I the only one that read it as Polaroid ;) ?
UncleOxidant•Apr 25, 2026
No,you are not. I was expecting it to be a camera.
zephen•Apr 25, 2026
I thought it was a cross between a camera and a bomber.
NDlurker•Apr 25, 2026
Edwin Land, the inventor of the Polaroid, worked on the U2's camera.
I thought it was going to be about a bomber with a parabolic-shaped wing, or something similar.
aidenn0•Apr 25, 2026
How does its strength compare to MMA structural adhesives? What materials is it compatible with?
shermantanktop•Apr 25, 2026
My only expansion for MMA is “mixed martial arts” and I’m not particularly familiar with it. Maybe there’s a wrestling move called the “structural adhesive”?
clort•Apr 25, 2026
methmethacrylate (ie acrylic)
CarVac•Apr 25, 2026
Heh, I upvoted this a few days ago and it must've gotten on the second-chance queue.
Links to obsure but interesting Wikipedia articles are some of my favorite HN posts.
Xmd5a•Apr 25, 2026
Could this be used to 3D print supports ? For now, the only thermoplastic I know of that can be used to this effect is HIPS in conjunction with d-limonene.
a3w•Apr 25, 2026
PVA also exists, solves in pure water.
mooman219•Apr 25, 2026
Oh I've used this personally! I had various surgeries that removed various amounts of bone from me and I asked to keep the bones, which they allowed! I wanted to preserve them in case I wanted to make some esoteric jewelry and it lead to paraloid B-72.
It's quite wonderful. I dissolve the paraloid B-72 in acetone (1 part B-72, 8 parts acetone), then soak the bone in the acetone for about an hour, let the bones dry, and then suddenly they're solid and strong. You can adjust how much acetone you use for how thin/thick you want the fluid. Bones are porus so I opted for a thinner solution and it worked great. It was also really cheap.
7 Comments
How many museum curators who need non-yellowing flexible thermoplastic are there on here?
- how do I apply it as a coating? I want it to be ~ 1/6" to 1/8" thick and as hard as possible
- will turpentine dissolve or soften it?
https://resources.culturalheritage.org/osg-postprints/wp-con...
https://www.zoicpaleotech.com/pages/paraloid-b72-in-fossil-p...
acetone will dissolve it, dunno about turpentine.
It can be used as protective varnish, but that would be a very thin layer, probably 0.1 mm or something like that.
In my wider life in the UK, speaking to people associated with pianos (from a piano tuner, to school premises teams), it is often not worth the commercial expense to repair old pianos unless they are of particularly good quality or have some sentimental value.
There's a solution you can add to soften the hammers, but I don't know what chemical it is or how well it works since I haven't tried it yet; you can also needle the felt to fluff it up.
On the restoration of my house I allow its use on very specific cases. It very useful for example in strengthening wood that has rotten. Sometimes Paraloid is the only thing that can be used, but it needs to be used with care.
For a painting or building that has survived for half a millennium we need use methods that will preserve the object for another 500 years.
Too many times I hear people say we will just use Paraloid.
Note: I thought this was about Polaroid, not Paraloid, at first!
This is unusual as posts go, but it's not totally unreasonable and even though I wouldn't have an immediate use, it's fascinating, leads to further exploration (like another commenter mentioning the inks) and knowledge gets filed away.
I try to remember posts like this when people are less positive about HN! :-)
https://otislibrarynorwich.org/2024/04/08/edwin-land-and-the...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/polaroid-inventor-...
Links to obsure but interesting Wikipedia articles are some of my favorite HN posts.
It's quite wonderful. I dissolve the paraloid B-72 in acetone (1 part B-72, 8 parts acetone), then soak the bone in the acetone for about an hour, let the bones dry, and then suddenly they're solid and strong. You can adjust how much acetone you use for how thin/thick you want the fluid. Bones are porus so I opted for a thinner solution and it worked great. It was also really cheap.