# Fuller's Earth, anyone?



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

You know how sometimes you come across something cool and you want to share it with everyone? Well that's what I'm doing now. You guys decide whether this is genuinely cool or not.

Jack Pierce, the legendary make up artist, often used Fuller's Earth to create a muddy, crusty appearance for his monsters. Below is a photo of him swabbing Lon Chaney, Jr. with a paste of the stuff for one of the Mummy films. Mr. Pierce also coated the Frankenstein Monster (Chaney again, the poor guy) with Fuller's Earth for the opening sequences of _Ghost of Frankenstein_ (1942); here the material represented sulphur.

I suppose that Fuller's Earth was used because it mixes readily with water, producing an adhesive mud. Fuller's Earth was originally used for the "fulling" process, whereby the oil from sheep's wool was removed before the fibers were spun into yarn. I happened across a can of finely powdered Fuller's Earth years ago at a little Mom and Pop hardware store that was going out of business. I haven't used it much, primarily because I haven't seen the stuff since (apparently folks nowadays don't do as much fulling as they used to).

Then at work yesterday...lo and behold! I was using a bag of some floor absorbent, and happened to notice that it was clearly marked as being 100% Fuller's Earth! Who knew? The stuff comes as small, ireegularly-shaped granules in a variety of earth tones, perfect for adding debris to your outdoor diorama settings. It is soft and can easily be ground to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle if you want to dust some on your Mummy model, or cake over your Chaney _Ghost of Frankenstein_ monster. And because it's the same material that Jack Pierce used, you'll have some claim as to authentic coloring of your model!

I'm not sure where you'd find the stuff, but here's all the information I could cull off the bag (which, at 50 lbs, should provide most modelers with a lifetime supply):

"Safe T Sorb" Safety Absorbent 420, item # 7951​manufactured by Moltan Co.​distributed by Moltan Sorbent Technologies​7125 Riverdale Bend Rd.​Memphis, TN 38125​ 
Here's mud in your eye!​


----------



## The Batman (Mar 21, 2000)

I would call that "Genuinely Cool"!

- GJS


----------



## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Fullers Earth is used in pool filters as well. The studios like to use it whenever they need to see dust being kicked up by something. There is a large deposit of it up by Vandenberg AFB in CA where there is a company digging it out of the hillside.

I guess it has many uses.

Phil


----------



## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Fuller's Earth was used extensively by Gerry Anderson's modelmakers to make the model craft appear life sized. Anytime you see a dust cloud or a bit of smoke in one of his SuperMarionation series, it's Fuller's Earth being blown around.

Larry


----------



## DoctorG (Jan 1, 1970)

Hey Mark,

Quit "fulling" around! 

Dr. G.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist  !! Are you heading out to Wonderfest again this year?)


----------



## portland182 (Jul 19, 2003)

Have a carefull look in your local supermarkets pet food aisle.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8217kitty.html

Jim


----------



## scifibear2 (Oct 19, 2003)

*Cyclone*

Yah, that's what they pumped up throught the muslin twister in Wizard of Oz. Until now, I never knew what it was, though.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

It works good as batter for fried chicken!


----------



## Just Plain Al (Sep 7, 1999)

It is also your cheap, non-scented, generic kitty litter (which we use at work as oil absorbant at 1/3 the price)


----------



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

*Hey, I'm nobodys full!*

Bats,
Thanks - I'm never sure anymore...

X1- A2, LGF, p182, sfb2, and Al,
Well, there ya go - and here I thought it was only good for removing the oil from sheep's wool and grundging up monsters! The bags we use at work also mention the kitty litter angle; you pet owners be careful or you could end up with a model that has the phew - rather than wow - factor! :freak:

Doc G,
Actually, it's beginning to look as though Mrs. McG and I will indeed be going to WF this year. I hope to see you there.


----------



## Grandizer (Jan 8, 2003)

I thought Fullers earth was considered poisonous.

I heard something about the use of Fuller's earth being very limited now due to particles of it being toxic like abestos.

It was widely use for many years in the movies but its use is very controlled I believe due to discovering its toxic effects.

Was just looking up stuff on fullers earth it is considered to be carcinogenic and it actually banned from being used on movie sets these day. I think that is because when they had various explosions on set the earth woudl get thrown int he air and people would breath in the particles of the earth.

Anyway be careful with that stuff


----------



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Grandizer,

Good point. I can't speak about the specific toxicity of Fuller's Earth, but certainly any fine powder can be inhaled and harm the lungs. A respirator - one of those strap-on devices with the replaceable filter catridges that look a little like a gas mask - should be part of every modeler's safety equipment. Respirators are readily available for around $20 at hardware/home improvement stores.


----------



## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

I remember the stuff being provided in US Army personal decontamination kits for chemical warfare in the 70's and 80's. Its purpose was to soak up persistant chemicle agents like lewsite and liquid mustard gas.

Don Matthys 
dba Don's Light and Magic 
www.DLMparts.com 
[email protected] 
Make it Glow!


----------



## AFILMDUDE (Nov 27, 2000)

Grandizer said:


> I thought Fullers earth was considered poisonous.
> 
> I heard something about the use of Fuller's earth being very limited now due to particles of it being toxic like abestos.


Man, I hope you're wrong. I've been around tons of that stuff for years. We were just working with it on a set last October! Gulp!


----------



## Otto69 (Jan 2, 2004)

FYI, a simple web search found at least one website indicating that it's not particularly harmful. However I still wouldn't breath it. Harmful or not, getting info off the web is not always that accurate.

FYI it appears that it may still be used in some facial cleansing products.

Finally, I found at least one reference that indicated the term is a generic term for several kinds of substances. Someone earlier mentioned swimming pool filters. When I was a kid we used "diotomaceous earth", not fullers earth, in our pool filter. Judging from the name I would suspect that that stuff was made from the skeletons of diatoms, which might be more abrasive in the lungs than just clay, which would again suggest that there's not a simple yes or no answer to this question of safety.


----------



## 1701ALover (Apr 29, 2004)

AFILMDUDE said:


> Man, I hope you're wrong. I've been around tons of that stuff for years. We were just working with it on a set last October! Gulp!


Yeah...no kidding...I'm in theatre and I've been using the stuff for years on my skin (mostly my FACE!!) for quick bruise effects. Last year almost the entire cast of our production of "Man of La Mancha" was smearing the stuff on their faces and clothes to simulate that we'd been in a dungeon for years. Yikes! :drunk:


----------



## Scott Hasty (Jul 10, 2003)

MSDS and Google are your friends:

http://www.sud-chemie.com/scmcms/web/binary.jsp?nodeId=5513&binaryId=4765&preview=&disposition=inline&lang=en

Scottie


----------



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Otto69 said:


> ...which would again suggest that there's not a simple yes or no answer to this question of safety.


Otto, I would say that there *is *a simple answer: err on the side of caution. It might be overkill to don full Personal Protective Equipment - nitrile gloves, rubber boots, goggles, apron, and a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus - just to grind up a few tablespoons of Fuller's earth-based floor absorbent to mix with water and daub on your model. But at least you'd know that you'd be absolutely safe from any ill effects from the stuff.

I'm sure that most of us do far less, and probably far too much less, to protect ourselves from the toxic materials with which we construct our models. A spray booth can be a formidable investment, but isn't a house fire or lung damage going to be more costly? That's the kind of consideration that makes the answer simple for me.

Thanks, Scott, for posting the MSDS on the floor absorbent. Those documents are Federally mandated and can be considered the last, best word on the effects of Fuller's earth.


----------



## Otto69 (Jan 2, 2004)

Mark, your point is well made. A close relative of mine has come down with Multiple Myeloma, which is a type of blood cancer. Cause/cure is not known but it may be tied to said relatives decades of use of lacquers, thinners, Dope (model airplane dope!), etc. in less than ideal ventilation conditions while building models. I do have a respirator handy. They're relatively cheap and a good pesticide rated version is only about $40 or less at a a large hardware store, with replaceable cannisters. I use it when using strong bleach or other chemicals to disinfect a pet habitat and it filters out the bleach fumes. It's reasonably comfortable too. Seperate goggles are needed for eye protection though.


----------



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Otto69 said:


> ...Seperate goggles are needed for eye protection though.


And they're cheap, too...unlike a pair of eyes.


----------

