Seal Paste Problems

[hanayama]

Hello

I purchased a seal paste in a lovely box which came with a special tool to stir the paste and the seal paste container had not been opened. However, the paste is so thick I can’t use it – it does not seem to work. Can I rescue it? Does anyone know how to restore seal paste to make it more usable?  I really like the colour of it – it’s an antique red.  Hope you can help me!

Thank you.

[moqiao]

It might depend on the formulation of the paste.   Any picture?  was it in an airtight container?  how old is it?

While not a direct answer, there are some notes here – as noted in the article and someone also answered on facebook the oil may have separated, so if it is not completely solid it could be possible to mix some oil back in.

“Hui Chi Yeung mix it with some walnut oil. just one or two drops and stir it. maybe olive oil is also ok.”

Chinese Seal Paste

and you can replace the paste, there are range of red refills from Jiang SiXu Tang including an aged appearance which might meet your needs:

仿古印泥 Aging Appearance Cinnabar Seal Paste

[hanayama]

yes, here it is.

thanks.

[罗雁 LuoYan]

Please try Castor oil. Sometimes, white sesame oil is also added in the Castor oil. Add oil to rescue the seal paste needs to be very careful! Never add extra oil to the seal paste. Otherwise, the it will get too much oil stain.

Nevertheless, I feel the seal paste in your picture doesn’t seem to be dry.

[hanayama]

Thanks LuoYan!

I will try this.  It is not dry but yet very thick and hard to stir so maybe small amount of oil is the answer!
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[riekjecares]

When I see your picture, there is enough oil in it. Have you tryed to stamp already? I ad first had sealpaste from holland it was also dry and just if there where long treads of plants in it. Now I have sealpaste of inkston, even the cheapest one, and it works really well.

[tibiliu]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>It dosen’t seem to be too dry, there’s no need to stir or add oil. Beware of adding oil, it may migrate in the paper after you stamp. The paste should be gel-like, just like heavy body artist oil paint. Gently touch it with the stamp, carefull not to load paste inside the carvings. It helps to have a small piece of linoleum to pre stamp on and rub the seal gently against, so as to make the load more uniform. Some experience with linocut printing may help you stamp better! ☺</p>

[DenisePayne1]

Gosh, your paste looks too oily! maybe spread it out in the container until it has flat surface and then dry it out a bit. I know this is opposite to all other responses but I think the problem is your paste is too wet. I could be wrong of course but it doesn’t look like paste I normally get. ?

[罗雁 LuoYan]

cannot agree more with you!

[Lu Kesi]

Seal paste should have the texture of thick mud (sometimes it’s called seal mud) and should be able to be rolled up into a ball which holds its shape. From your picture it looks too thin and oily, in which case you might try keeping it in the refrigerator so that the oil will stiffen up a bit and only bring it out long enough to use. Or you might leave the lid off so that the oil is exposed to the air and will dry out—although this creates the potential problem of dust in your ink. Over time and through use the seal paste will harden up on its own. If you buy ink in the small tins or containers it may have been on the store shelf a long time before purchase and can be very hard but still somewhat usable. NEVER add oil of any kind to your seal paste—it will separate and create an oily stain on your artwork. Seal ink, which uses “secret” formulas, cannot be repaired; better to buy a few of the packets and replace it.

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