Vincent Amendola'S PVA/Guar/JLube Juice[]
I am sharing a recipe that I found in the popular Facebook bubbler's group gli amici delle bolle di sapone. It was created by Vincent Amendola and is being shared with his permision. I am curious about this recipe, which I haven't had a chance to try, as Vincent and others claim that it makes extra sturdy bubbles. I have been curious about Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) as an ingredient for many years but haven't found a mix in which it shines. Perhaps this is the one.
If you try this recipe, please let us know how it goes!
The recipe makes a bit more than 1 liter of solution.
Below are two versions of the recipe: Vincent's version which uses the dilute version of Fairy currently available in Italy. I have also included a version with amounts adjusted for full-strength Fairy/Dawn. There are a couple of VERY important things to note:
PLEASE NOTE: The recipe calls for a particular commercial aqueous PVA solution: http://www.antichitabelsito.it/alcool_polivinilico.htm. I have no idea if other similar products will perform the same as his. See section PVA Options below.
VINCENT'S RECIPE USING ITALIAN FAIRY[]
- Slurry together 1 gram guar gum and propylene glycol to cover
- Add 50ml glycerine to slurry and mix
- Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) 10% PVA solution (PVA Options below)
- Stir and let rest 20 minutes, stirring from time to time
- In another container, slurry 1/2 gram J-Lube with glycerine, propylene glycol or isopropyl alcohol
- MIx J-Lube slurry with 100 grams Italian Fairy (which at this time is half-strength)
- MIx all slurries together
- Add 1 liter water and stir
- Adjust pH (see notes below)
Vincent suggests adjusting pH with either 1 teaspoon citric acid/2 teaspoon baking soda OR 1 teaspoon baking powder.
Edward notes: that sounds like a lot of citric acid/baking soda for 1 liter. Use whatever your preferred method is.
EDWARD'S MODIFIED RECIPE FOR FULL-STRENGTH FAIRY OR DAWN[]
- Slurry together 1 gram guar gum and propylene glycol to cover
- Add 50ml glycerine to slurry and mix
- Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) 10% PVA solution (PVA Options below)
- Stir and let rest 20 minutes, stirring from time to time
- In another container, slurry 1/2 gram J-Lube with glycerine, propylene glycol or isopropyl alcohol
- MIx J-Lube slurry with 50 grams Dawn or Fairy
- Mix in 50 grams (ml) of water
- MIx all slurries together
- Add 1000 grams (or ml) water
- Adjust pH as you prefer. Quick and easy: 1/2 heaping teaspoon baking powder.
PVA OPTIONS[]
Vincent uses a 10% aqueous PVA solution purchased from: http://www.antichitabelsito.it/alcool_polivinilico.htm. The product's purpose seems to be for making it easy to separate an item from a mold. Edward notes: Even though this product is called an aqueous PVA solution, the datasheet for it mentions that it has an alcohol odor. This odor leads me to believe that the solution also includes either ethanol or isopropanoln which seems true of all the commercial PVA solutions that I have found online (October, 2018).
Similar products in the U.S. seem to be:
You could also mix up a 10% PVA solution using PVA powder and use that solution as you would the commercial products listed.