Whiting is used in a wide variety of industries.  In the painting industry, it is used in most paint products as a thickener, in putty products, and as a polishing compound for glass, ceramics, and metals such as silver and brass.

In decorative painting, it has many valuable uses:

• As a thickener for paint, glaze, varnish, etc
• It thickens without adding color. Don’t be fooled by the name, there isn’t any white color.
• It is an effective matting agent (but talc powder is better)
• Used to polish a surface
• Great to use for cleaning really dirty brushes (as a scrub)
• Fantastic at “degreasing” or preparing an oil basecoat for a water glaze 

See Also:  Degreasing an Oil Basecoat with Whiting