MITRA Forum Question Details

​The art materials industry is a relatively small consumer of pigments, especially those also used in industry, so there areother uses for the very same pigments used to make paint. It is possible, however, that a given source might not provide the purity or particle size that's best for art materials manufacture. Anything sold as an industrial supply may have different standards of safety from art supplies or consumer products- there might be an additional step needed to make them safer to use. There was a big batch recall I remember involving marbledust that was found to have asbestiform particles, and as a result it couldn't be sold as an art supply. You may want to reach out to the supplier and ask directly if there's a difference between the oxides you're considering and pigments for artist's colors, or if there are any safety concerns. They might just tell you it's OK to proceed, or they might give you a reason why not to use them.​