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By GhostGuy
#70058
I've been doing some research on how to make slime, and I think I've found a solution!

My initial search led me to a lot of sites talking about Polyvinyl Chloride or PVA based slime. These sounded like a good way to make slime, until I realised PVA is expensive, isn't available in your corner store, is colorless, and makes a slime which is more rubbery than mucus-like.

Most sites suggested substituting Elmer's glue, because it contains PVA, but Elmer's glue only comes in either white or clear, and is likely to harden. Not something you want on your suit, and not particularly realistic looking.

But then I found out about another kind of slime, which can be made more mucus like and which is even the right color. And supposedly, according to one site I found, it is the very type of slime used in the movies.

It's called Guar Gum slime, and it is made by mixing Guar Gum, a common thickening agent used in baking, which you can find in any health food store, and Borax, a detergent which is available in any supermarket. (Borax is also the second ingredient used in PVA slime.)

I've mixed a batch myself following some fairly loose directions I found on one site not particuarly carefully, and it's very promising. I haven't got the recipe quite right yet, having inadvertently used about 10x as much borax as I was supposed to for the first couple tries, but it's definitely mucus colored, and slimy and the ingredients cost about $12 and will make BUCKETS of the stuff.

Here is a scientific paper on how to go about making it properly the scientific way:
http://www.flinnsci.com/Documents/demoP ... 377.10.pdf

The directions I followed used cups and teaspoons for measurements but since I haven't made a completely successful batch yet with those I can't reccomend them.

Note the mixture does have a bit of an odor to it when you use the heating method. But I didn't notice an odor when I tried just making it with cold water, so the borax odor probably goes away when it cools. And speaking of cooling, you need to keep it in the fridge or else it will get moldy in a week. One site suggested adding a few drops of lysol to help prevent this, but since it'll keep in the fridge for a long time, there's no real need for that. Also another site said it would break down after a few days anyway. Perhaps they didn't use distilled water though, I don't know. The scientific paper says to use distilled water for that very reason.

Well, good luck making your slime. If you want easier directions to follow just search guar gum slime on google, there's plenty of pages about it. And post your recipe if you get that perfect mucus-like slime that oozes but doesn't run right off things. :-)


Oh, and if you do want PVA slime, the easiest way to get it is to buy a kit from here:
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/clear-slime

They have the same kit in green too. But remember, this slime is supposedly more flubber-like than mucus-like.


[edit]

Oh, and I just realised that the borax smell I noticed would also be greatly reduced if I didn't use 10x as much borax as I was supposed to. :-)
armorrekka liked this
By GhostGuy
#70526
I have perfected the slime recipe... and you're in for a surprise!

The secret ingredients are... GUAR GUM and WATER. That's it! No Borax! No need for distilled water!

And that's great, because not only is it cheaper to make, but it's completely nontoxic! Guar Gum is a thickener used in all sorts of foods, made from the Guar bean.

(You shouldn't eat your slime though, because not only is it a laxative, but it could stick in your throat and cause suffication. See wikipedia for more information.)


The recipe is quite simple:

Measure 1 cup of water, cold is fine, and rapidly stir in 2 teaspoons of guar gum. Once dissolved, let sit for two minutes, where it will go from runny to congealed.

You can adjust the recipe up or down by one teaspoon of guar gum and get a slime which is runnier or thicker, but you probably won't want less than 2 teaspoons. Don't bother trying to add more guar gum after you've stirred it, it will just form clumps. You'll have to start over if you're not happy with how thick it is.


The reason I cut Borax out of the recipe was ANY amount of 4% Borax solution, even half a teaspoon, (that's half a teaspoon of 4 teaspoons of Borax diluted in 1 cup of water) would result in a slime which felt grainy, and was a fairly solid mass, not runny at all like the slime in the movie, and not very fun to play with. And slightly toxic.

So there ya go! Have fun sliming eachother. You can make buckets of slime with just one 8oz bottle of guar gum using this recipe.

PS:

I am currently running a test to see what happens when the guar gum is placed on white cotton fabric and left to dry to see if it stains anything. It looks mucus colored en masse, but appears clear when placed on a white t-shirt. However, on a darker colored object like your flight suit, it would surely make dark spots where it wets it just as in the movie. I wouldn't reccomend adding food coloring to basic slime, as that would definitely come out of the solution and stain stuff.

Also, a thicker slime made with 3 or more teaspoons of guar gum may be suitable for pink slime.


Oh, and a few more important details about cleanup and storage!

A) This stuff is water soluble, but will take a litle scrubbing to wash off your hands. Because it doesn't come right off just running your hands under the water for a moment, I don't know how easy it will be to get out of hair, especially if it has dried. I would wash any out of your hair before it's dried if you do get some in there!

B) Do NOT dump the solution down your sink or toilet! It can clog your drain. Trash or outside only. Washing your hands off in the sink after you've wiped off what you can with a paper towel is okay.

C) Store your slime in the fridge if you're not going to use it within a day or two. It will get moldy!
By DilfitsGirl
#134239
Hi! I just joined and have been searching for a slime recipe for a sketch where I want to use slime, but kind of actually be slimed. Now, I'm definitely going to look at the guar gum recipe, but I'm wondering about the food coloring part. You said to avoid it, but I've been covered in fake blood with red food coloring and it rarely stains cotton clothes, like jeans and t-shirts. What are your thoughts on that?

You also said not to dump it down the drain, but will it wreck my plumbing if I take a shower? Cuz um, I'm gonna want to wash that stuff out of my hair!

This was a great thread, found exactly what I needed to find!
By Sloar
#135304
What about slime for display only? That will keep while stored in a jar at room temperature, but appear to have the color and consistency of the different colors and types of slime (green, black, pink/purple)?
I've been experimenting with shampoo, hair gel and body wash. I was thinking about adding some fluorescent ink to the fluid as well. It'll be stored in a specimen jar with some gizmos on it and possibly have some sort of LED or alternate light source to make it glow.
By GhostGuy
#135609
I honestly can't answer your questions. I'm simply advising caution.

I imagine the amount you'd get in your hair would be okay to wash down the drain. It would be diluted enough. I'm simply advising against dumping several cups of the stuff down.

As for the food coloring, again, just advising caution. I don't know what food coloring does to clothes.
By GhostGuy
#135611
joeghostbuster wrote:or... you could just pick up a canister of that green Nickelodeon slime for $5 and save yourself a whole lot of trouble.
That nickelodeon slime is bright green, fairly opaque, and looks and behaves nothing like the movie slime.

However, if you're not among hardcore ghostbusters fans, people might get it as being slime moreso than they would something which is fairly transparent and more movie accurate.
By GhostGuy
#135616
Sloar wrote:What about slime for display only? That will keep while stored in a jar at room temperature, but appear to have the color and consistency of the different colors and types of slime (green, black, pink/purple)?
I've been experimenting with shampoo, hair gel and body wash. I was thinking about adding some fluorescent ink to the fluid as well. It'll be stored in a specimen jar with some gizmos on it and possibly have some sort of LED or alternate light source to make it glow.
Shampoo sounds like your best bet.

There are other recipes for slime out there which use other materials that are not organic and wouldn't mold, but those are hard to come by. I think one of them use the same chemical used for releasing resin molds. The problem is if you plan to store these inside, well, who knows what sort of vapors such concotions might give off.

I'd stick with the shampoo.
By 69428scj
#159300
I was listening to the the commentary on the 2005 DVD set and they mentioned the name of the substance they used in the library scene...the name of it escapes me at the moment though.
By Sandfire
#177864
So I tested the recipe for just the guar gum and water. It works great! So easy to make and fun to play with different consistencies and colors. I did test it out on cotton clothing and it washes out fine. There are no visible stains in normal light. The only problem is under black light. You can see some outlines from the old washed out slime.

For about $5 I got a bag of guar gum which will make a lot of slime.
Last edited by Sandfire on November 24th, 2009, 2:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
By chaobell
#178753
69428scj wrote:I was listening to the the commentary on the 2005 DVD set and they mentioned the name of the substance they used in the library scene...the name of it escapes me at the moment though.
That would be methyl cellulose. (no, I didn't just watch that again like three times this week, why do you ask :} )
By neighbour
#190739
Hey guys, I was testing out different quantities of guar gum and borax and water and it seems like 100 mL of water, 1/4 teaspoon of Guar Gum and keep adding a bit of saturated borax solution and stirring your with finger until it gets to a gooeyness that works for you. It seems to hold it's level of viscosity if you leave it in the fridge, but leave it at room temperature and in a few days, it turns into a watery mess. The secret to the viscosity seems to come from the amount of borax for me rather than the guar gum. Only a tiny bit of Guar Gum, my suggested 1/4 teaspoon seems to be necessary.
By neighbour
#190756
Forget what I said in the last post about it becoming a watery mess when left out of the fridge! I just took an old container of the slime and stuck my hand in and pulled out a PERFECT slime and drained the remaining water. It's better now than any of the fridge stuff! WOW! :D
By GhostGuy
#194298
Slime wrote:where do you get guar gum?
Guar Gum can be found at small organic food markets. You could also order it online. It's a food product, used as a thickener.
By SacGB-Alex
#420669
The Sacramento Ghostbusters and Bay Area Ghostbusters have just completed an event and need a lot of slime. cheapest option for us was to use cornstarch/water. We tried to price out Guar gum and borax but in the end (especially for the large amount of slime we would need) Cornstarch worked the best! We purchased 50 pound bag for $20, add food coloring, mix in a large bucket with water and you are done. Thin slime has a 1:1(Cornstarch:Water) ratio, for thick slime use a 2:1 (Cornstarch:Water) ratio.

The slime worked great was really messy and made for a fun event.

We made a slime Slip-n-slide!!!!
Image

Close up to the slime!
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If you have connection to veterinary supplies we also found the Veterinary lube works super well! I dont know exactly how much it was ask Cowboy Bill from Bay Area Ghostbusters for pricing!

Here is a pic of both teams with the gallons of Vet-Lube. lol we went thru 10gallons
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By GhostGuy
#420673
It's probably for the best you didn't use borax. It's mildly toxic. You can make good slime with just the guar gum.

As for corn starch, what you actually made was not slime, but a non-newtonian fluid. :-)

SacGB-Alex liked this
By GhostGuy
#420677
As for the vet lube... I'm not surprised that worked well. I bet that's the same thing as KY jelly. Which, it should be noted contains methyl cellulose: a thickener used in shampoo and toothpaste, and, as someone mentioned above, in the movie slime. :-)
SacGB-Alex liked this
By SacGB-Alex
#420702
Slime or Not that stuff is amazing!!! The look on peoples face when they were covered in it was PRICELESS! I could literally roll it into a ball and as soon as I threw it, it turns into a slimy mess and covered everything. Freaky stuff!
By LandoSystem
#420743
I'm not sure how to make slime but I use wire pull lubricant from Lowes on mine and I think it's great. It resembles the GB1 slime a lot, specifically the montage scenes and the Peck / twinkie scenes.
It has no smell, dries clear with no leftover residue, it's cheap and should be easy to find at Lowes or Home Depot.
The only real problem I've had with it is that I don't tend to apply enough (you really gotta glob it on) and it dries pretty quickly and I have to march to the car to add more. It would be perfect for 2-3 hour events. It tends to make you look wet in pictures but it catches light well in person and you can tell it has a slimey texture.
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By Rodimus
#428724
I thought the horse lube was pretty fun, but so was the corn starch and water.

Sent from my LG-MS840 using Ghostbusters Fans on Android
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By MEMOR3X
#448178
Has anyone been able to make this stuff so it lasts for a very long time?

The reason I ask is because I want to add some to my Ecto build: I want to add a clear plastic container and fill it about 3/4 full, so it can "slosh" around as I'm driving along.

However, there are 2 considerations to take into account:
1) It needs to stay bright and highlighted
2) It needs to stay a nice quality, without going mouldy or hard


Has the recipe been fully perfected yet?


Edit: I forgot to ask - anyone got any photos?
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By ghostfan003
#456940
Anyone ever consider methyl cellulose? It is a synthetic powder derived from cellulose and some other chemical. It dissolves in cold, but not hot water. Word on the street is that methyl cellulose was used for the slime in the movie. It apparently is non-toxic and is not an allergen.

I read that the substance polyacrylate can achieve a similar effect.

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