Methyl Cellulose Slime - Where do I get it?

Joseph Humpston

Hello there Stan Winston School! Hey I got a question. I'm fascinated with Steve Johnson's "Plastic Bag Tech" lesson. Among the listed supplies was something called Methyl Cellulose Slime which is something I've never even heard of before. How do I acquire this stuff? Is there a store I can buy to from? Do I make it with certain Chemicals, if so, what are the materials I need?

Chris Ellerby

Hi Joseph.

Methyl Cellulose is a pretty common compound in certain industries (it's used as a thickener or emulsifier in food and cosmetics) but it might be a bit tricky to find locally.  (depending on where you live)

There are plenty of sources to get methyl cellulose online though.  One tip when searching for it is that it's sometimes listed as a Methylcellulose without a space.

I've seen it listed on Amazon before.  You might also be able to find it at some cooking supply stores that target restaurants and chefs.  There are a lot of food grade formulas of metho cel that are super over priced though.  Companies like "WillPowder" have their own formulas that can cost many times what generic metho cel goes for.  

It's also used a lot in the medical industry as a lubricant or thickener.  But anything medical of FDA approved for human consumption is likely to cost a lot more.  Try and avoid labels like "laboratory grade" or "medical grade."  If you can find a more industrial supplier you can get the cost way down.

There are places that charge by the ounce what others charge by the pound.

eBay is a good source online, and typically has a lot of metho cel produced by DOW chemicals.  And you can even get their food/pharma grade for around $15-$20 for a single pound, and down to around $5 a pound in larger quantities.

/Chris

Chris Ellerby

To make it into slime all you do is mix it with hot water.  As the powder dissolves it thickens the water making slime.   It does not start to become slimy until the water cools, so you'll want to test ratios to get the right slime consistency for your application.    You can add more or less powder to adjust the viscosity of your slime.

Another great slime option is to get a powdered water based lubricant like J-Lube which becomes a thick stringy slime when mixed with water.

/Chris

Joseph Humpston

thanks chris! How to make the methyl-cellulose into "slime"?

Joseph Humpston

Thanks Chris! And it's non-toxic, whether you use "food-Grade" or not. Correct?

Chris Ellerby

It's still non-toxic.  Food grade just means it was produced, packaged, and stored under conditions that meet certain FDA criteria.  It's the difference between metho cel that would be used to thicken foods, and metho cel that is used to thicken cosmetics or other products that are not ingested.

/Chris