Hey, all. I had a no show today, but I had gunge already mixed up. How long will it keep for before I should chuck it? Sadly, asking one of my friends to come over at the last minute isn't an option.

I think you might get a few days out of it, I gather it will start to smell slightly when it begins to go off.

I've transfered it into a box and put the lid on, so we'll see. I doubt it'll last more than a week, though.

In a bucket or will be okay for a couple.of days.

If you can seal it up somehow it will keep longer - I've managed to use large plastic bottles before and it was fine for a week.

As it goes off it will start to smell and also I found that it will lose some of it's thickness.

The commercial versions of nastrosol type gunge are designed to biodegrade so they don't block drains. They start to break down after about 48hours once water has been added.

If you buy it wholesale where it is used as a food thickening agent I don't think this is the case. I read recently that the Noel Edmonds gunge tank gunge was collected, sent back to props and re-used week after week - which suggests that it didn't break down in this way.

We tend to use Messy Supplies own gunge, and we've had that still usable a week after mixing by storing it sealed. Much more than that and it does start to break down and smell a bit. In the FAQ on their website it says their premix is good for 7 days from processing, and I'm assuming they are also just mixing up the powder, sealing it and shipping it.

If you haven't mixed it with anything else it can last longer I would add a bit of powder to it again the next time you use it

But yes to sealing it because that helps keep it more stable substance wise.

We use HEC and liquid poster paint for our gunge and often are able to use the same gunge for up to two weeks of shooting.
We generally start with more vivid primary colours and mix them together as the shoot goes on. The more murky the gunge looks the older it is (see pics for examples)

I have found that gunge that is immobile will go off quicker than gunge that is kept in use.
Gunge that is left to stagnate will turn watery and smell like farts.
(I think it took a month to get to the really awful stage)

If it has started to thin, but still remains a good consistency, and does not smell, then it can be pepped up by mixing some slightly thicker fresh gunge into it.


Scenes that these pics are from:

https://umd.net/download_info/who-wams-to-be-a-millionaire-with-ari

https://umd.net/download_info/the-magician-with-nikki

https://umd.net/download_info/quiztank-with-summer-fox-and-lottie-lala-2

I used Messy Pup gunge. Hopefully, it'll keep until next Monday.

Just make sure to keep it covered if you have any inquisitive cats around...

Thankfully, no cats, but during the summer months, my next door neighbour's cat nearly got in my bedroom window not long after I got done with a shoot. That window got shut very quick.

Is that horrible fart like smell going to be from some nasty bacteria that's started breeding in the wet sludge?

Probably. The first time I ever bought some gunge (ready mixed), I left it for so long, and realised I'd have to chuck it. I've bought powdered ever since.

Have people found it reacts at all differently when in large quantities? Ie a small pools worth. And how temperature might affect it

Jayce made this one batch of the "mystery substance," and used it all day, but then let it sit for two days, and it was used again. Based on the stories about the 48 hour wait, it didn't smell, but it was way thicker.

As an aside, we've never had this problem because we don't mix any gunge or open any supplies until everyone is here, we mix the gunge fresh before each scene as the girls are changing upstairs. This also has the advantage that the gunge is still nice and warm when the girls come to use it. Makes a big difference when we're shooting in the middle of a Yorkshire Dales winter.

Due to time constraints, and temperature, I always mix it at least 2 hours before a shoot. The girls will come over, get ready, shoot, then get clean and go. All setup and cleanup are done by me.

We're kind of similar, at least with the folk who live locally, when we bring someone in from down south or across the high border they'll usually spend a couple of nights here (before and after) so not travelling on a shoot day, but the local lasses I'll just drive out and pick up, then when everyone's here they'll head upstairs to the wardrobe and changing rooms, I'll head down to the dungeon and mix the gunge (or open the custard) for the first shoot. We'll run between 3 and 5 shoots in a day, and while the girls are changing between shoots I'll do the clean up for the previous one and then the setup for the next. The girls do help a bit with clean-up by dint of hosing themselves down in the dungeon, and dumping their used outfits in a tub ready for the washing machine, but I do all the main cleanup and then setup for the next scene.

We tend to work on an assumption that each shoot will take an hour to do, and the clean-up / set-up will take an hour between each scene. So If I get back to the hall with the local girls for 11am, first shoot will be 12 to 1pm, second shoot 2pm to 3pm, and so on. Sometimes we run faster than that, and get to finish earlier, but we always allow the full hour on / hour off pattern when planning. We pay by the scene, so finishing faster means the girls make the same money for less time, but we've learned not to try and rush things.

Even though I've an ultra-reliable team of regular people who've never let me down, I'm still wary of opening stuff before we're all here, just in case some unforseen external disaster strikes, or one of us takes ill at the last moment.

Perhaps interesting as to whether the thickener (Xantham gum, HEC, Natrosol etc) affects the duration? Can't see why colour would have much effect

For Clay it is common to use some chlorine or javel to preserve it. I would think it would work with Gunge.. unless it would break the gunge down?

Most Gunge will last around a week or more. We have had it in the Dunk Tank up to 10 days but at that point it starts to break down and go watery. Colour will not make any difference and we have found both HEC ( Natrosol) Xanthan and methyl cellulose all to be around the same.

Clay will last an almost indefinite period. When we have used bentonite it stays thick for as long as you want it to.

I just stirred the gunge. It's still keeping well.