White residue after the glue dries?

[sokius]

I'm using gum Arabic for the glue, dissolved in water to the consistency of honey.
It works fine; it holds the end of the wrapper and the cap very well, even at right after it's applied.
But after the glue dries, I see it forms some kind of white crust, and it doesn't look good at all.

Should I dilute the glue more? Or is it just an inevitable nature of gum Arabic glue?

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

Bob

 

[sokius]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

Bob

It's done! Thanks.

 

[SlamFire]

I'm using gum Arabic for the glue, dissolved in water to the consistency of honey.
It works fine; it holds the end of the wrapper and the cap very well, even at right after it's applied.
But after the glue dries, I see it forms some kind of white crust, and it doesn't look good at all.

Should I dilute the glue more? Or is it just an inevitable nature of gum Arabic glue?


View attachment 54475

I have used gum arabic before, and had the same result. I also found that it was very sticky and made for torn cigar wrappers and a mess in general. I'd recommend using Bermocoll instead.

 

[Andude]

Those are great looking sticks otherwise! I agree, I've ran into this (haven't tried bermocoll). I've tried a couple of things. I've tried to not use any on the outside so that it shows. If the white shows on the outside, I mist my fingertips slightly and gently massage the spots till they go away ( diluting them into oblivion I suppose). Last, I've rolled a lot with maple syrup. I've put that on the outside and it's sticky, but eventually dries and doesn't show; also found no discernable taste change due to the maple syrup. Will continue to experiment ( including bermocoll), also learning how to roll good sticks with using less and less glue.

 

[WillQuantrill]

Caps are hard to perfect in technique. I use Arabic gum mixed into more of a pomade consistency. After smearing glue on cap I just massage it on. I can tell you when they don't look right it's almost reflexive to add more water to make the leaf lay down but this has tendency to create excessive glue on the exterior. Maybe try a little thicker glue on the cap and less of it?

 

[Andude]

If you're talking about the glue from whole leaf tobacco (not sure if it's gum Arabic or not, but it leaves that white residue), I find I prefer hydrating it a little more than indicated so that it's not as thick (for easier application), and I just try to not get it on the outside of the stick (and yes, use less). That glue seems to leave a white residue no matter how thick it is. When I first watched rolling videos from Bliss Cigar introducing me to the craft, he says to put it in the outside of the cap also, but I found that to be not necessary.

 

[Andude]

Here's a recent example of one of my caps. The wrapper and the second cap weren't great, but I was pleased with the third (final) cap. You can still see a small amount of the white residue of the glue on the outside of the leaf just below my second cap.

 

[GreenDragon]

My preferred glue is tapioca starch, which thankfully is available now in almost every grocery store. You can get a pound for about $3.00 and it will last forever. Dissolve 1 teaspoon in 1/4 cup of water and microwave until it turns into a clear gel. It does not leave a visible residue after drying. Prepared glue will stay good for 3 to 4 days if stored in the refrigerator.

 

[sokius]

If you're talking about the glue from whole leaf tobacco (not sure if it's gum Arabic or not, but it leaves that white residue), I find I prefer hydrating it a little more than indicated so that it's not as thick (for easier application), and I just try to not get it on the outside of the stick (and yes, use less). That glue seems to leave a white residue no matter how thick it is. When I first watched rolling videos from Bliss Cigar introducing me to the craft, he says to put it in the outside of the cap also, but I found that to be not necessary.

I also mimicked the rolling in the Bliss Cigar video that applying glue on the whole head section. As it doesn’t seem to contribute much to the integrity of the cap, I shouldn’t do that from now on. I’ll also use only necessary amount of glue to the wrapper. Thanks for the tip!

 

[sokius]

My preferred glue is tapioca starch, which thankfully is available now in almost every grocery store. You can get a pound for about $3.00 and it will last forever. Dissolve 1 teaspoon in 1/4 cup of water and microwave until it turns into a clear gel. It does not leave a visible residue after drying. Prepared glue will stay good for 3 to 4 days if stored in the refrigerator.

Naver have thought of using any kind of starch. Gotta try rolling with it.

But is refrigeration really necessary? I've been storing my prepared glue (gum arabic) in a room temperature for weeks and it doesn't seem to affect its quality.

 

[sokius]

Caps are hard to perfect in technique. I use Arabic gum mixed into more of a pomade consistency. After smearing glue on cap I just massage it on. I can tell you when they don't look right it's almost reflexive to add more water to make the leaf lay down but this has tendency to create excessive glue on the exterior. Maybe try a little thicker glue on the cap and less of it?

Already tried thicker consistency, but I found it much harder not to rip the leaf off. Maybe I'm just too aggressive in tending leafs.
However, now I agree with that I should use less glue. Thanks!