AURO-The-Natural-Choice-for-daily-Life-04.2019

A LIGHT YELLOW RESIN WITH A STRONG BONDING FORCE The resin from the dammar tree is one of the most beau- tiful and precious plant resins on earth. It is harvested from the Asian deciduous trees that grow mainly on the Sunda Islands. The most important source is the Shorea wiesneri , a tree that also provides the much-loved meranti wood. The plant resin can also be found in other tropical deciduous trees growing in Indonesia, the Philippines, Borneo or East India. The word „dammar“ itself holds some mystery, it originates fromMalaysia and means as much as light, resin or torch. The German designation for dam- mar resin is „Katzenaugenharz“ (cat’s eye resin). The clear to yellowish resin with its fine, ethereal scent is believed to have mood elevating characteristics, it is even said to heal melancholia. It is used for curing and as incense, and the vernac- ular has it that the white smoke sharpens the perception and can even turn a person into a clairvoyant. One special use for the plant resin dammar is its use as a natural binding agent. The resin is known in Europe since the 19 th century already and has been used in manifold ways, e.g. in the production of light, clear enamels and glues or as a traditional additive in artist’s paints like tem- pera or oil paint. In AURO’s floor care products, for exam- ple, it has the task to emulsify ingredients like linseed oil, orange oil and drying agents. The solvent contained in the liquid oil evaporates during the drying process and leaves a coating that is firmly linked to the substrate. The extraction of the exotic dammar resin The natural plant resin forms unenforced and comes out of the trees of these exotic deciduous trees in great quan- tities. The pieces have an irregular, tear-like form and are approximately 3 cm big. If they are separated into pieces, they splinter easily but leave smooth shivers. It can be pul- verised to an odourless powder. The pieces, however, smell finely of the ethereal oils they con- tain. The impressive pieces that are won from the trunks are water-clear, some- times with a yellowish or reddish white hue. There are different ways of winning the finest specimens: The resin that has formed unenforced can just be gathered but it can also be tapped from the tree. The latter procedure intensifies the resin production of the tree. Deep cuts are made in the tree so the resin can gather there until the cuts close again. The form of the resin pieces shows how they were won. If they have the form of a pear or a club they were not gathered from a cut tree but have emitted from the tree in their natural way. Another method is to dig out the resinous compound that can be found under the soil surface in the root area of dead trees. 45