Blanco was a compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 used by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 soldiers (and Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 troops of various nations). The compound was used from 1880 to whiten British Army Slade Wallace buckskin leather equipment then adapted to coloured versions for use on the cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 Web Infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 Equipment, Pattern 1908 webbing

Webbing

Webbing is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres often used in place of rope. The name webbing comes from the meshed material frequently used in its construction, which resembles a web...

 used in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and beyond and the Web Equipment '37 Pattern

1937 Pattern Web Equipment

1937 Pattern Web Equipment was an item of military load-carrying equipment. It replaced the 1908 Pattern and 1925 Pattern—on which it was based—and was standard issue for British and Commonwealth troops from its introduction in 1937, throughout World War II, and in the post-war period until it was...

 during the Second World War, though rarely outside of the United Kingdom and Europe. Blanco was used throughout both World wars, into the period of National Service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 and into the 1980s by cadets and the Territorial Army.

Description

Blanco initially came in either powder

Powder (substance)

A powder is a dry,thick bulk solid composed of a large number of very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms powder and granular are sometimes used to distinguish separate classes of material...

 manufactured by the Mills Equipment Company (who designed and were a primary manufacturer of the webbing

Webbing

Webbing is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres often used in place of rope. The name webbing comes from the meshed material frequently used in its construction, which resembles a web...

 it was used on), or round cake form, much like soap

Soap

In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...

, manufactured by Pickerings and which used the tradename "Blanco" and was used as a cleaning and colouring compound. Blanco was applied with a brush and water, and rubbed into the woven

Woven

A woven is a cloth formed by weaving. It only stretches in the bias directions , unless the threads are elastic. Woven cloth usually frays at the edges, unless measures are taken to counter this, such as the use of pinking shears or hemming.Woven fabrics are worked on a loom and made of many...

 cotton material of load bearing equipment, to provide a consistent colour to equipment worn by soldiers in the same unit, and as a method of cleaning the gear. Post WWII experimental rectangular waxy blocks became available with greater waterproofing abilities but after 1954 Joseph Pickering & Sons Ltd introduced a tinned paste product that didn't need the addition of water and could be applied directly from the tin. Other manufacturers made competing tinned paste products until the 1980s.

Blanco came in many different colours, the most common being shades of "khaki

Khaki (color)

The name of the color khaki coined in British India comes from the Hindustani language , meaning "dusty, dust covered or earth colored." It has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms, including camouflage...

" (in practice, a tan colour) or olive green, though white was also used. Black if used was achieved by using boot polish. There were several shades of green used, which are not easy to distinguish in black and white period photos, with shade 97 (light green), and shade KG3 (dark green) being most common. Additionally there was "RAF Blue" for RAF blue grey web equipment. As an alternative khaki coloured mud was used at times to produce tan coloured equipment. Scrubbing the webbing in Sea Water produced a near white result. A post-WWII blanco colour adopted by at least one unit of the Parachute Regiment (5th - later renumbered 15th Scottish Battalion) was maroon, using the waxy form of blanco to give a shiny scuff-resistant finish.

The word also became used as a verb, as in "to blanco a piece of equipment". The past tense of blanco is usually seen in print as "blancoed".

It appears in the phrase "Bull

Bull polishing

Bull polishing, bulling or spit shining refers to a method for polishing leather products in such a way as to give an extremely high shine effect. It is commonly used in the military as a traditional method of presenting leather accessories and boots for inspection...

, Blanco and Brasso

Brasso

Brasso is a metal polish designed to remove tarnish from brass, copper, chrome and stainless steel. It is available either directly as a liquid or as an impregnated wadding pad.-History:...

" to refer to the methods used to bring uniform to immaculate condition.