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Damar mata kucing is a transparent, colourless to slightly yellow solid in the form of balls, with a specific gravity of 1.05, 1.4% moisture content, a softening point of 75-85 °C and an acid number of 19-31. It is soluble in aromatic hydrocarbon solvents (benzol, toluol) or in a mixture of these with alcohol but is only slightly soluble in turpentine or mineral aromatic hydrocarbons. Damar mata kucing is produced by several ''Shorea'' and ''Hopea'' species. The quality of the damar mata kucing from ''S. javanica'' is one of the best as it contains relatively littleβlittle β-resene. This is a wax-like compound that causes varnishes made from damar mata kucing to become dull. It needs to be removed if nitrocellulose lacquers are to be manufactured. When treated with alkaline solutions, damar mata kucing yields about 40% resin acids of high quality for varnish manufacture, 45% α-resene and 15% β-resene.