Lrsnsam Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 What's your thoughts on this kit from skylighter? Do you wet the comp with isopropyl alcohol? Water? Can I roll them? Can I use the plastic baggie method?
wyzard10 Posted July 13, 2016 Posted July 13, 2016 These were the first stars i made, you can make them up fairly quick but you have to do the prep work. The skylighter site has all the directions you need and the process does work. Some hints, measure and mix up everything prior to getting started and have it ready to go. You use acetone so you will need to do it outside and you will need to have a spray bottle that isnt affected by acetone. You will need to have the right kind of screen to do this, instead of being a weave of wires its welded and one side all goes one way and the other side does the same. This is so you can roll the mix through the screen and cut it without getting it all stuck up in the screen. I use the 1/4 inch mesh for these stars. When you roll out the patty of mix prior to cutting it you will need 2 sticks 3/16ths of an inch thick on each side. This works out well for a cube thats about 1/4 by 1/4 inch when you run it through the screen. I use a bit of wadded up old tshirt to rub the last bits of the mix through the screen. When you roll it through the screen dont panic if it looks kinda stringy and it doesnt resemble cubes and they stick together some. When you roll them around in the bowl to put the prime on them that all takes care of itself.
OldMarine Posted July 14, 2016 Posted July 14, 2016 Are they the cut rubber stars? I love those because you can use them almost immediately. If you are talking the Veline colors you can omit the dextrin and use acetone to bind with the parlon.
Mumbles Posted July 14, 2016 Posted July 14, 2016 Typically they are wet with water. They can be rolled as well if using water as the wetting solvent. They are a good set of colors to start with. They're safe, compatible, relatively simple, and are well matched to one another. The color is good as well.
Lrsnsam Posted July 14, 2016 Author Posted July 14, 2016 (edited) So wyzard said to wet with acetone... mumbles said to wet with water. What is the difference? PS: I usually cut my stars with a knife, is this still okay with the veline color kit I bought? The reason I bought it was because it comes with enough chems to make 1 pound of prime. I would have bought the rubber star kit but I didn't know if the prime well with normal BP/meal-D. Speaking of rubber stars, what are they wetted with? Edited July 14, 2016 by Lrsnsam
Lrsnsam Posted July 14, 2016 Author Posted July 14, 2016 Link?http://www.skylighter.com/mall/product-details.asp?id=2523
OldMarine Posted July 14, 2016 Posted July 14, 2016 (edited) Have you purchased that already? If so, follow the directions given. If not? Purchase all the ingredients cheaper elsewhere and then follow the directions given. (They probably came from Ned)Edit: I see you've already bought the kit. Yes, you can screen or knife cut the stars! Edited July 14, 2016 by OldMarine
Lrsnsam Posted July 14, 2016 Author Posted July 14, 2016 (edited) Have you purchased that already? If so, follow the directions given. If not? Purchase all the ingredients cheaper elsewhere and then follow the directions given. (They probably came from Ned)Edit: I see you've already bought the kit. Yes, you can screen or knife cut the stars!The directions only show the comps for each color by weight, I couldn't find more info... I bought it from skylighter because with their kits it is 25 percent off than buying their chemicals separately. On top of that, they had a deal where if you spend 150 dollars they will through in 5 pounds of potassium nitrate for free on top of free shipping! Free shipping! That's one hell of a deal. I live in the great state of Washington and shipping from east to west coast is really expensive. Plus the fact that uncle Sam requires you to ship oxidizes and chemicals separately. Edited July 14, 2016 by Lrsnsam
OldMarine Posted July 14, 2016 Posted July 14, 2016 I've gotten a few good deals from Harry but not many. That aside, do you have screens? If so what type? If not you can water bind them and knife cut. I prefer to screen cut then with acetone simply because I'm not that good with a knife! They only require a single prime which is good and cheap.
Lrsnsam Posted July 14, 2016 Author Posted July 14, 2016 I've gotten a few good deals from Harry but not many. That aside, do you have screens? If so what type? If not you can water bind them and knife cut. I prefer to screen cut then with acetone simply because I'm not that good with a knife! They only require a single prime which is good and cheap.So I just get my comp, spray some tap water in there, work it a bit until it is a putty consistency, put it onto wax paper, put another wax paper on top, roll evenly, take top of wax paper off, put super prime on top, put wax paper on, roll it, flip it over, take off wax paper from turned side, super prime it, roll it again, cut your stars, put in star roller, spray water in star roller, put stars in, put some super prime in star roller, wait until you have perfect round valine stars!? I hope that's how these stars work... Any suggestions?
OldMarine Posted July 14, 2016 Posted July 14, 2016 Get two 3/16" dowels to lay on either side of your patty as you roll it out then raise the top wax paper, prime and replace. Flip the patty, lift paper and prime that side. Dust your cutting surface with prime and using the remaining wax paper "bottom" flip the patty onto the cutting surface. If the top surface is still glistening from solvent dust a tad more prime on to insure a good prime AND the extra prime acts like flour while making biscuits by preventing the cutter from sticking to the dough...err...comp.
taattooed3 Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 I have that kit too and am wondering the same thing,water or acetone? I'm extremely new to making my own fireworks. So far I've made my own red gum BP and a couple flying fish mines. I'm excited about making these stars but confused on what to use to wet the mixed comp.
OldMarine Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 I'm screen cutting some green brilliant stars now. I started about 20 minutes ago and am now ready to put my final BP prime on them. These are my favorite quick stars!I used acetone as solvent to bind with the parlon and they dry in a very short time.
taattooed3 Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 I'm screen cutting some green brilliant stars now. I started about 20 minutes ago and am now ready to put my final BP prime on them. These are my favorite quick stars!I used acetone as solvent to bind with the parlon and they dry in a very short time. Thank you for the quick response OldMarine I will be screen cutting mine too but didn't want to start them until I was 100% sure on what to wet the mix with. Hopefully I'll get to make them tomorrow,the anticipation has been driving me insane. Thank you again.
OldMarine Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 I've learned to let the patty start feeling a little less tacky before trying to put the first hot prime on it. if you wait a bit it will be a little harder to get through the screen but they won't tend to stick together and come out more uniform. It took me a few tries to get them right but using the acetone you can always start over if need be!
Lrsnsam Posted July 23, 2016 Author Posted July 23, 2016 I still am not entirely sure what to wet these stars out. Has anyone tried both acetone and water? Does it even matter what I use?
OldMarine Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 (edited) If you want to knife cut them use water and if you screen cut them use acetone. Water for knife cutting gives you a much longer period of workability and a longer drying time. Mixing the solvents will be a mess because the acetone will flash off and lock the water in the star. They'll never dry and you'll have some colorful campfire treats. Don't ask me how I know.... Edited July 23, 2016 by OldMarine
frederick Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 I wouldn't simply rely on that hot prime myself, even with cut stars. I don't see it mentioned so I'll suggest it, once dry coat those things with a good fuzzy BP final prime, one enhanced with a touch of silicon for added insurance. And don't skip the PPE with that dichromate prime.
schroedinger Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 Look at these articles to find your answer: http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/making-fireworks-projects/fireworks-star-composition.asphttp://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to-make/Firefly-cut-stars.asp
Lrsnsam Posted July 23, 2016 Author Posted July 23, 2016 I wouldn't simply rely on that hot prime myself, even with cut stars. I don't see it mentioned so I'll suggest it, once dry coat those things with a good fuzzy BP final prime, one enhanced with a touch of silicon for added insurance. And don't skip the PPE with that dichromate prime.I never knew how dangerous this prime is. Now that you brought it up, what is the best way of mixing these chemicals to make the prime?
OldMarine Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 Gloves and a good mask during preparation and a thorough hand washing and change of clothes is all that is needed. Don't dump any leftover chems on the ground or down the drain. There's a way to treat it to make it safer but that's beyond my level of knowledge. I only use it for treating Mg and in specified amounts in a comp so I haven't had to dispose of anything more than contaminated kraft from my drying tray which goes into a roaring burn barrel.
Mumbles Posted July 23, 2016 Posted July 23, 2016 Veline super prime is very effective, no one will dispute that. If you'd prefer not to deal with the dichromate, essentially any other hot prime will be sufficient however. I've heard of some people replacing that portion with copper oxychloride to attempt to replicate the catalytic activity the dichromate has on perchlorate decomposition or just leaving it out entirely.
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