Red gum substitute?

[Stinger]

Hi

 

I am starting to make shells now, like 2-3" can shells.

 

The stars I want to use is "lancaster red KP#2.

I got the SrCO3 from a pottery shop, as well as BaCO3.

In the formula is listed red gum,

But I havent got any red gum.

 

Can gummi arabicum be substituted for red gum in this case?

 

Stinger

[Mumbles]

Nope.

 

Shellac and rosin are about the only possible substitutes, and I've heard they tend to harm the color.

[Crazy Swede]

It was a long time since I posted here, kind of got stuck for a while at a Swedish forum, but this place feels more serious!

 

Sorry for OT!

 

Anyway, a good substitute for red gum is synthetic phenolic resins. There are several varieties out there, most of them come as thick aquous solutions but the best ones are in powder form.

 

I wrote this in 2006:

 

...I'm sure there are other brands but mine is called Peracit 8156 G and was produced by Perstorp S.A., Division Chemitec in France.

 

Search for powdered phenolic resins or phenol/formaldehyde resins!

 

It should be free from mineral fillers and fiber additives, which often is added for additional strenght since the material is used for bakelite products, but organic additives like hexamine is ok for the pyrotechnical application....

[Chris]

Anyway, a good substitute for red gum is synthetic phenolic resins. There are several varieties out there, most of them come as thick aquous solutions but the best ones are in powder form.

Phenolic resin is probably the best substitute for Accroides resin. The chinese use it very widely in star formulas, as it serves both as fuel and binder. Resin bound stars dry very fast and they are very solid. It requires however a suitable solvent if you want to synergize it as a binder. The only downpart is that finding Phenolic resin in a powdered form can be more difficult than finding Red gum. It depends much on your local market I guess.