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What causes my stars to be hard to pump and the prime crumble off


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Posted

I mixed up a batch of Pihko KP #2 100 grams. I pumped them into a plastic tube, then ejected the roll onto a meal powder covered sheet. Now, a day later, the prime crumbles off as soon as you pick them up. Also, when I was trying to press them out of the tube, they proved to be much more difficult than the last batch I mixed up. The last batch was Hardt Red Star #3 For both comps I used a mix of 25% alcohol and 75% water. The red almost slid out of the tube and they are very solid with all the prime staying put nicely. So, could I maybe have not gotten the blue mix wet enough, so it did not slide as well, and are not sticking together well? Could there be that much difference between the formulas, causing my difficulty?

 

 

Thanks, Robert

Posted
I would say your stars arent damp enough to grab the prime.
Posted

Coincidentally I made some Pihko KP #2 today. I'm thinking also that they weren't wet enough to grab the prime. Though I'm very new to colour compositions (first time making them) I have a thought of why it may of failed.

 

Did you add any dextrin to the composition? I generally thought you need to do so if you're not using acetone or alcohol as the solvent.

'Use acetone or alcohol as the solvent, or add 5% dextrin/SGRS and bind with water.' from Yankie's KP Purple. Though different compositions, I assume the same rule would apply. I added Dextrin to mine and they seem to be going good from the looks of things. Once again, it's just my hypothesis as I really am not too sure with colours.

Posted
alcohol wont dissolve parlon and as redgum has very poor binding properties they still wont hold together
Posted
The Pihko 2 on the PFP has nothing water activated in its binder components. Red Gum needs alcohol and parlon needs acetone to act as binders. There is a different Pihko blue that uses water and dextrim. Try the Pihko 2 with denatured alcohol as solvent the red gum should be fine as a binder from alcohol the PFP says use 33% alcohol in water. There is every chance that the 25% alcohol you used simply didn't contain enough alcohol to cause the red gum to bind the nix, more alcohol less water is needed I think.
Posted

More Alcohol, and no water for RG, but I'd still use any other binder before I'd use the stuff aa anything but a fuel.

 

Stug, did you add a water activated binder to the Blue?

 

If not, you probably should. Let's hope the prime ad star comp can be separated. Meal does not do good things to blue flames.

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