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Posted

One question.

 

I can get the cheap ass 0-100micron aluminium (spherical), could i use this in D1 and still get a similar effect or does the aluminium have to be a specific size?

Posted
20-60 or so micron, atomized aluminum is ideal for this glitter. So I think what you can get, would be perfect!
  • 2 months later...
Posted

Everytime i have made D1 glitters, my stars have been extremely crumbly. I am using dextrin and i do mix in water with the comp to help pump these stars. I am stumped on this, any ideas?

Thanks

Posted

How are you pressing them? If you are using low amounts of water(say less that 8%), you really need to compress them well, such as with an arbor press, or some other sort of press. It also depends on how large of stars/comets you are pressing. If you are using high amounts of water, the binder may be leaching out.

 

Honestly, the most probable answer is that it isn't dry yet. Damp stars, and EXPECIALLY driven in stars are not firm at all.

  • 6 months later...
Posted
I know this thread has been dead for a while, but I want to put this out there for others that haven't done D1 before. I used 6% water (well 75/25 H2O/Alcohol) by mixing the comp and water in a container as much as possible. Of course this just resulted in lumps. I then forced the "wet" comp through a windows screen several times. The moisture was spread evenly after about the 3rd time. I used a homemade ½" star pump. After loading the pump each time I gave it a decent whack with a deadblow and popped them out. I dried for 5 days and these have been the hardest stars I've ever made. I plan on uploading a video of a mine or shell with these as soon as I take one.
  • Like 1
Posted

it's funny, I saw the D1 glitter mentioned all over, and looked all over for the formula (even here) and must have just passed it over

 

Thanks for the bump!

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
i have a question eveyone is saying how ballmilling D1 glitter deystroys the effect i am assuming this is becasue it crushes the aluminum. couldn't you ballmill all the components exept the aluminum then sieve the aluminum in without deystroing the effect?
Posted
You never ball mill comps with metal. It destroys the effect because it burns too fast if you will. You want it to burn a little slaggy. The slag is what causes the glitter effect.
  • Like 1
Posted

i got a question:

i know D1 glitter is easy to ignite but do you prime it? according to united nuclear stars with only potassium nitrate should be primed with a 1mm meal prime i was planing on doing this by rolling my stars untill they are 1/2" diameter let them dry for 20 minutes then spray them with water and roll them in meal powder would this be an acceptable way to prime them?

Posted
D1 ignites pretty easy. It isn't really neccesary to prime them, but if you are afraid they won't light, a bit of prime won't hurt.
  • Like 1
Posted

I've never primed them in either mines or aerial shells.

 

In mines, I pipe the quickmatch into the stars - they ignite lighting the lift in turn. Here's a 3in mine w/D1 and FF#3 stars: Mine

 

In aerial shells I've used 3/8" pumped in 3in ball shells. Burst was 4:1 KP on crispies with ~3g whistle boost: 3in D1 Glitter shell

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted
rooster said he rolled his stars without deystroying the effect so that is what i will do becasue i prefer rolling. would it be ok if i used 75/25 rubbing alcohol to water as solvent? i realize too much solvent could ruin the effect so i would use it sparingly does this sound ok?
  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Question:

 

Is D1-Glitter often used in professional shows?

 

Yesterday I saw similar effects in a show, so I was wondering if they used the same composition.

 

It was a big break with a cloud of golden sparks, then it changed in to tiny tingling silver/white sort like strobe effect, slowly falling into the sea.

 

Here's a video of it, the quality is poor, so mby hard to see.

 

Posted

Wow thats a really really long delay glitter...

 

And no, D1 isn't likely to be used in pro shows. As i understand it all of the glitters used in pro shows use pre-made meal powder as a feed stock, then adding aluminum or magnalium, antimony trisulfide, strontium carbonate, sulfur, charcoal, etc. Winokur's compositions and other glitter compositions may be "translated" over into a formula based on meal powder that has a similar effect... then they might be used commercially.

Posted
that was nice it kinda reminds me of something i saw they looked like large canister shells at least 5 of em were shot up and had huge orange waterfalls that lasted a LONG LONG time. no flashing though so i suppose it isn't glitter. im curious to know hat it was sorry no vid.
Posted
That looks more like strobe than a glitter.
Posted
That looks more like strobe than a glitter.

no i don't think so strobes flash as they go but don't leave a flashing trail these had trail that continued to burn after the star was gone.

Posted

That's strobe for sure.

The trail is either a prime or a streamer before the strobe.

Posted
I agree, that are some slow ass stobe stars, not glitter!
Posted

But if you take a look at the video from qwezxc12 with his D1-glitter, you'll see something like the same effect, so I was wondering, why does that Alu visualy reacts the same way as a strobe effect..?

 

Cheers.

Posted

I see where you get the idea from, but those were definatly strobe cores. You may notice that the strobing kept falling and expanding, and burn out at roughly the same time , while in CPL's video they were in the tail of the stars, and burnt out at random intervals. Additional point being, those were red strobes, and red glitters do not exist truely to my knowledge.

 

The effect is just from a long delay on the glitter effect.

  • 8 months later...
Posted

qwezxc12, I've had the same impression: the type of Al you use can make D1 totally different. I've been using 80-325 mesh spheroidal lately (Skylighter). This seems to give a longer series of flashes which I like. 325 flake is good too, but different.

 

Different KNO3 mesh? Damned, more experiments.....what we'll do for science......

 

The few, the proud, the pyros....

Posted
The two batches weren't an attempt to be scientific in the least...too many variables changed at once. The KNO3 was powdered in my ballmill to talc consistency in the two shells with the 5um Al; the other shell with the larger Al used it right from the bag - about the consistency of salt. I'm sure the stars with that were drossier when burning.
Posted
The two batches weren't an attempt to be scientific in the least...too many variables changed at once.

...I know the feeling. I do the same thing; I'm out of one particular mesh/species of charcoal so I substitute what's on hand, I use a different KNO3, I change the moisture in my rolling of the stars, I dry them more/less, and they are SPECTACULAR. O.K., what made the difference??????? :rolleyes: Never to be duplicated again....(damn it!)

 

By the way, when are you going to get to the Granite State? Bike week?

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