Tanner808 Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 i am thinking about making some d1 and or n1 glitter stars i only have atomized aluminum of 400 mesh and i am wondering if it would still worki also researched it and found that when making the stars(i will be pumping them) you are supposed to use 10/1 water to alcohol with 2% boric acid i am also wondering if the 2% boric acid is necessary and if it is where can i get it
Mumbles Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 That aluminum will probably be fine. I tend not to use boric acid unless I notice a particular composition reacting previously. You'll know if it reacts if it heats up and smells like ammonia or rotting eggs. Reacting stars are less of a problem with pumped stars as there is less water in them. If you are looking to pick some up anyway, it's sometimes sold as a roach killer. Otherwise some ceramic supply shops stock it.
chuck45 Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 I've used different aluminium to what is reccomended, and I was still happy with the results. The best way is to whip up a small batch, and see if you are happy with the result. I like mine, quite nice. As for the boric acid, I use it, because it's easy for me to get, but I wouldn't think leaving it out would be a huge issue for this composition. If you are worried, plan for failure, ie; keep the stars where a negative reaction won't be a danger to other stored items.
Megabusa Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 I use the same Al in my D1 - 400 mesh atomised & I like the result. It gives a nice glitter effect with nice gold 'pops'. I used the same Al in 'Yankies Flashers' also. It works but not as good as it's supposed to.
Peret Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 I think the boric acid would be advisable in a D1, since it contains sodium bicarbonate. I know it's a weak base, but when I dampen a mixture with finely divided aluminum I prefer to keep the pH on the low side of neutral.
Peret Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 thx However, a couple of months ago I said I never used boric in my D1 because I thought it would react with the bicarb, so my advice is worth every penny you paid for it. For what it's worth, about half of Dr Winokur's 40 glitter formulae contain sodium bicarbonate and he doesn't specify boric acid in any of them, even the ones that use aluminum flake.
Col Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) i use 325 mesh atomised Al in D1 with good results. The boric always goes in and i`ve not had any issues, i can`t say if thats down to the acid or not I use 4% water / alc to dampen the comp, and give it a quick run through a screen before pressing. Edited January 7, 2012 by Col
californiapyro Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 4 percent?? wow. sidenote: i just made up 2 identical batches of D1, on with the acid and one without. The one with acid has noticeably longer pops and leaves some hanging slag, whereas the non-acid has a shorter tail and no slag.
Tanner808 Posted February 15, 2012 Author Posted February 15, 2012 I made a batch with no boric acid and this is what it looked like http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=/watch?v=EOKSNkUtrAI&context=C35a6004ADOEgsToPDskLs8ZtYH1WI3_deJE0tSQql&context=C35a6004ADOEgsToPDskLs8ZtYH1WI3_deJE0tSQql&v=EOKSNkUtrAI&gl=US&bmb=1 And http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=oX100BrOypA That have short tails and arent very golden but I still like it
busspuppy Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Hey Tanner I think your links are messed up. I go to a wierd screen and I can't find your videos. It is a shame I was looking forward to it. Could you reupload? I made 35 oz yesterday without boric acid but I can still add it if I want but I would love to see the video.
Tanner808 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Posted February 16, 2012 Hey Tanner I think your links are messed up. I go to a wierd screen and I can't find your videos. It is a shame I was looking forward to it. Could you reupload? I made 35 oz yesterday without boric acid but I can still add it if I want but I would love to see the video. sorry, that was posted from my iphone i guess it didn't work heres the links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOKSNkUtrAI&context=C37c48f6ADOEgsToPDskLShbzomOHIjNmFI_0JP-WS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX100BrOypA&feature=related nothing special but u can see the stars, which where quarter inch and pumped
busspuppy Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Very nice. Thanks for the upload. I will be making several shells from the 35oz of D1. I have some good ideas planed for them. I will post the video when I shoot them. It might be a month or two though.
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