alexpyro101 Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 I'm looking for a suitable blue star composition, it can be cut, or pumped. I'm also a big fan of the parlon bound screen-sliced stars. Right now i have only tried one blue composition as i'm awaiting the completion of my star plate. if anybody has a few good comps I'd be grateful if you shared them. I tried skylighter's blue rubber star(also i didn't have lactose so i substituted with sugar) the blue looks bad: slow burning, blows blind in hard breaks, and it's more lavender colored. I don't have ammonium perchlorate, just some average chemicals like potassium perchlorate, copper carbonate, copper oxide black, sulfur, charcoal, red gum, dextrin, etc. Thank you for any replies , I'm still trying to test mixes for the 4th of july, I don;t think I'm even going to be able to get any really nice shells ready
Potassiumchlorate Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) This has been debated over and over again, but Pihko KP Blue #2 is a favourite among many, if you are looking for a KP blue: Potassium perchlorate 63Black copper oxide 13Parlon 14 Red gum 10 It can be bound with the parlon or with 4 or 5 additional parts of dextrin. Or my own with a little touch of magnesium. It's originally intended for potassium chlorate, but the colour will be almost as good with perchlorate: Potassium perchlorate 58Black copper oxide 15Parlon 15Red gum 9Magnesium <63µm 3 Edited June 21, 2012 by Potassiumchlorate
dan999ification Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 veline blue, some say its washed out but i like it, i cut veline with acetone and roll it with water. dan.
Dean411 Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) Edit: saw your still waiting on your star plate but most of my info still applies. Alex, Don't think you can't make nice shells in time for the holiday . There are many ways to make stars that dry quickly.You may not be able to make cut charcoal stars before the fourth (unless you have a star drying box) but some alternatives are parlon with acetone dry in a few hours, also NC Lacquer stars dry quite fast and another that I use a lot is red gum with either denatured alcohol or 99% isopropyl alcohol these will usually dry overnight. I have.rolled them primed an hour later in the evening and in the morning there hard and don't blow blind. I know you didn't say you roll them but pumping should work just as well. Keep the faith. Also phiko #2 kP is a decent blue. There is also a nice blue that mumbles uses which I believe is called Pyro science blue and I think the composition is close to that of phiko. If you pump charcoal comps and there mixed correctly they should be dry in about 72 hours. Edited June 22, 2012 by Dean411
Mumbles Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 Yep, I like it. They are fairly similar (pyroscience formula below). The percentages are rather odd because it's a commercial formula converted to percentages. Shimizu's B70 is also nice. Potassium Perchlorate 66.1Copper Oxide 13.4Parlon 10.7Red Gum 9.8Dextrin 5 Total 105
marks265 Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 Yep, I like it. They are fairly similar (pyroscience formula below). The percentages are rather odd because it's a commercial formula converted to percentages. Shimizu's B70 is also nice. Potassium Perchlorate 66.1Copper Oxide 13.4Parlon 10.7Red Gum 9.8Dextrin 5 Total 105 I have always known this formula as Takeo Shimizu blue KP2.
Mumbles Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 I never noticed how similar Shimizu's formula at the one I have above are. The formula I have for Shimizu's KP #2 blue has about 5 parts less parlon in it, which is probably why the color was never as good for me. Shimizu's looks more like a chlorate formula that they just subbed in perchlorate for 1:1.
Potassiumchlorate Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 There should be an abundance of chlorine, even in potassium chlorate blues. Hardt Blue #2 is a good example: Potassium chlorate 62Black copper oxide 13Parlon 11Red gum 9Dextrin 5 Unless it is an AP composition it should also be 7-14% total copper in it. This has about 10.4%.
marks265 Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 I never noticed how similar Shimizu's formula at the one I have above are. The formula I have for Shimizu's KP #2 blue has about 5 parts less parlon in it, which is probably why the color was never as good for me. Shimizu's looks more like a chlorate formula that they just subbed in perchlorate for 1:1. Something to play with for this would be to use saran. Especially in light of recent conversations weighing it against parlon it seems. Just another can of worms I don't need right now Anyway it just seems like another knock off formula with a minor adjust that goes a long way. I have your formula but have not tried it as of yet. Too many chems in the fire once again! Mark
Mumbles Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 It was only reading that conversation that I realized I've had the same ideas. I don't ever bind with acetone and parlon so that part is not an issue to me. I've made a few star formulas by accident with about 50:50 saran to parlon (ran out of parlon), and liked them much better. The one I was playing with in this regard was Yankie purple. I actually liked it much better with the mixture. They burn so cleanly. I like saran better to begin with, so it just makes me like these formulas more.
alexpyro101 Posted June 24, 2012 Author Posted June 24, 2012 This has been debated over and over again, but Pihko KP Blue #2 is a favourite among many, if you are looking for a KP blue: Potassium perchlorate 63Black copper oxide 13Parlon 14 Red gum 10 It can be bound with the parlon or with 4 or 5 additional parts of dextrin. Or my own with a little touch of magnesium. It's originally intended for potassium chlorate, but the colour will be almost as good with perchlorate: Potassium perchlorate 58Black copper oxide 15Parlon 15Red gum 9Magnesium <63µm 3 Thankyou, I'll be sure to try them
alexpyro101 Posted June 24, 2012 Author Posted June 24, 2012 Edit: saw your still waiting on your star plate but most of my info still applies. Alex, Don't think you can't make nice shells in time for the holiday . There are many ways to make stars that dry quickly.You may not be able to make cut charcoal stars before the fourth (unless you have a star drying box) but some alternatives are parlon with acetone dry in a few hours, also NC Lacquer stars dry quite fast and another that I use a lot is red gum with either denatured alcohol or 99% isopropyl alcohol these will usually dry overnight. I have.rolled them primed an hour later in the evening and in the morning there hard and don't blow blind. I know you didn't say you roll them but pumping should work just as well. Keep the faith. Also phiko #2 kP is a decent blue. There is also a nice blue that mumbles uses which I believe is called Pyro science blue and I think the composition is close to that of phiko. If you pump charcoal comps and there mixed correctly they should be dry in about 72 hours. Last year i made brilliant red and green stars (parlon bound and cut with acetone), and I'm a big fan of those, especially the quick drying time. I'll try phikoblue #2
alexpyro101 Posted June 24, 2012 Author Posted June 24, 2012 Thankyou for all the quick repliess guys, looks like i have some new mixes to try
Potassiumchlorate Posted September 3, 2012 Posted September 3, 2012 Couldn't one of the admins merge all the threads about blue stars? I have another composition, by the way, one from Hardt: Potassium chlorate 62Copper(II)oxide 13Parlon 11Red gum 9Dextrin 5 It has unusually much parlon for a potassium chlorate star, though it also has a large flame envelope and a bright flame
spitfire Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 Funny to see that most people are looking for good blue's without AP, while i am looking for good blue's with AP...
Potassiumchlorate Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Funny to see that most people are looking for good blue's without AP, while i am looking for good blue's with AP... OK, here are some. This one was suggested by the Master himself, Dr. Shimizu: Ammonium perchlorate 75Paris Green 15Shellac 10 This one I recently posted in another thread, Pihko AP #4: Ammonium perchlorate 60Copper(II)oxide 20Sulfur 17Red gum 6 This one is the famous New Blue from David Bleser: Ammonium perchlorate 82Copper benzoate 18 Edited November 6, 2012 by Potassiumchlorate
AirCowPeacock Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 That Shimizu blue looks pretty slick, so does the Bleser.
marks265 Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 Funny to see that most people are looking for good blue's without AP, while i am looking for good blue's with AP... I'm with you on this one. Let's just say I had really big plans for an AP blue but I ran out of time for a competition deadline.
marks265 Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 Couldn't one of the admins merge all the threads about blue stars? Digging a little deeper here, but this one just kills me. I think keeping like things in one thread is a great idea, but I also think that the poster should do so properly. I'll go out on a limb here and say that I really don't think the Mods have time to straighten out everyones messes. Be proactive and jump in their turds if ya see somethin" I'll laugh with ya not against ya! Maybe we can have a banner that scrolls at log in "Hey dumb ass No repeat threads" Ya I like that to! Mark 1
taiwanluthiers Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 Bill Ofca's royal blue is quite good, burns fast, but does lack a bit of brightness.... It uses a mix of potassium chlorate and perchlorate as the primary oxidizer which Bill says is safer than just chlorate alone, but I've used just chlorate and it doesn't seem all that sensitive to shock or friction. Like all chlorate composition it is flame sensitive. Veline is said to be washed out but when viewed from a distance it is acceptable, and it's brighter too.
Potassiumchlorate Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 (edited) I don't see any point with mixing potassium perchlorate with potassium chlorate. With barium chlorate it might desensitize it a bit, though. Even potassium chlorate makes barium chlorate a bit more stable Edited November 7, 2012 by Potassiumchlorate
spitfire Posted November 7, 2012 Posted November 7, 2012 (edited) Thanks potassiumchlorate for sharing the formulae. Recently i obtained a few kg's AP, for blue's and strobe. Allthough i have read a lot of compositions some years ago, now i can't find them anymore. Like purple strobe etc. Edited November 7, 2012 by spitfire
Potassiumchlorate Posted November 18, 2012 Posted November 18, 2012 This one is great too, but I haven't managed to make the hexamine really dry. It should be bound with something like shellac, red gum or NC lacquer: Ammonium perchlorate 75Paris Green 15Hexamine 10
Potassiumchlorate Posted November 19, 2012 Posted November 19, 2012 I tested this chlorate based composition today. The only thing that is unusual with it is that it contains very much copper, almost 16% counted on the pure metal, and that it utilizes shellac. It's very bright and fast burning and has a big flame: John Reilly's Blue Potassium chlorate 62Copper(II)oxide 20Shellac 9PVC 5Dextrin 4
TiE Posted September 19, 2013 Posted September 19, 2013 Yep, I like it. They are fairly similar (pyroscience formula below). The percentages are rather odd because it's a commercial formula converted to percentages. Shimizu's B70 is also nice. Potassium Perchlorate 66.1Copper Oxide 13.4Parlon 10.7Red Gum 9.8Dextrin 5 Total 105 Did give this one a try, and did an other test with 90% of the Red Gum substituted with Shellac. Test:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYErf8Rarm4[/media] I will go for the Shellac. Kalle.
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