Comet tail/glitter effects

[Sparx88]

I want to make some red stars that are big and fluffy like a rising comet effect but smaller scale to 1/4 inch stars to fit a 2" can shell with burst in the middle. So far I have the red color good with strontium nitrate, bp, and dextrin. What size or mesh would be best for the comet effect? Aluminum? I want it to be red in the middle with silver/white showers.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Sparx88

[TYRONEEZEKIEL]

I'm not exactly sure what you are looking for here. Would you mind trying rephrasing?

[Mumbles]

Do you have a video of what you're talking about by any chance?

 

If I understand what you're saying, you want a red star that leaves a white tail behind it. This is normally accomplished by adding titanium to the composition. Very coarse aluminum might work, but that's a big might. You can add coarse charcoal to some for an orange tail.

 

If you want a true glitter tail, you'll need to use married comets. These are a wafer of color composition attached to a thicker pellet of tail composition. They get glued together with white glue, and then pasted around the sides. The glue just holds them together temporarily while the pasted band dries. There is no getting out the monotonous task of pasting each one.

[dan999ification]

I doubt al will work.

I have made married patties, no need to paste or glue but you must bind with acetone.

A veline red pattie is placed on top of the same with as much ti as you like ( up to 25%) rolled or pressed on gently to bond them, then prime and cut as normal. I find that adding more than 10% ti to coloured stars washes out the colour too much to appreciate it ( its hard to see colour with ti in the air anyway) and speeds the burnrate up a lot.

Of course if you want symmetry in shells this method may not suit but it is fast.

 

Example of said stars:

http://youtu.be/HCryTDe2qb4

Mine stars were over 1/2" bombettes stars with less ti were 10mm.

 

Dan.

Edited January 10, 2014 by dan999ification

[Sparx88]

Dan, thats exactly what I was trying to get.

Mumbles, can I use a 1/4" star pump and cut them 1/4" long, let dry, then mix the comet comp and pump that the same way and then stack one of each then paste them together and then paste some craft paper around leaning 1/8" exposed on each end? Then stack those around the inside edge of the can like a normal cut square star?

 

Actually I think I get what your saying, make 2 comps, one just red and the other the streamers/glitter, once mixed, wetted, and kneaded, and flattened, stack them onto each other, then cut, then let dry? If so thats a great idea, thank you for sharing that

Edited January 10, 2014 by Sparx88

[dan999ification]

Thats it, make comp, half it, add ti to one half, wet both, stack them.

Stacking the patties requires a resin or rubber binder, or co binding.

They have to become one to not fall apart while burning, not sure if dextrin would bond the patties well enough unless you got things really wet which rules out glitters.

This method is best suited to rubber or veline stars or almost anything with parlon and redgum.

 

Dan.

[Niladmirari]

You need:

 

Sr(NO3)2 - 50%

KClO4 - 10%

PVC - 20%

MgAl - 20%

Al or Ti (150-80 mesh) - 15%

Dextrin - 5%

 

Рrime: ВР + 5% MgAl

 

I did green:

 

Ba(NO3)2 - 50%

KClO4 - 10%

PVC - 20%

MgAl - 20%

Al - 15%

Dextrin - 5%

 

I used aluminum. I did it with an microphotographs:

 

http://savepic.su/4012061m.jpg

 

http://savepic.su/4003869m.jpg

 

Edited January 11, 2014 by Niladmirari