Wiley Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I made a batch of D1 on Monday. Wet the mix with straight water and worked it in evenly until it was the consistency of soft clay, but did not show signs of moisture when squeezed. Cut it into 1/4" to 3/8" cubes, then tumbled them in greenmix+dex while they were still wet. They've been drying at about 70-80 degrees since monday, and the biggest stars are strong enough that I can't smash them between thumb and forefinger, but if I set one on a table I can crush it with my thumb. Interestingly enough, they burn great the way they are. They leave a nice rich, sparkly tail and seem to be completely consumed. Do they just need to be dried longer, or is it possible that I didn't screen the dextrin in well enough? The dex is very clumpy, and I passed it through a "splatter guard" three times to mix the comp. I think the splatter guard is about 15 mesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrojig Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Sounds like the dextrin did not get activated enough. I had the same exact prob a while back. I know the goal is not to overwet the glitter comps, but the watercontent is diff. depending on the method of making the star. pressing can utilize the least water . Cut stars will need more water to get the dex to do its job. Usually there will be a camel type of smell when activated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiley Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Interesting. Should I be able to see moisture on the surface of the dampened ball when I squeeze it? I'd rather not overwet my glitters for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonhalo Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 "Camel smell" ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Have you thought about using dextrin liquor? Mix in 10% dextrin by weight to your water so you know it is fully dissolved and activated. Then use this to wet your star comp. If you add 20% water you will be adding 2% dextrin which is plenty since it is fully activated. It is also supposed to make a hotter star because it seems to more encapsulate the particles and doesn't dissolve the nitrate much. The nitrate dissolving and forming larger crystals when it dries can slow down your BP comps and this is lessened with this technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shunt Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Have you thought about using dextrin liquor? Mix in 10% dextrin by weight to your water so you know it is fully dissolved and activated. Then use this to wet your star comp. If you add 20% water you will be adding 2% dextrin which is plenty since it is fully activated. It is also supposed to make a hotter star because it seems to more encapsulate the particles and doesn't dissolve the nitrate much. The nitrate dissolving and forming larger crystals when it dries can slow down your BP comps and this is lessened with this technique.This also works for me. I like to like to heat the dextrin liquor to almost boil point, stir like you are making gravy, then add to the star comp. Also weigh out your composition, weigh out the dex liquor added to the stars, this will also help you to know when the stars are dry enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiley Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 (edited) Nope, they just weren't dry. I obtained a Harbor Freight food dehydrator today and the stars have been in there for about 4 hours, and they're just about rock hard. I'll let them "bake" overnight and then I'll be confident that they're dry. In the meantime, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to make a tiny starmine with them. Pretty! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9qn-RKkANY Edited February 27, 2015 by Wiley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 "Camel smell" ?That threw me too. I think he meant caramel. I still recommend the dextrin liquor. There is no question if it has been activated, you use less but to a greater effect, and it doesn't seem to make things as 'wet' since it's sticky and I feel there is less chance to ruin the glitter effect. Though if you dry them fast this seems to not bother the glitter effect from what I can tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I also like the dextrin liquor method. I have been using it with most stars and all BP since Gene Eurek started touting the benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiley Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 I may give it a go someday. For now just mixing it in dry seems to be working. Also, I like slow stars, so I don't really want to speed up any of my charcoal comps at this point. Thanks for all the creative input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbonhalo Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) My first batch of stars from my first homemade roller are drying now. I was expecting the dextrin liquor to clog the spray bottle despite filtering through kitchen towel... but it survived the star rolling and drying.. and still works after the prime layer.The stars certainly seem hard enough. (BTW... I know what a camelid smells like ) Edited March 5, 2015 by carbonhalo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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