How identify "real NC" ping-pong balls?

[Arthur]

A crude nitration of cotton will generate a poor yield of low nitration product, and in some situations the properly nitrated product is soluble in the liquid and not recoverable. Definitely not a casual process and as most cotton fibres are in fact tubular it's extremely hard to remove all the used reagents from the product. Fresh NC needs a preservative, and it's usually supplied wet with a water/alcohol mix.

[Arthur]

Realistically there are likely NO N.C ping pong balls left in the world now.

[mattbenett]

Realistically there are likely NO N.C ping pong balls left in the world now.

What can be used instead? That I can buy on Aliexpress or Ebay - ideally pretty cheap.

 

Live in Australia and cant rock up and buy some smokless powder.

Edited October 20, 2023 by mattbenett

[cmjlab]

I'm not sure of any alternatives. Is there a specific purpose you want it for? If it's just to use as a binder, and you can't get shotgun shells or some other ammo to get small amounts of smokeless, then you can just use normal binders (red gum to an extent, phenolic resin, dextrin, SGRS, Gum Arabic, etc.).

 

Im not aware of comps that require NC to work except Crackle, but some have reportedly gotten it to work with red gum (which you should be able to get in Australia).

[cmjlab]

Even for slurry priming, you can use gum Arabic or dextrin as a solution to mix with B.P. fines and make a slurry that would dry relatively quickly in Australia, and to be honest, would likely work better for taking fire than NC. NC just has the benefit of fast drying, and flammable substance (though if used incorrectly can also block fire).