PyroJoe Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I am about to order some magnesium from firefox and I was curious about the different sizes. There are so many different sizes im not sure what to get. Im planning on making some good green colored stars and maybe use it for some green flash powder too, but I don't know what mesh or shape is best for the stars. So far im going to order a pound of 100-300 mesh atomized and 5 micron atomized. If anybody has any experience with the different sizes, or if they even make a difference please let me know! I also would like to know if I need to coat the magnesium with pot. dichromate to use it with water and dextrin bound stars, even if its a larger mesh such as 100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I have used -100mesh and -200 mesh. Both work fine for things. They are good enough for colors and flash. Be careful, even 100 mesh makes some powerful flash. Yes, it still must be coated with dichromate. My prefered choices would be the -100 granular as there are no ORM-D restrictions, and it works well. I may also pick up some of the floor sweepings. I would of course love some 1000mesh too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al93535 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Dichromate coatings are only effective against ammonium perchlorate. So you need to coat it with linseed oil. After coating the 5 micron, you will not end up with 5 micron after you finish. I see it as a waste. Get the 100 - 200 mesh. Also, even though you coat the Mg, try to use acetone and NC lacquer to bind, or pure alcohol and red gum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Dichromate coatings are effective against everything that linseed oil is plus Ammonium Perchlorate. Linseed oil is prefered as it is nontoxic. It is also slightly more effective with some compounds. The information is in Shimizu's Fireworks: Art, Science, and Technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozentech Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Dichromate coatings are only effective against ammonium perchlorate. So you need to coat it with linseed oil. After coating the 5 micron, you will not end up with 5 micron after you finish. I see it as a waste. Get the 100 - 200 mesh. Also, even though you coat the Mg, try to use acetone and NC lacquer to bind, or pure alcohol and red gum. Shimizu states that Dichromate coating is effective for protecting Mg from H2O, as well as just about every other pyrotechnic compound. In fact the only substance that shows reaction with dichromated Mg is HCl ( why you would want that in your comp I have no idea ! ) It is listed as the only coating which protects against NH4ClO4. He does list linseed oil treatment as being even more effective against everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBang Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I have a pound of the floor sweepings and half a pound of the 5 micron(because they ship with turning.) The 5 um stuuf is pure evil in flash. I had maybe a .25 gram pile come close to self confining. It does seem to be a very nice product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al93535 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I guess I should have worded it a bit different. Dichromate coatings are the only effective protection against ammonium perchlorate. But I would still only use linseed oil unless it was used with AP. And I personally would not use Mg with water even if it was protected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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