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Glitter/Strobe Compositions


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Posted by: Sparkler Posted on: July 1st, 2004, 7:50am

Heres a list of some of my favorite glitter comps

 

Williams No-Antimony Glitter

- 55 Potassium nitrate

- 17 Airfloat charcoal

- 7 Sulfur

- 4 Red iron oxide

- 10 Aluminum 12 micron spherical

- 3 Magnalium 100-200 mesh

- 4 Dextrin

 

D1 (Glitter)

- 53 Potassium Nitrate

- 7 Sodium BiCarbonate

- 4 Dextrin

- 11 Charcoal (Airfloat)

- 18 Sulphur

- 7 Aluminum (Atomized)

- 1 Boric acid

This one is note as safe because it contains a nitrate, aluminum and sodium bicarb. Adding boric acid would be pointless as it would be neutralized by the sodium bicarb. I have made many times and havent had problems.

 

Crazy_Swede Glitter

- 51 KNO3

- 10 Ba(NO3)2

- 12 Charcoal (Passed through 80-mesh sieve)

- 10 Atomised Al (Not too fine)

- 8 Sulfur

- 8 Sb2S3 (Antimony trisulphide)

- 6 Fe2O3 (Red iron oxide)

- 5 Dextrin

This is a glitter Crazy_Swede posted. I havent got around to trying yet because I have no antimony.

 

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Posted by: andyboy Posted on: July 1st, 2004, 3:58pm

Could you perhaps add something about how the stars are prepared? Should they be cut, pumped or rolled stars, what size should they be? Is it a fast composition and so on. This will help a lot in determening if it is a useful composition for my needs.

 

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Posted by: blindreeper Posted on: July 1st, 2004, 4:53pm

http://www.vk2zay.net/composition.php?id=5

 

Some info on the D1 glitter.

 

Here is a movie of the composition:

 

http://www.vk2zay.net/device.php?id=163

 

Check out "Friends Test #3" it shows the effect the best.

Posted by: Sparkler Posted on: July 1st, 2004, 8:03pm

I usually roll or pump them as that requires less wetting. Wetting the comp too much is a big reason why most people get glitter faliure. I use 50:50 water/alcohol to wet them. D1 glitter is a little slow if I remeber correctly. Williams is normal speed. Don't try to substitue other chems for chems that you don't have. D1 is slighty hygroscopic so keep it dry.

 

Blindreeper that was a poor example of D1 glitter. The stars in that video were poorly kept and got too moist that is why the effect didn't show properly. I belive this is a much better exapmle of D1. http://www.vk2zay.net/device.php?id=155 click the "50 mm Glitter Mine Video"(Save Target As)

 

Andyboy would you mind sharing the stobe comp you used in your last shell?

 

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Posted by: al93535 Posted on: October 31st, 2005, 3:53am

VERY bright strobe star or pot.

 

Barium Nitrate 51 %

Potassium Nitrate 7%

Sulfur 19 %

Magnalium 100 to 200 mesh 18 %

Dextrin 5 %

 

To make a strobe pot this mix is sieved, and slightly wetted. I was amazed at how little water it took to clump together. I made a few pots by putting a piece of 70Lb kraft into a 2-liter bottle lid. I then pressed the mix into the paper with gloved hands. A piece of visco fuse was inserted into the mix while wet and the mix was pressed around it. I lit a small 1 gram piece and it was VERY bright. The test piece was still damp. I will try to test the frequency tommorow after I let them dry and light 'em! I doubt my video camera will handle the intense light very well, but I will try. And I will take a pictures tommorow of the pots.

 

When I make these into stars I intend to roll them.

 

Remember to use those latex gloves!!

 

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Posted by: keepkool78 Posted on: November 6th, 2005, 7:19am

 

on October 31st, 2005, 3:53am, al93535 wrote:

VERY bright strobe star or pot.

 

Barium Nitrate 51 %

Potassium Nitrate 7%

Sulfur 19 %

Magnalium 100 to 200 mesh 18 %

Dextrin

 

 

What do you use for a prime for these stars? I saw this on unitednucler.com and it also did not give a prime. I made alot of these and some I coated with meal, some ofca's bp based prime, and others veline's prime. I always get worried about primes. Any other idea's would be great. I am still drying these so I will see if they work.

Thanks,

 

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Posted by: RIP Posted on: January 11th, 2006, 12:11pm

I tested two Glitter compositions.

 

D1 Glitter:

 

Potassium nitrate - 58 pbw.

Sulfur - 18 pbw.

Coal - 11 pbw.

Al(spherical) - 9 pbw.

Sodium carbonate - 7 pbw.

Dextrin - 4 pbw.

 

Video - http://ruspyro.net/glitter/video/comp2.rar

 

Second composition:

 

No antimony White Glitter:

 

Potassium nitrate - 55%

sulfur - 7% coal - 17%

dextrin - 4%

red oxide of iron - 4%

Al(spherical) - 10%

Magnalium - 3%

 

Video - http://ruspyro.net/glitter/video/comp2.rar

 

The second composition was more greatly pleased to me. The shot is is 1,5" mortar on video.

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  • 1 year later...

Hallo. I´m looking for a chemical(chlorine donor), which work in barium nitrate strobe type composition. BHC is maybe good, but is dangerous, cancerogenic. PVC not work and squashes twinkling. I reason about 5% addtition for green color, like BHC. Do you know anything?

Thanks.

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Any chlorine donor addition will likely kill the glitter effect. Trust me, if it were this easy to get colored glitters, it would have already been done.
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hallo. I have a question. What is this effect? :

I need make it:-)

I seen this effect in first time on Japanese mowie. Thist stars produce perfect crack sound.

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That looks like fuch's pop glitter. It's like a glitter and crackling mixed up. The original comp:

 

-----------------

Fuchs Pop Glitter

-----------------

44.88 Potassium Nitrate

14.28 Sulfur

14.00 MgAl -200 mesh

10.50 Antimonytrisulfide

8.84 Airfloat Charcoal

4.50 Copper(II)Oxide

3.00 Dextrin

 

While there's dextrin in the comp, some people state that NC should be used for a better crackling.

One real cool dude on rec. pyrotechnics once upped a video about this. His best working composition was:

 

61.00 Meal

10.00 Antimonytrisulfide

14.00 MgAl 325 mesh

7.00 Sulfur

5.00 Parlon

4.00 Copper(II)Oxide

 

In another video he says "Fuchs comp. Bp used, fine metals (-200), proportionally added +10 sulfur. Bound with NC (to speed up testing)"

 

When my Antimony Trisulfide arrives, I'll definitely do some experiments on this pop glitter. For now, I can only tell you what I've read.

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GraafWaag: Thanks to only one good man, which answered.

I seen pop crac anywhere in this forum, but I thing that this effect is a little different, maybe not. Their stars on video crackling perfect.

Problem: I hawen´t Sb2S3. Tested anybody this comp. without antimony trisulphide?

They call this effec "rain willow" and I seen two types: silver rain willow and golden rain willow.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/kaming-f...hina/2005341005

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=6RTMo-jpYjo

I need this, yeeeee, I must make it.

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Karlos,

I really like the effect too, it's very, very cool. Perfect crackling indeed.

 

Have you seen this topic? The last post is mine, and I'm linking THIS video. It really looks like the effect you need.

 

And on the Sb2S3 thingy, I don't think it'll work as well without it. Also, i'm not sure wether chineese needle or dark Sb2S3 is needed.

 

At least, you could try it without the antimony sulphide. I've once made crackling comets with just meal + coarse MgAl! Not as great as this one, but still a nice crackling tail!

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  • 4 months later...

does anyone has experience with this composition:

Barium Nitrate 51 %

Potassium Nitrate 7%

Sulfur 19 %

Magnalium 100 to 200 mesh 18 %

Dextrin

 

 

I made some rolled stars with it, and the strobing is once every 2-3 seconds.

what could be the problem?

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Since this has apparently become the thread for glitter talk, Is it typical for formulas intended for use for atomized aluminum to outright not work at all for Bright flake Al? I tried some winokur 40 with 325 bright flake and it did not glitter one bit. I do have some atomized/spheroidal aluminum on the way, but in the meantime I thought I'd try some compositions with the bright flake. I have made successful glitters out of this bright flake aluminum before, even based on some of the winokur compositions.

 

I also probably added a little too much water...I mean it wasn't a huge amount (not enough to stick together by any other means but pumping), but I hear people say not to add more than 6%, which sound like an awful tiny amount to me. If I had to ballpark it, seems like I would have added at least 10% or something. Based on weighing the amount of water from an approximately equivalent amount of clicks from my spray bottle.

 

Still another factor is perhaps it was just too fast burning. I used willow charcoal, and milled it sans the "non-millable" components.

 

So many factors!

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When you tested a star, did the aluminum burn immediately and make a silver streamer effect? Also, how did you test the star?
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It is fine enough.

Don't be so confident about that. The strobe rate speed is controlled primarily by the particle size of the MgAl. You obviously want a faster strobe rate, so it's obviously not fine enough. No rate is given with the original formula, so it might be working just as designed. That looks a lot like the more common strobe pot formulas to me.

 

Also involved, to a much less important degree, is the fineness and dryness of the other components.

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does anyone has experience with this composition:

Barium Nitrate 51 %

Potassium Nitrate 7%

Sulfur 19 %

Magnalium 100 to 200 mesh 18 %

Dextrin

 

 

I made some rolled stars with it, and the strobing is once every 2-3 seconds.

what could be the problem?

Where did you find that formula? It looks like a bastardized version of formula #1 from Table 15-17 in Hardt's Pyrotechnics, which could explain why you're having such bad luck with it.

 

Hardt's #1

 

Barium Nitrate - 51

Potassium Nitrate - 8

Magnalium (-60mesh) - 13

Sulfur - 23

Dextrin - 5

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This formula is mentioned in many places.

I grinded mt MgAl in a coffe grinder and rolled some stars, lets see what we will get out of it.

besides it is written 100 mesh. the particles of 100 mesh are large enough to see with a neked eye so I believe my MgAl is fine enough.

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I think you should try Hardt's formula. That particular mix relies on the heat produced by some of the magnalium burning with the barium nitrate and potassium nitrate to reach the temperature where the sulfates (barium and potassium) formed can again react with additional magnalium causing a strobe pulse. Your formula is heavily over fueled and under oxidized, which would be a good reason for the slow strobe rate. As you over fuel a composition, it becomes cooler burning...the high-temperature sulfate reaction is delayed. Does that make sense?

 

That formula you're using is Bleser #26 White Strobe. Here's the note attached to that formula in the Passfire database:

 

"Roll no larger than 5/16'' dia or stars will strobe all the way to the ground.

 

It is important that the barium nitrate be finely powdered. If your barium nitrate looks like table salt then you will need to ball mill it otherwise the formula may not strobe at all.

 

Using finer magnalium will increase the strobe rate. Going above 300 mesh will give more of a shimmering effect than a strobe effect, due to the high flash rate."

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Well, im nearly out of MgAl. So I hope that what ive done will do the trick

otherwise, it will have to wait to the next shell

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  • 1 month later...
Where did you find that formula? It looks like a bastardized version of formula #1 from Table 15-17 in Hardt's Pyrotechnics, which could explain why you're having such bad luck with it.

 

Hardt's #1

 

Barium Nitrate - 51

Potassium Nitrate - 8

Magnalium (-60mesh) - 13

Sulfur - 23

Dextrin - 5

This formula rocks! Best strobe I have made yet. Not that I've made a ton...but it's bright and "snappy"!

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  • 5 months later...

Yes I realy like this formula to, hardts formula requires less magnalium then Blesers and performs just as good.

Tried it with both 60 and 250 mesh magnalium, when tested on the ground the 60 strobed very nicely but the 250 mesh didn't strobe at all.

So I went for the 60 mesh and made a batch of 1 kg and cut them to roughly 6 mm cubes, primed with a layer of 80/20 bp/mgal and they seem to take fire very well.

 

Whike not strobing on the ground, the 250 mesh will probably create more of a shimmer which can be a very nice effect all by itself, but I haven't tested this yet.

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When using a formula that uses magnalium, is it dangerous to bind with the normal water/dextrin? I'm talking uncoated magnalium. Besides possibly increasing the burn rate, would it be safe to bind with red gum/alcohol?
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It might produce some H2S or heat op when binding with water, especially with nitrates or sulfur present. Using a 3% solution of boric acid as wetting agent solves this problem completely. There is no need to worry about carbonates or subcarbonates reacting with the boric acid, as it is too weak to cause a reaction.

 

Binding with red gum/alcohol might in some cases destroy the glitter/strobe effect. Try it on a small batch before binding all of your composition with it.

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I've never had a problem with MgAl reacting with anything when binding with water. I've actually heard that dichromate soln to wet it solves any sort of reaction. I've made some of these exact formulas without any issue when binding with water. It's hard to tell what using red gum would do to the formulas. There is a smoulder stage in the strobe reaction, but I'm unsure how it physically proceeds, so I don't know how the RG would effect it.
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  • 1 month later...

A true blue glitter effect is most probably impossible to create! If the effects in the picture are not manipulated we have to assume that they are made by using matrix comets containing small blue stars.

 

(OT: Nice to post here again by the way, I have tried to stick to Passfire and a lousy Swedish forum for a while but I like the layout here better. I hope some intersting things are being discussed here now and then!)

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