Stars (Metallic - Parlon Bound)
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[edit] Overview
The following star formulas are for metallically fueled Parlon-bound stars. Parlon is the main binder (also acts as the chlorine donor) so a solvent that dissolves Parlon is needed (acetone or any other ketone). These stars have good overall performance and color. They have been tested successfully as 1/4" and 3/8" cut stars, performance of other sizes and production methods is currently unknown. They require a hot two-stage igniter prime to ignite consistently. An inner coat of Veline Superprime (found here - Star Primes) with an outer coat of Black Powder works well.
[edit] Forming (cut stars)
Mix the finely powdered chemicals required thoroughly (see warning in notes below first), they may be pressed through a screen (100 mesh or similar) to ensure there are no lumps. Spray the mixture with acetone, or your solvent of choice, while mixing until you achieve a consistency similar to firm toothpaste (Warning - be aware of proper safety procedures while working with Acetone, acetone will dissolve some plastics so be aware of what types of containers and mixing intruments are being used). Roll the dough into a sheet of desired thickness and continue to cut the sheet into stars of desired size as you would for cutting stars of other compositions. The dissolved Parlon makes the paste slightly stringy when the mass is pulled apart, other methods of forming stars may be affected by this property and not work (such as rolling stars).
Notes:
- Acetone evaporates quickly, you do not need to rush while working but should complete the operation fast enough so that the sheet is still soft while cutting it.
- Water will not work - there is no water soluble binder in these formulas. Alcohol will dissolve the Red gum, but will not dissolve the Parlon resulting in a weak star. Acetone will dissolve both Paron and Red gum.
- Warning!!! - when mixing the chemicals from a formula that calls for magnalium, you MUST first mix the potassium perchlorate with everything except the magnalium. When they are well integrated only then can you add the magnalium. If the Potassium perchlorate and magnalium are mixed first, you will have just made flash powder that requires special safety procedures.
[edit] Compositions
Table 1: Color compositions (in percentages) :
| Red | Yellow | Blue | Green | White | Tangerine(Reddish-orange) | Indigo(Bluish-purple) | Fuchsia(Reddish-purple) | |
| Potassium perchlorate | 30 | 30 | 62.5 | 30 | 40 | 30 | 62.5 | 63 |
| Magnalium (-320 mesh) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 30 | |||
| Parlon | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15.1 |
| Red gum | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Strontium carbonate | 20 | 5 | 6.25 | 3.1 | ||||
| Barium carbonate | 15 | 20 | ||||||
| Calcium carbonate | 20 | |||||||
| Copper carbonate | 12.5 | 6.25 | 8.8 | |||||
| Lactose | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Notes:
- Add +10% Titanium or Ferro-Titanium ( mesh size of your choice ) to any composition for a tail effect.
[edit] Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The stars dry quickly
- The stars are very strong and durable
- The formulas consist of common pyrotechnic chemicals
- Relatively safe chemicals and compositions are used (except for Potassium dichromate - used in Veline Superprime)
Cons:
- Relatively large use of magnalium makes these stars slightly pricey
- Needs special attention for safe use of acetone or similar solvent
- Requires a two-stage hot ignitor prime (as do most colored stars though)
- Other methods of forming stars (such as rolling) may not work because of the stringy nature of dissolved Parlon
[edit] References
These are star compositions developed by Ned Gorski.
