29 replies to this topic

[Zmann]

i was wondering if anybody knows of a non toxic way of protecting magnesium to use in color comps that will give worry free shelf life when made into stars

[karlfoxman]

i was wondering if anybody knows of a non toxic way of protecting magnesium to use in color comps  that will give worry free shelf life when made into stars

I do believe parlon can be used as a protective coating for magnesium.

[paul]

Yepp, in some star-composition... But then you have to bind them with acetone. And thats quite a mess to work with. Very volatile and stuff...

[Mumbles]

Linseed oil is rather non-toxic. It only carries a health rating of one, which is the same rating table salt carries. The only down side of it is that it takes a while(weeks), and it should be done out doors. It can get messy. It is fairly nonlabor intensive though. You barely coat the Mg with the linseed oil, let it dry, and allow to sit for several weeks as it polymerises into the protective coating.

[Zmann]

Linseed oil is rather non-toxic.  It only carries a health rating of one, which is the same rating table salt carries.  The only down side of it is that it takes a while(weeks), and it should be done out doors.  It can get messy.  It is fairly nonlabor intensive though.  You barely coat the Mg with the linseed oil, let it dry, and allow to sit for several weeks as it polymerises into the protective coating.

Have you used linseed oil on magnesium.Did you ever have any problems with heating up or anything like that. I would really like to use magnesium but I like to keep things safe.

[alany]

Pyrotechnica 16 apparently has an article on non-toxic Mg coatings...

Stir-frying metal with linseed oil does work quite well, I've done that for Mg and Fe. The heat helps it distribute and oxidise/polymerise faster, much better than doing it cold and then waiting weeks for it to dry out.

[karlfoxman]

Pyrotechnica 16 apparently has an article on non-toxic Mg coatings...

Stir-frying metal with linseed oil does work quite well, I've done that for Mg and Fe.  The heat helps it distribute and oxidise/polymerise faster, much better than doing it cold and then waiting weeks for it to dry out.

Thats a good idea, as im trying some comps right now using magnesium. Thanks Alany for that tip, written that down in my black book! I have posted a yellow star in the 'Easy to light stars' topic, my first mg star! Soooooo bright, check the picture out.

[Yugen-biki]

You can find a lot of information on this subject in Shimizu?s Art Science Technique on page 124.

Coating Mg with Linseed oil 4% gives a good protection to most chemicals, BUT not ammonium perchlorate (and sodium carbonate).

[adamw]

Please be careful when coating things in linseed oil - as it polymerises it can generate quite a large amount of heat - so spread the material out on trays and leave it somewhere ventilated.

[Rhodri]

Weingart states that Mg stars can be made with boiled Linseed oil and 'rammed hard'.

5 KNO3
3 Mg

I've tried these and they are most excellent stars!

Best take Adam's advice on heating though if making a large amount of composition.

Boiled Linseed oil can be bought at Robert Dyas for around ?3.49.

[paul]

Isn?t "ramming hard" a composition out of KNO3/mg a bad idea?!

[Rhodri]

"Rammed hard"

Sure - a direct quote from Weingart.

Maybe press instead of ram.

Some of Weingart' practices (and recipies) are now known to be dangerous. Some of the chlorate and S mixes especially so.

I would consider 'ramming' a small Linseed coated Mg star to be less of a risk than 'ramming' a chlorate star. Still, please correct me - safety is always of paramount importance.

[Valec]

Is there an alternative to dichromate coating of magnesium for use in strobe stars with ammonium perchlorate? According to Shimizu, linseed oil doesn't work in this case.

[karlfoxman]

Is there an alternative to dichromate coating of magnesium for use in strobe stars with ammonium perchlorate? According to Shimizu, linseed oil doesn't work in this case.

I have had a look around and i cant find an alternative, would some sort of wax do? Or vaseline?