A-BOMB
Frequent Poster
Posts: 145
From: wouldn't you like to know
Registered: APR 2001
posted 06-17-2001 07:48 PM
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First, i got my AN smokebomb to work, but then that color of white smoke got boring.
So here's my problem is there any way to make like red,blue,green.... colored smoke bombs without hard to find chemicals (nothing bought from suppliers)?
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live by the bomb
die by the bomb



SMAG 12B/E5
Frequent Poster
Posts: 63
From:
Registered: FEB 2001
posted 07-15-2001 01:31 AM
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If the AN smoke bomb that you refered to is the one made of rolled newspaper soaked in AN (or saltpeter), then try soaking ever other or every third page in a fabric dye. Most smoke colors are sublimated dyes. This technique offers some interesting alternatives.


DarkAngel
Frequent Poster
Posts: 610
From: ?
Registered: SEP 2000
posted 07-15-2001 03:11 AM
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Wrong topic.
What's dye?
I can't find it in the dictionary
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ÐarkAngel

For explosives and stuff go to Section1 http://www.section1.f2s.com And http://run.to/section1
sendtosection1@hotmail.com



extreme
Frequent Poster
Posts: 102
From:
Registered: SEP 2000
posted 07-15-2001 04:56 AM
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exactly what color do you want ?
Have a nice doc about that but its on swedish.


Donutty
Frequent Poster
Posts: 228
From: UK
Registered: SEP 2000
posted 07-15-2001 05:43 PM
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A 'Dye' is a chemical pigment (an 'Ink') that changes the colour of something - They are used on clothes to give them colours


A-BOMB
Frequent Poster
Posts: 145
From: wouldn't you like to know
Registered: APR 2001
posted 07-15-2001 10:34 PM
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Well I wanted red,white and blue for the 4th but now orgenge will do if anyone knows how.
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live by the bomb
die by the bomb



simply RED
Frequent Poster
Posts: 242
From: HELL
Registered: OCT 2000
posted 07-16-2001 04:24 PM
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I've got this on colored smokes, I haven't tested it and don't know how good does it work, but the colour agent seems good.
Here is a somewhat explosive composition uses by the Germans in WWII for black smoke:
Hexachloroethane - 60%
Anthracene - 20%
Magnesium(powder)- 20%

Brown Smoke:

Pitch - 29.2%
Pottasium Nitrate- 47.4%
Borax - 10.6%
Calcium Carbonate- 4.9%
Sand - 4.0%
Sulpher - 3.9%

Note: You may substite pitch by soaking liquid tar in sawdust. This has better
effect.

Grey Smoke:

A:
Hexachloroethane - 50%
Zinc Powder - 25%
Zinc Oxide - 10%
Pottasium Nitrate- 10%
Colophony Resin - 5%

B:
Hexachloroethane - 45.5%
Zinc Oxide - 45.5%
Calcium Silicide - 9.0%

Note: Because of the high vapor presure of HC, HC smokes must(be sealed in
and artight container. Also the Zinc Powder one may react with water so
be carefull.

White Smoke:

Potassium Chlorate- 20%
Ammonium Chloride -"50%
Naphthalene - 20%
Charcoal - 10%

Pottasium Nitrate - 48.5%
Sulpher - 48.5%
Realgar - 3.0%

Pottasium Nitrate - 50%
Sugar - 50%

Yellow Smoke:

Potassium Nitrate - 25%
Sulpher - 16%
Realgar - 59%

Other Black Smoke:

This one make the most beawtifull black smoke but is expensive.

Potassium Perchlorate - 44%
Antimony Trisulphide - 24%
Naphthalene - 26%
Soluble Glutinous Rice Starch - 6%

Potassium Perchlorate - 56%
Sulpher - 11%
Anthracene - 33%

Hexachloroethane - 62%
Magnesium - 15%
Naphtalene (or Antracene) - 23%

Red Smoke:

Potassium Chlorate - 25%
Rhodamine B - 24%
Para Red - 15%

Blue Smoke:

Potassium Chlorate - 28%
Methylene Blue - 17%
Indigo Pure - 40%
Wheat Flour - 15%

Green Smoke:

Potassium Chlorate - 28%
Auramine - 10%
Methylene Blue - 17%
Indigo Pure - 30%
Wheat Flour - 15%

Violet Smoke:

Potassium Chlorate - 26%
Indigo Pure - 22%
Rhodamine B - 16%
Para Red - 21%
Wheat Flour - 15%

This is slightly related to this topic; different metals and metal compounds burn in different colours.

If you wish to make coloured smoke, the use of the metal salts (as mentioned in the archive file above) is required, although the creation of coloured flames in explosives is rather simple, and usually the smoke has a tint of the colour of the flame. For example, strontium burns with a bright red flame, iron gives off yellowish sparks when it burns, and copper flames are bright green.

This means that adding any metals which burn with certain colours (experimentation may be required) to the above mixtures will make a rather spectacular flame, and the lighting will definitely add to the smoke colour and create a nice effect.

Dyes work as well in my experience, although the fumes from them smell bad and are potentially harmful, so be careful when using them. Food colours work best (are the least toxic) in this respect.

EDIT: For those interested, basic food colourings (red, yellow, blue) can be found in most supermarkets under the section which has icing, cake decorations, baking powder, etc. The primary colours can be mixed to make the desired colour, and to make black you just mix a lot of each colour. Mixing a little bit of every colour will give a brown. I am sure you can obtain food dyes in your area, and they are relatively inexpensive and useful for all sorts of things. The best thing about them is that they aren't toxic, and so can be used for pyrotechnic stunts and practical jokes with little risk of injury.

Can someone tell me some sources for (food) dyes? í've been looking in several shops (reform, supermarkets etc.) with no succes.

Some dyes can be found in drugstores, at least you can order some, this isn't restricted. In pharmacies, you can get methylen blue, which is used for tracing food in your body, and for infections.

Standard dyes, with a special name (E235, E452, ...) may be ordered on the internet; you can to open the yellow pages at the food section, food industry.

Thanks Arthis.

i've tried KClO3, Lactose and Indigo, but the smoke doesn't seem to be blue at all (??) just a little grey/blueish.

Okay, it seems there a are a few common ingredients here, as far as the colouring agents go.

Surely the store bought food syes will do nothing ? I have them here, but can't test them. I'm sure they would be useless though.

What I'm interested in is a source, and hopefully a reason for wanting to buy (apart from pyro) the dyes mentioned in the first post. Indigo Pure, Rhodamine B, Para Red, Auramine, Methylene Blue and I suppose hexachloroethane, which seems very useful. Any sources anyone ?

If you want a bullshit reason for ordering high purity chemical dyes, you could just claim you're trying to make a home made dye laser. I only mention it as I'm planning one, and I'll be ordering some of those dyes.

A good reason to buy them could be for staining and tracking dyes for electrophoresis / microscopy etc., my Ajax scientific products cat. lists all the above dyes for that use.
The sheeple at the chemist shop will most likely have no idea what you are talking about, but it is a genuine use if they do check up on it.
Gibbonet or anyone else in Australia, you may be able to get them from Ajax but the prices are horrific (example 500g KNO3 bp grade is about $60 au), but if you want to try this is the head office phone no. 02 648 5222

Smoke dyes aren't controled, except insofar as some of them are carcinogenic...
I don't think you need a cover story.

You can buy them without any controls in the US at least. They are rather
expensive, however. You will need a low temp. Oxidizer/fuel system to
vaporize the dye. Poitassium chlorate and lactose would be a common
choice. They also are INCREDIBLY messy to work with. They dye
everything in your shop, and you too.

After many hours of searching online for reasonably priced smoke dyes, and contacting several Smoke Dye Companies, these are the results I have found.

Organic Dyestuff Corporation-
They will do business with me but want a 25Kg order at 29.00$ a pound per color. That totals over $ 700.00 After receiving samples and MSDS sheets I have determined their product is really not all that special. They are Solvent Dye & Anthraquinione based. This was not unexpected.

Carey Industries Inc.-

They were friendly but would not sell to my company, even though I hold an active business license. Military only was the way I understood it.

Keystone Aniline Corporation-
55Kg minimum per color

Walrus Enterprises, LLC-
Minimum packaging 10 Pounds, very friendly, and even offered to break their minimum to a lower quantity for a "testing" purchase.

I have found many companies based in Asia and India that have Solvent Powdered Dyes, most had minimums and were a pain in the ass to deal with, due to "communication" problems.

Last but not least I found, Aljo MFG Company and Pro Chemical & Dye, two companies in the US that sold small quantities of "Disperse" Dyes for fabric. Selling around $30 per pound and even had a testing sample pack for $12

Disperse Dye is the only thing that works for Polyester, so I've been told. These two companies also sold pure Indigo, Vat dyes and other interesting products including "Urea".

I do not believe all the disperse dye colors available from these two companies would effectively dye smoke, however trial's wouldn't cost much.

I would also like to mention that I found Crayola Fabric Crayons that use Disperse dyes. Although I do not know if the dye concentration is high enough.