Plenty of talk about dipping in various accelerants that can be bought from pyrotechnics/rocketry suppliers.

Anyone try just dipping ignitors in Duco cement? That stuff is basically pure nitrocellulose once dried, as I understand it, and is pretty cheap at my local Ace Hardware.

That would definitely work.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, AGITATION, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, AGGRAVATION, INSTIGATION, NUISANCE-ACTION, and HAVOC !

I've used cheap nail polish. It gives the ignitor a trashy, come hither look, but they work nicely. My wife is out of town this weekend, so I'm going to have to visit my local Ace and give this a try. How do you set them up to dry after they've been dipped?

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Mini Aero-Dart, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion

Unflown: F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Jayhawk, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Microsonde 3 Payloader, Aerobee 300, Cyber III, Scrambler

Duco cement is quite a bit thicker than clear nitrate dope or nitrocellulose nail polish, so takes less drying time.
The name for Duco cement comes from the old Dupont Duco Nitro Lacquer finishing products.
At one point Dupont sold both Lucite (Acrylic) and Duco (Nitrate) lacquer paint.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, AGITATION, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, AGGRAVATION, INSTIGATION, NUISANCE-ACTION, and HAVOC !

The MSDS reports 10-30% cellulose nitrate. You could probably mix in a bit of BP to help. If you are talking about augmenting just Estes igniters, then this is plenty. BP motors easy to start. Don't make the tip so big it won't fit in the nozzle. For composite motors you need a hotter burn pyrogen.

You used to be able to get cellulose ping pong balls. You would cut them into chips and dissolve in acetone. Ping Pong balls are all plastic now. You could get them off eBay a few years back from China. No longer.

Augmenting Estes starters is easy to do because BP motors are easy to start. I have augmented Estes starters with nail polish and some stuff used for dipping e-matches. I've come to the conclusion that augmenting them is kind of like a solution looking for a problem. I don't have difficulties with Estes starters; even the modern starters. I can reliably start a BP motor with just a bare nichrome wire. So augmenting them (for me) has becomes needless work. Maybe for cluster work...

Those, nail polish, Duco, ping-pong mixes aren't going to help much in getting certain composite propellant to ignite, even with a sprinkle of BP added. IMHO White Lightning propellant in particular is truly poor quality, cheap, hard-to-ignite, chuff-a-matic composite propellant that really needs a hot poker up the ol' wazoo to get going. Not like BP motors that never chuff.

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-Wolfram v. Kiparski
NAR 28643 - TRA 15520
MTMA Section #606 President

That is freakin' FUNNY! Thanks, Bill, for a great chuckle!

Exactly for this. The most I have done is 5 BP motors. The previous gen Estes igniters were bare nichrome with some type of cellulose coating. I would dip them in a BP ping pong ball mixture. Worked every time.

I have done up to 4 composite WL motors using a commercial pyrogen mix. Much more involved.

I haven't had a BP failure yet, even with the clear-tipped Estes ignitors, on single-motor rockets. The early-teenage godson has messed up a couple installations, but mine have all gone well.

I'm thinking about up to 7-motor clusters, though, where it's not just critical to light them, but to light them all really close to the same time. Reckon anything simple and cheap that I can do to improve the odds is worth checking out.

I can definitely mix a bit of Duco + 4FG without spending another dime or very much time. Will try.

AS far as setting the igniters up to dry, years ago I bought several blocks of the green foam that they sell at Hobby Lobby and Michaels for use in floral displays. Dip the igniter and stick one lead on the edge of the foam. I also use it for holding balsa nose cones, etc to dry after sealing.
I found the best way is to glue the foam block to a piece of board to stablize it.
Works for me.

Chas

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Charles Russell, MSgt,USAF (ret.)
NAR 9790, Lvl 1
SAM "Balls Three"