Hello all again, hope you don't hate me for asking another question on behalf of my stupid friend!

So anyway, since swim is waiting for his TCE/JD to arrive (goddammit it) he has been working on his RP to get it 'ready to go'.

He used the president label Diamond matchbooks in a pack of 50. He diligently cut off all the striker zones (from three packs of 50, so 150 total strikers) and cleaned it, blah blah. He found out that 150 strikers hardly produces any RP. Quite sad really. So he was wondering if there are better matchbooks or something to use? Can the strike on box areas be used? The box of 250 has a strike zone thats pretty big and would be easier to cut up and looks like it might have more, but he isn't sure. Can someone set him straight? He doesn't know if those even have RP or what since everyone talks about using matchbooks.

And finally, when the muriatic acid is added (at a 31.45% concentration, btw) it creates a GODAWFUL stench and "cloud of death" that just billows out of the container. Any way to prevent that? He couldn't even stay out there very long to stir it was so bad.

And ok I lied, swim had one more question-

When stirring the muriatic acid bath with a stainless steel knife, it started bubbling and the finish was burned/reduced/whatever off the knife. Then the liquid turned a yellowish color, oops. So, did that fuck anything up, and what the hell should he stir with? Wood sounds like a bad idea, but he isn't sure about that either.

Thank you all so much for putting up with swim's naivety!

greatfully yours

K.Sizz

quote:Originally posted by K Sizzle:

Hello all again, hope you don't hate me for asking another question on behalf of my stupid friend!

So anyway, since swim is waiting for his TCE/JD to arrive (goddammit it) he has been working on his RP to get it 'ready to go'.

He used the president label Diamond matchbooks in a pack of 50. He diligently cut off all the striker zones (from three packs of 50, so 150 total strikers) and cleaned it, blah blah. He found out that 150 strikers hardly produces any RP. Quite sad really. So he was wondering if there are better matchbooks or something to use? Can the strike on box areas be used? The box of 250 has a strike zone thats pretty big and would be easier to cut up and looks like it might have more, but he isn't sure. Can someone set him straight? He doesn't know if those even have RP or what since everyone talks about using matchbooks.

And finally, when the muriatic acid is added (at a 31.45% concentration, btw) it creates a GODAWFUL stench and "cloud of death" that just billows out of the container. Any way to prevent that? He couldn't even stay out there very long to stir it was so bad.

And ok I lied, swim had one more question-

When stirring the muriatic acid bath with a stainless steel knife, it started bubbling and the finish was burned/reduced/whatever off the knife. Then the liquid turned a yellowish color, oops. So, did that fuck anything up, and what the hell should he stir with? Wood sounds like a bad idea, but he isn't sure about that either.

Thank you all so much for putting up with swim's naivety!

greatfully yours

K.Sizz

edit: alright, swim weighed how much RP he got. Point zero fucking seven. OMGWTF. He must have fucked up bigtime... he's gonna try it again tonight in a few minutes, haha.

alright, swim weighed how much RP he got. Point zero fucking seven. OMGWTF. He must have fucked up bigtime... he's gonna try it again tonight in a few minutes, haha.

K.Sizz

There is an obvious test to find out if a red pad contains RP. If you can light a regular match on the pad then it contains RP.

Muriatic acid is very dangerous stuff. I recommend that you add it slowly and in small quantities. Also use eye protection and a high quality filtered mask. These are available at any hardware store and make the dreams written about here much more pleasant.

Muriatic acid will react with most metals to form hydrogen gas, which can explode quite intensely. Never use anything metal in concentrated acid solutions. Glass is best for almost everything, with plastic being the next best thing.

Good luck and don't get discouraged by your early problems.

0.7g is about right for 150 strikers. If you figure a 1/4g per box of 50 strikers, then you're in the neighborhood.

diamond matches are garbage from the word go

try a better brand...like some that are named after cigarette products

I agree with BCT on that. When swim tried those, swim got less than half as much as from other kinds, and big chunks of glass!