Learn a basic color system used to make various fireworks stars using a number of different firework chemicals.

Robert Veline developed this color stars formula system years ago. This very efficient star color system uses magnesium-aluminum throughout. These are bright stars, though not as bright as magnesium based, electric stars.

Materials Needed

Robert Veline created this fireworks star system and intentionally put it in the public domain. When you look at it, you can see that it uses very similar firework chemical ingredients and proportions for many of the different fireworks star colors, making this an extremely versatile fireworks star color set: you can create any color you want using only ten firework chemicals!

When you look at the part called "Now the Fun Stuff" you can even see how to mix an almost limitless palette of fireworks star colors by mixing the different primary fireworks star colors shown in the table. A word to the wise: These fireworks star colors are well balanced in terms of color brightness and intensity. So, Veline's fireworks star colors seem to appear most pleasing when they are used with each other in any given device (artillery shell, mine, etc.). Here's the original paper published by Veline, but formatted slightly different.

A Compatible Fireworks Star Formula System for Color Mixing
By Robert Veline

	Red	Orange	Green	Blue	Super Prime
Strontium Carbonate	15
Calcium Carbonate		15
Barium Carbonate			15
Copper oxide, black				15
Barium nitrate			24
Potassium Perchlorate	55	55	30	55	55
Parlon	15	15	15	15
Red Gum	9	9	5	9
Magnalium (50/50 -200 mesh)	6	6	11	6	5
Dextrin	+4	+4	+4	+4	4
Charcoal Airfloat					20
Wood Meal, -70 mesh					6
Iron Oxide, Red					5
Potassium Dichromate					5

A Few Notes About These Fireworks Star Formulas

The numbers are in percent by weight. The potassium perchlorate is a fine powder. The parlon was Hercules brand, but Superchlon brand from Ishihara Co. Ltd. also works. Nothing special about the red gum, just fine powder. The best barium and strontium carbonates are obtained from Barium and Chemicals of Steubenville Ohio. The calcium carbonate was -200 mesh 'Whiting'. Copper carbonate may be used rather than black copper oxide without much change in performance. I have tried finer more pure forms and found they have slowed the burn rate, and degraded the fireworks star color... Note that all of the proportions are the same for the different fireworks star colors, the exception being the green. The idea is to have as many characteristics, burn rate, brightness, flame size, color purity, and density of powder, common between the different powders, as is possible. While these formulas do not excel in any one characteristic, they are all part of a matched set. The green: I was unable to get a suitable green fireworks star for this family without using barium nitrate. So, in order to compensate for the reduced oxidizing ability of the nitrate, a more energetic fuel mixture was used.

Now the Fun Stuff:

YELLOW	55 green	45 orange
CHARTREUSE	80 green	20 Orange
AQUA	80 green	20 Blue
TURQUOISE	55 green	45 Blue
MAGENTA	55 red	50 Blue
MAROON	85 red	15 Blue
PEACH	60 orange	25 red	15 blue
PURPLE	5 orange	15 red	80 blue

Copyright: Robert Veline

Well, that's it! These fireworks stars are the results of a couple of years of hard work, they are offered as some form of repayment to the many people who published information which I have feasted on all these years. THANK YOU!!!! Robert Veline II

To learn more about making firework stars with different firework chemicals read these:

"Red Firework Stars"
"Green Firework Stars With Firework Chemical Barium Nitrate "
"Blue Firework Stars With Firework Chemical Copper Benzoate "
"The Best Blue Firework Stars"