4 replies to this topic

[GreenFire]

Hi - In my spare time I do quite a few arty things, preferably with a bunch of mates round a bonfire. Last few years I've been experimenting with some ideas, one of which has been to set off a few fireworks here and there.
An idea I've had which I think would look great, and be some fun, is to have some large paintings (not framed, just canvas blowing in the wind), and set them on fire at appropriate moments.
Trouble is, canvas with acrylic paint doesn't burn that easily. I've experimented with various formulas, such as covering it with paraffin, and various accelerants such as nitrate and chromate. Although I can get the stuff to burn, the flame spreads really slowly, and it takes ages for a 2 metre square canvas to burn ... and is not a particularly interesting sight!
Has anyone any ideas on how to treat canvas to get a flame to spread across its surface quickly? ... petrol or other highly volatile organics aren't any use, as too smelly and too dangerous for the audience.

Thanks for your interest - Jon

[BrightStar]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

First things first, I noticed mention of chromate in your post. Hexavalent chromium compounds are carcinogenic - not something to be handling or burning for fun.

That done with, have you thought of making your own paint using cellulose nitrate laquer (guitar laquer, old fashioned RC aeroplane dope) coloured with a dye or pigment? This burns fiercely when dried out as it contains it's own source of Oxygen. I haven't myself tried it on canvas, but it might help get things going...

Edited by BrightStar, 04 February 2010 - 10:08 PM.

[GreenFire]

Thanks Brightstar - that's a neat idea, I had no idea this stuff existed! There are many possibilities for using this kind of thing, including painting on the back of the canvas, or painting it in shapes on the front so that a "hidden picture" emerges when lit ... I'll get experimenting right away and let you know the results.

Thanks for the warning about the chromate but don't panic: I kitted myself out with latex gloves, breathing mask and safety goggles ... Will be handing it on to a natural-dye enthusiast ...

Anyone else with a good idea ... most welcome

Best wishes, Jon

[Creepin_pyro]

Welcome to the forum - sounds like you might appreciate a bit of Roman Signer



Brightstar's suggestion is a good one, if you want an almost instant burn you could always use sheets of flash paper (highly nitrated cellulose), but this is very expensive to buy and dangerous/difficult to make, so using a less fierce lacquer makes sense. If you wanted you could add spark effects by using metal powders and even colours using varying techniques, not sure exactly what you're trying to achieve or how much time you want to invest though : )

Sounds like a fun project.

[GreenFire]

Thanks Creepin_Pyro - the link is fun, never come across the guy before, there's some interesting viewing to follow up here.

Isn't "highly nitrated cellulose" the same thing as "gun cotton"? I did consider soaking the canvas in the appropriate substances so the painting would end up simply being supported by gun cotton, but from what I remember of the stuff the disintegration would be almost instant ... also, a single spark from a bonfire would probably set it off at the wrong moment!! I didn't realise you could buy stuff like this, surely not over the counter? It might be fun pasting the odd sheet onto the canvas and then painting over it! I can envisage some lovely effects like exploding snake's heads.

It's a project I'm aiming to spend most of my spare time on over the next 10 months, though with 2 kids and a business that doesn't add up to many hours! Metal powders, I definitely want to explore, but for the time being I've got a bundle of star-burst rockets left over from Nov 5th which I'm pulling apart, so I can use the little start-burst balls for some added decoration. I know it's a bit of cop-out using someone else's fireworks, but time is precious ... !

Thanks for the ideas and inspiration!