Name: Meal Slurry
| percent | parts | component |
|---|---|---|
| 71.43% | 15 | Potassium Nitrate |
| 14.29% | 3 | Charcoal (airfloat) |
| 9.52% | 2 | Sulfur |
| 4.76% | 1 | Dextrin |
This is just a water slurry of meal with some dextrin added.
Ball mill all four ingredients. It is your choice for how long. Long mill times make it faster, but generally a worse prime, drossy burning is often better for passing fire to stubborn compositions.
Milling it just long enough to have it well integrated works quite well, but screened greenmix is an option if you are feeling lazy.
Place a quantity in a small jar and add water (or water with 25% alcohol if you prefer) and mix until a good working consistency is achieved. I find a little thinner than toothpaste is a good compromise.
You can add metals to make it burn hotter if you wish, fine flake Aluminium is a common choice.
Some people leave out the dextrin, but I find the binder limits cracking and flaking once dry. Spray starch or any other binder can be used, some use red gum/yacca and pure alcohol, but I find such a mixture too hard to ignite.
A common practice is to dust the primed surface before drying with corning dust (Meal D, or similar fine blackpowder granules) or even just meal. This leaves a rough and very ignitable surface, excellent for comets and spoulettes.
This very same slurry is what you make blackmatch with, but for best performance blackmatch should be made from well milled meal. A slightly more sloppy mixture is desirable if you are using the "hank soaking" method of match making, while a thicker, sticky slurry is good for "pull coating".