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OOM/IM: Red: the blood of angry men
Dec. 22nd, 2017 11:20 pmRed has always been Baze's favorite color. He'd told Margolotta that red stands for strength and passion--the kind he is meant to have for the Force. It's the Guardian's color. He can't think of a better color for a Guardian's weapon to have.
And he's not about to apply paint to the aluminum pieces of his lightbow. No, he'll anodize the metal, converting it to its oxide form and making it porous enough to absorb metal dyes. Steel and iron won't work, but by choice, he constructed most of his bowcaster out of aluminum.
Baze is excited to set up shop in his fireworks-making workshop. He orders three plastic tubs from Bar and carts them upstairs gleefully, as well as a speeder battery. He also purchases a plastic jug to hold his neutralizing solution, made from baking soda and water.
For reagents, he gathers sulfuric acid, lye, red metal fiber dye, and distilled water. With a squeak of rubber over skin--which he has always hated the feel of--he dons a pair of gloves that cover up to his elbows and washes the metal. Fingerprints left on the surface can affect the results, so he's careful handling the pieces of his lightbow. Wrinkling his nose at the smell, he immerses the parts in lye for three minutes each.
Next, he prepares the sulfuric acid solution. Drawing a breath through his nose and noticing with amazement that the acid has no scent, he removes the metal pieces and rinses them with water. He connects a jumper cable to the battery and the first metal piece--the stock--and submerges it into the acid. Then he carefully--oh, so carefully--connects the other end of the cable to a scrap piece of aluminum and submerges it into the solution without touching the first part.
He turns on the power, listening to the satisfying hum of the battery. Watching the stock soak for an hour, he notices a lot of bubbles around the piece of scrap metal, but very little bubbling around the stock. Good.
Next, he prepares the dye, his favorite part of the process. He places the stock into the dye bath for twenty minutes for a deep, jewel-toned red. Smiling at the color, he boils the stock in water for thirty more minutes. The process seals the dyes, but also causes them to fade slightly. No matter. He got the color he wants.
With a beaming grin, he sets the stock aside to cool, and moves on to the next piece.
And he's not about to apply paint to the aluminum pieces of his lightbow. No, he'll anodize the metal, converting it to its oxide form and making it porous enough to absorb metal dyes. Steel and iron won't work, but by choice, he constructed most of his bowcaster out of aluminum.
Baze is excited to set up shop in his fireworks-making workshop. He orders three plastic tubs from Bar and carts them upstairs gleefully, as well as a speeder battery. He also purchases a plastic jug to hold his neutralizing solution, made from baking soda and water.
For reagents, he gathers sulfuric acid, lye, red metal fiber dye, and distilled water. With a squeak of rubber over skin--which he has always hated the feel of--he dons a pair of gloves that cover up to his elbows and washes the metal. Fingerprints left on the surface can affect the results, so he's careful handling the pieces of his lightbow. Wrinkling his nose at the smell, he immerses the parts in lye for three minutes each.
Next, he prepares the sulfuric acid solution. Drawing a breath through his nose and noticing with amazement that the acid has no scent, he removes the metal pieces and rinses them with water. He connects a jumper cable to the battery and the first metal piece--the stock--and submerges it into the acid. Then he carefully--oh, so carefully--connects the other end of the cable to a scrap piece of aluminum and submerges it into the solution without touching the first part.
He turns on the power, listening to the satisfying hum of the battery. Watching the stock soak for an hour, he notices a lot of bubbles around the piece of scrap metal, but very little bubbling around the stock. Good.
Next, he prepares the dye, his favorite part of the process. He places the stock into the dye bath for twenty minutes for a deep, jewel-toned red. Smiling at the color, he boils the stock in water for thirty more minutes. The process seals the dyes, but also causes them to fade slightly. No matter. He got the color he wants.
With a beaming grin, he sets the stock aside to cool, and moves on to the next piece.
