At my wit' end with wire
I have been having wonderful results with everything I have been doing (even made a custom color that was spot-on) EXCEPT with the 18ga. wire. The alloy is the same as the 16ga., according to the supplier, prep is the same, and calcs are the same (even ran both in same batch). The problem is this: the 18ga. turns very dark grey fairly quickly and it starts darkening closest to the elec. connection. I am making coils of wire with 5/32" ID and measuring the length of wire before coiling so I know exactly how much is going into electrolyte. I am coiling loosely so that all sides are exposed. The first few trials (boy have they been trying) I was using 4.5A/sq.ft. and desired thickness of .5mil b|c any thicker just got even darker. I just finished a run attempting only 3A/sq. ft. and it started "burning" after only 45 min. so I stopped the run after 100 min., instead of 120 as Rule of 720 indicated, b|c whole coil was getting pretty dark. It seemed to take the dye well but not a lot of depth of color,DUH, and very "muddy".
Please help, I'm going crazy! I need the wire for an upcoming show and need nice bright colors in the 18ga. to match the 16ga. and 14ga..
|