I've never done it, but I've been thinking about trying it. has anyone done it? I was thinking about trying it with nitric and sulphuric acid.

Easy to do and there are tutorials all over the web. Any magic forum (or a simple google) will yield a compound.

? I was asking for results?

The result is that you follow one of the many tutorials on making flash paper and you get flash paper.

thanks. I know its simple, I'd just like to keep my fingers and toes. you get some fandangle wanting to make flash powder and the next thing you know....BANG! I'm not a chemistry major.

jeez..are cheap 70%+/- reagents okay?

the only tutorial I found for nitrating cellulose is a shoddy howto.com

thanks for the advice!

ive had a couple of friends try making them before, it was toxic and messy but they were ok.

Is store-bought flash paper really that expensive? I mean, you might be able to save a few pennies, and you might end up doing your John Lennon and Paul McCartney imitation - "I'm not half the man I used to be..."

Did you hear about the guy who lose his entire left side in an accident? He's all right now.

Ive heard it is pretty dangerous if you dont know what you are doing so please be careful.

I was going over a couple of the recipes I found online (it was a tossup if I was going to major in Business or Chemistry, business won) and they talk about "fuming" nitric acid. That is not the weak stuff. They are talking super strong for both the sulfuric and the nitric. Besides what about washing the finished paper for two hours with flowing water before setting it out to dry, that is a lot of water that you don't want to get on anything important, unless you are really into acid washed jeans, and shirts, and legs and arms...
Also, when the two acids are mixed they generate a lot of heat, you will want to make sure that you are using Pyrex or similar glassware.

flash powder (http://www.instructables.com/id/flash-powder_1/) has recipe for powder though I have never made the stuff but a great websight for lots of reasons. Also

Also a great sight plus awesome magazine Make: Online : Weekend Project: Make a fireball shooter (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/03/fireball_shooter_weekend.html)

Making flash powder is a very dangerous process. Those chemicals can explode. I would not recommend it for a clown forum.

Im confused, just a little, flash paper flash powder your working with volatile materials either way. I would say anyone that would make a venture working with caustic acids knows the risks fuming acids has as well. Such as blindness and depending fuming chemicals can explode as well. While its nice to know how to make these things I dont think that its may be worth the risk over just buying the product as is. Flash paper, cotton are pretty stable products. Flash powder not as much so.He asked a question I answered providing the information I could find. It was actually more about these great websights than answering a question about flash paper. Just because knives can cut my fingers doesnt mean Ill stop gift wraping or chopping vegetables.

Agreed. OP sounded like he had a grasp for the materials needed and would understand the ricks involved with handling them. If that is the case, I feel that the procedure is simple enough to be followed. On the other hand, if someone simply googles "how to make flash paper" and comes up with the basic method and starts the topic for conversation for one reason or another and has no working knowledge of the product, I'd shy away from attempting it.

Nice link Matt, I may try to put together the shooter from that page.

The information is good to have. I have enjoyed looking at the websites Matt, and I thank you for posting them. I think Happy's was meant to be a caution more than a criticism. People do stupid things, I know I do, and he doesn't want anyone to get hurt on a whim.

Making flash powder is a very dangerous process. Those chemicals can explode. I would not recommend it for a clown forum.

Would you recomend it in in another forum or is it just folks who participate in a "clown forum" who you fear would not adhear to proper safety precautions? :(

flash paper,is very dangerous to make.Are planing to make it to sell or for your own use. the cost is about 1.25 a sheet and can be made for about .30 a sheet with your time and materials,but if your selling it you have to think of your marketing cost and can you beat china.

Would you recomend it in in another forum or is it just folks who participate in a "clown forum" who you fear would not adhear to proper safety precautions? :(
I would recommend it for a "chemical forum" only. And those who register will have to be a student in college.

Watch the video clipping. It shows flash paper is dangerous to make by purchasing the props you must wear.
How to Make Flash Paper by Black's Magic - DVD (http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=10382)