Unbelievable price

[LewisM]

Been trying to find some nitric acid locally to make into a rust blue solution I need to restore old firearms.

I found a lab supply company in Brisbane who will supply it to me (after creating an account naturally), but then the sticker shock.

500ml of sulphuric acid, which I also need, is $24. Not so bad.

500ml of fuming Nitric acid... $483!!!

500mls!!!!

Ouch.

Anyone know somewhere in Brisbane I can get some nitirc acid (reagent grade or better) CHEAPER THAN THAT?

[AstralTraveller]

What is the grade of the nitric acid? We use superpure nitric for ICP-MS sample preparation and I think (I don't buy it) 500mL of that is up in that range. I would have expected the reagent grade to come in 2.5l winchesters.

[LewisM]

90% fuming RCI AR HNO3

It will last me a LIFETIME, but dang is that price hurtful - almost $1/ml!

Anyway... I have asked for a reagent price instead. Fuming just makes the reaction faster in this case - even with 90%, it takes about 2 days to get sufficiently red oxide to convert to black oxide after boiling.

[iborg]

Hi

Do you really need fuming nitric acid ?

70% 500mL, $124, plus GST I expect.

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sial/438073?lang=en®ion=AU (https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sial/438073?lang=en&region=AU)


Have fun

Philip

[LewisM]

It needs to be local enough so I can collect it. The HAZMAT tax and freight is exhorbitant. I can get it from an art supply place (Intaglio etching), CHEAP, but then the HAZMAT adds another $200...

[LewisM]

The company just got back with me an offered 70% RCI grade HNO3 for a VERY good price for 2.5L. It'll have to do I guess.

[sharkbite]

are you sure that's all you are making? ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose

Maybe that is why it is so expensive....

[LewisM]

hardly need anything like GC.

Legitimate use is often times harder than nefarious.

[jenchris]

G96 make a gun blue paste.
Worked well on my Remington handgun and my 243 BSA rifle

[doppler]

I have been experimenting with silvering scope mirrors and have also had a hard time finding small quantaties of nitric acid and pure amonia. A local chemical supply company here in Mackay has these available but only in 20 ltr drums. $200 for the liquid amonia and $250 for the nitric acid. You should try some mining supply companies might be cheaper, but you probably still have to buy the big drums. It seems that the nanny gov has made it easier for the bad guys to make big bombs rather than to make small ones?

[LewisM]

Cold blue isn't permanent and stinks. It eventually turns grey.

Rust blue will be there in 400 years and is not only beautiful but resilient.