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You could also break open an old Etch-A-Sketch.

Here is the name brand of what your looking for in regards to AL powder in paint stores. West System 420. its mostly used in marine resine coating.
hope this helps.
cheers

I saw someone make it once out of just, straight up aluminum pieces, some drain cleaner and some water. I can't remember what kinda drain cleaner it was. He put the drain cleaner and the water inside of a glass, when he inserted the aluminum it started to bubble really violently and give off a pretty fair amount of fumes. When the water bubbled away, all that was left was aluminum powder. This is a violent process. The guy who showed me this said that he had blown himself up a few times in doing it. The explosion is blue, meaning that it's a force explosion instead of a hot one, which I suppose is why he was alive to show it off. Very dangerous, it's best to just buy the powder.

It is worth noting that breathing fine metals is hazardous in multiple ways. Please use good ventilation when you're blowing yourself up.

just a question how much aluminum powder is in a Etch A Sketch

Nah, I checked Walmart, they don't have Aluminum powder. The closest thing I could find was Aluminum Free Baking powder...>.>

I have made aluminum for thermite by cutting thick pieces of aluminum with a carbide circular saw and collecting the shavings. You could use a ball mill to reduce that to a fine powder.

You can buy it at a paint store.

can u take aluminum foil crush it in a ball sand it with fine sandpaper?? just asking

I know it sounds stupid, but break open an Etch-A-Sketch or two. they're FILLED with the shtuff

Found this, Removing it from aluminum from aluminum paint, around 15%-20% of the paint mass (depending on brand), taking into consideration that some aluminum is lost in the extraction process. I have harvested aluminum from both TremClad and Rust-Oleum 7715 brands, with the former having a slightly higher yield. Before beginning the harvesting process, allow the tin of paint to sit undisturbed for several weeks to allow metallic aluminum to settle to the bottom. To begin the process, carefully remove the lid from the container and use a turkey baster (or other similar siphoning device) to carefully draw away most of the linseed oil base. Some aluminum particles will be drawn up, but this is not important - the net loss will not be significant. Fill the tin with acetone, then stir contents, using a wooden craft stick, for several minutes. Make sure and scrape the settled aluminum off the entire bottom and sides. Replace the lid and allow to stand overnight undisturbed. The acetone is next drawn off using the baster. Refill the container with acetone and repeat the cleansing process. The purpose of the cleansing is to remove any remaining linseed oil which, if not removed, will cause the dried aluminum to form into hard clumps. After the acetone has been drawn off a second time, tilt the tin slightly and use a piece of paper towel to "wick" away the remaining pool of acetone. The remaining "wet slurry" of aluminum flakes and acetone are then scooped into a suitable polyethylene pan and spread out to allow the acetone to evaporate. Occasional stirring will speed up the process which will take a couple of days at room temperature to fully dry. Using the convex side of a spoon, break up the clumps to a fine powder. Using a fine nylon kitchen sifter, sift the powder to remove any clumps. Continue until all the aluminum has been harvested as a fine powder. Store in a suitable sealed container.

That guy you watched make the powder also made hydrogen gas, and if he blew himself up, he was doing it in a closed room (NOT SMART).The easiest way I know of is to grind an aluminum soda can on a bench grinder and a cup to catch to filings. Just out or curiosity what are you tiring to make Thermite, or a rocket?

This is how I make aluminum powder. I get a crappy blender and blend aluminum foil in it until the peices are relatively fine. 20 minutes at full speed should do the trick. I come back and ball mill my coarse aluminum powder with a mix of 5% stearin and 5% graphite. I ball mill the contents for 2-3 weeks ,and I can get powder 400-500 mesh. BTW I made my own ball mill.

hey can u get aluminum foil and just grind it up in an old blender or coffee grinder

Grind an old aluminum heatsink... do it on a newspapar

and all my paint stores dont sell it...have they made it illegal in some states/counties or am i just unlucky? also, are thos ice packs that u squeeze illegal 2? casue i can find thjose at any sporting goods stores either (need it for the inner bag that contains the NH4NO3)

I need aluminum powder to make a flash bang

I am busy working on a machine that kan make large amounts of aluminium realy fast if it works I will post an instructable on it and I know it will work becuse this is an industral proses but i still have to work out all the details becuse this is can be realy dagerous and you can burn yourself but where I live paint stors dont sell aluminium so there is no alternative but if it works i will be able to make a couple of pounds of aluminium in 30 mins best of all thes prosess dont involve these words grinding ,filing or sanding I will be sure to keep you all posted on progress

I never could buy flake Al powder. Most stores are wise to you. Aluma-Seal for radiators is supposed to contain it--but they won't tell you. Many Al Paints can be left for 5 weeks in an upright position, then the linseed oil siphoned off with a turkey baster. Rinse the sludge in bottom with acetone well, and spread out to dry. Another is: Get two rolls Aluminum foil. Tear into 1" squares Using an old (preferably Oster brand) blender, grind a handful up. This will take a lot of time, as you can't grind dry for more than a minute. Allow to cool 5 minutes. Add foil, grind again. With patience, you can get about 40 mesh Powder this way, which works good for most things. Sieve it through a tea strainer. If you need it smaller, get or borrow a rock tumbler, add about 200 3/8" steel shot (available as slingshot ammo in hardware or sporting goods store--or, use up to 1/2" ball bearings) and, grind about 4 weeks. Stop and open lid once every day to allow dust to oxidise slightly--this is a safety factor. You will get about 400 mesh this way. Shake through a brass Mr. Coffee filter. AND--wear a good dust mask, always--this stuff almost choked Buddy Ebsen to death on the set of "The Wizard of Oz."

DO NOT GRIND ALUMINUM ON A GRINDING WHEEL. I have a machine shop grinding ALU on these wheels that are not made for grinding ALU causes the alum to pack in to the pores of the wheel causing expanschen and cracking in the wheel and at high speed the wheel can come apart I know in the industry that people have been severely hurt AND killed from not using proper wheels and flying apart and chunks entering the body. USE EXTREEM CAUTION!!!!!! DOING THIS. looking out for your safety.

anyone trying to grind up aluminum might as well give up now if they are trying to make anything even a little bit powerful then you must have the most possible surface area so logicaly they only way is a chemical brakedown of the element

i did it the hard way did it the really hard way, with a piece of aluminum and a steel file but you could also crack open a etcha sketch

So making thermite? or just want powder? electrolysis is always possible (from some Al salt)- however you wont make much (but if your making thermite you'll probably already have an electrolytic rust maker so at least you'll have all the equipment) can you buy the powder as face paint or am i mistaken?

Um, yah. The trick is to grind it up without it sticking back into itself. Try RogueSci.com, I remember a forum post there about an easy way to grind aluminum foil into powder.