Indeed. But the bubbling caustic isn't the biggest danger; that's manageable enough. The fun part is when you first mix the stuff up. If you're not careful, you can ruin a pair of boots in a heartbeat. Makes the tinsel fairy look like a sissy.
That's hard to say. As I mentioned befgore, the net result of the various recipes is essentially the same, with only subtle differences; in doing my research I ran across a number of old-time recipes that omit the nitrite altogether. But who knows what else is going on? What all the recipes these days omit is the one ingredient that makes for that exquisite depth and luster found on the old '50s Smiths... cyanide.
Well, that and a decent polish job.
If you're really in the mood to flirt with the fates, I've got a 1927 copy of "Machinery's Shop Receipts." There are all kinds of interesting recipes in there guaranteed to raise the eyebrows of the local constabulary.
The nitrite, nitrate, and the lye are the three
active ingredients... The Du-Lite salts mix up 8 pounds to the gallon, and Brownells' instructions call for 10# per gallon. When the end result is the same, that's 2# per gallon of "stuff" in the Brownells mixture that I obviously don't need....
Du-Lite specifies 285° and 305°, depending on whether you are using the one or two tank process.