Lead Discoloration?

[Kraschenbirn]

Scored some slabs of old X-ray shielding that appeared to be pure lead but when I melted it down and cast it into more convenient-sized ingots the stuff turned kind of a straw color (with some blue-ish highlights) as it cooled...almost looks like color case hardning. Scratch the surface with a screwdriver, though, and the inside looks normal.

Poured at around 800 deg. F and finished ingots filled out very nicely with clean, sharp corners and seem dead soft...don't have a hardness tester but can easily groove the surface with a thumbnail...but ingots all have same odd exterior coloration. Any ideas?

Bill

[NVcurmudgeon]

Straw color is highly indicative of pure lead.

[AkMike]

Or they're radioactive from all those Xrays!! (J/K)

[Cloudpeak]

Neat. Glow in the dark bullets to go along with the nite sights:-D

Cloudpeak

[arkypete]

Actually, I read about that lead. Was custom alloyed for gay, New York, hairdresser, and you bought some of the surplus.
He wanted a bullet that would color coordinate with his pink pistol.
You may want to box it up and ship it to me and I' ll dispose of it for you.
Jim

[Treeman]

Jim(arkypete), Do you mean to imply that you are uniquely qualified to use Gayhairdresser, color coordinated lead?

[AkMike]

I think Arkypete is saying he lost the stuff and wants it back!??! Maybe

[454PB]

Or maybe he wants to put lead in his loafers.....

[montana_charlie]

Sounds like that metal was overheated, and got turned into faux lead.
Send it up here, and I'll leave it outside in some forty below weather...that might save it.

If it doesn't work, I'll dispose of it for you so you don't have to pay the shipping twice.
CM

[arkypete]

Jim(arkypete), Do you mean to imply that you are uniquely qualified to use Gayhairdresser, color coordinated lead?


Sure nuff I have some dull grey lead that coordinate nicely with it. I also have some coppery colored cups that would cover the purple so as to hide it.
Jim

[arkypete]

I think Arkypete is saying he lost the stuff and wants it back!??! Maybe
Hey, I've done worse to get lead.
I even swiped my ex wife's lead sculpture from her college art class and converted into bullets.
Jim

[AkMike]

Converted them to bullets? And then returned them? ;)

[Mallard57]

Hey, I've done worse to get lead.
I even swiped my ex wife's lead sculpture from her college art class and converted into bullets.
Jim

I guess we know now why she's the ex.

[Kraschenbirn]

I want to thank everyone who's offered to help in disposing of this stuff but I think I've worked out a way to salvage it. I'm gonna remelt it at a lower temperature, mix in just enough 50/50 bar solder to achieve a 30/1 mix, and mould it into smaller pieces...like cylindrical slugs around .459 diameter with flat bases and either rounded or pointy ends...then use those to plug up the open ends of a whole brunch of 45-70 brass that's cluttering up my loading bench.

[utk]

The lead is radioactive and the boolits will glow in the dark. To be used as tracers...

[Dr.Doug]

X-ray lead is good & soft- great for muzzleloaders. I asked the same question about color change awhile back:

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=2700

Doug