No shiny boolits for me

[donovansn585]

For some odd reason I can not cast shiny boolits I ordered a thermometer but it has not arrived yet, so I'm just looking for opinions on why no matter what I do my boolits go right from wrinkly to frosty. I preheat my molds on a hot plate and within a couple of casts my boolits go right from wrinkly and shiny to frosty and I know frosty is ok but I would really love some nice shiny ones. So this new setup I have is way better than the turkey fryer burner and cast iron pot I use to use however using that old combo I would get beautiful boolits. So I guess my question is frosty boolits are caused by mold being to hot or alloy being to hot, I'm hoping you tell me reduce alloy temp and keep mold temp the same.

[10milg29]

Frosty is too hot of an alloy/mold. Are you tearing the bases with the sprue cutter?

[bhn22]

Don't get hung up on shiny bullets. All the tweaking in the world will never guarantee it. With my setup, shiny bullets usually mean that somethings too cool, or my alloy is too soft for my normal purposes. You can wipe frosty bullets with a piece of terry cloth and end up with a brushed finish.

[Echd]

If you want them to really shine, add some tin to the melt.

However, I wouldn't be too hung up on it. I get that real pretty shine only in a very specific heat range it seems, and staying in that range isn't worth it or even very useful. Nothing says frosties can't shoot.

[bangerjim]

Remember......photographic models!

If they will admit it, most that post pix of nice shiny boolits pick out the best and then hand polish each one to look really good.

I care not a bit if my boolits are shiny frosty. Heck, I will even take a few that have a small wrinkle or two. After all, I tell my wife wrinkles indicate age and wisdom!!!!!!! Ha...ha.

Just listen to the above and watch temps. Tin will do it......if you want expenisive boolits!!!!!!!

As long as they are round, the shape you are expecting (!), and filled out.......shoot 'em!

banger

[donovansn585]

Thank you everyone so much these are the exact responses I'm looking for, the whole point of casting is to save money and if I have to buy tin at fairly high prices it kind of defeats the purpose.

[cbrick]

Remember......photographic models!

If they will admit it, most that post pix of nice shiny boolits pick out the best and then hand polish each one to look really good. banger

I can say in all honesty that I have never done that.

Rick

[JSnover]

A friend of mine casts nice shiny boolits every time. But I know he pours 10% tin (he told me he does) and in my opinion that's way too much. Mine don't usually shine but they are perfectly filled, the weight is spot on and the dimensions are right where I want.

[RickinTN]

I just cast some bullets from a new Lee 340 grain 45 cal mold. The blocks are small and the bullets are big. Therefore the blocks get hot quickly. They were frosty at first (yes, I do pre-heat my mold with a hotplate) but when I slowed down my pace the bullets became shiny. I found myself waiting a minute or so after dropping bullets to re-fill the mold. I though to myself I could take a coffee break between pours.:grin: Just take your time between dropping bullets and filling cavities to let the mold cool a little and I think you'll find what your looking for. And, by the way, I did not put the frosted bullets back in the pot.
Rick

[Tatume]

Frosted bullets are good bullets. Shiny bullets may be good or not. My goal is good bullets. My bullets are frosted.

[swheeler]

Frosted bullets are good bullets. Shiny bullets may be good or not. My goal is good bullets. My bullets are frosted.

Sounds about right to me, plus Liberactchy liked shiny things;)

[lwknight]

Shiney bullets happen when they cool fast like in a not so hot mold or if you have no antimony in the mix.
If you really want to see some of em shine, add more tin and cast into a warm mold till it gets too hot and frosts anyway.
Pick out the few shiney ones and take a really good macro photograph with your Nikon camera.

OJ thats dry humour but really , good alloy does not shine very well. Good at speed casting nearly always makes satin bullets. satin is good and severly frosty means that the mold is entirely tooo hot.
Pot temp does not matter other than excessively hot pots will overheat your molds fast.

[Big Z]

I got shinier boolits when I went to beeswax for flux instead of commercial stuff. Maybe that was only part of the equation...but I do like how it cleans stuff up.

[ShooterAZ]

I get really shiny boolits when I cast with 1/25. 1/30, and even 1/40 alloy. Heck even my 45 cal round balls are shiny and they are cast from pure. I have found that boolits with antimony in the mix just don't cast too shiney.

[milrifle]

One of the resident experts posted a very good explanation of bullet quality as a function of temperature on here several months ago. I printed it out, but I don't remember now who it was or what the thread was called. As I recall, there was a very narrow window where there was good fill out, no wrinkles, and no frosting. Then just a bit hotter was good fill out, no wrinkles, and minor frosting that easily wiped off. This was a wider range, and therefore easier to achieve. I have to admit, that is where I generally cast and figure it is good enough for what I do. When I get more experience, maybe I can get into the narrow window.

[jsizemore]

Remember......photographic models!

If they will admit it, most that post pix of nice shiny boolits pick out the best and then hand polish each one to look really good.

banger

I don't take pics of mine but they look every bit as good as Rick's no matter which ones you pull out of the coffee cans their stored in. And no more then 2% added pewter and no polishing.

A 1% increase in added pewter raises the cost of each pound of alloy 9 cents. So, if you have 10lbs of Pb at $1/lb and add 2% pewter at $9/lb, then your pot of 10lbs3.2ozs of alloy just cost you $11.80. Each 1% increase in pewter costs you $.90.

[lwknight]

I like expensive alloy.

[Echd]

A friend of mine casts nice shiny boolits every time. But I know he pours 10% tin (he told me he does) and in my opinion that's way too much. Mine don't usually shine but they are perfectly filled, the weight is spot on and the dimensions are right where I want.

10%? That's crazy!

[Down South]

I like expensive alloy.
For show and tell, of course. Bulk no.

[williamwaco]

If you want some shiny expensive bullets try Lino.

It will get you both.

No, Mine are frosty too.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

frosty holds tumble lube better :mrgreen:

[dondiego]

Very good pictures!

[cbrick]

I do admit that I do not select a wrinkled bullet simply because I do not tolerate wrinkled or malformed bullets ! :) Jerry

Exactly!

Rick

[DeanWinchester]

I cull shiny boolits without even looking them over. Casting from my coww alloy, shiny usually tells me the mold is too cold, so back in the it they go.

For whst its worth, after loading, you can wipe the boolit with a clean cotton rag and they'll usually shine up fairly well. I like to wipe away any residual lube from the loaded round anyway.

[jsizemore]

I do admit that I do not select a wrinkled bullet simply because I do not tolerate wrinkled or malformed bullets ! :)

Jerry

The same for me.

Like Jerry my production rate is low. Even though I use a bottom pour I only produce 8 boolits/minute max using a 4 cavity mold.

[montana_charlie]

Remember......photographic models!

If they will admit it, most that post pix of nice shiny boolits pick out the best and then hand polish each one to look really good.
People who post pictures of shiny bullets on this website know that many people are quite happy with frosty ones.
So, if they put up pictures of shiny ones, it is to illustrate something that they wish to convey.
To say that those people have falsified their images to prove their point is to say that they are dishonest.

The statement quoted above is an obvious case of projection ...

CM

[osteodoc08]

I can get shiny if I keep the temp down and watch my mold temp as well. A little frosty is what I shoot for (haha). If you want shiny, giv a wipe down with a cloth. That frosty appearance will go away.

Since I enjoy taking my time reloading, I will wipe each one down when I'm done loading. A quick wipe before going into the box keeps any excess lube from getting all over the place.

[Bullwolf]

I tend to tumble or hand lube the majority of my boolits these days. Rarely do I use a lubrasizer anymore.

If you want to see a shiny boolit simply wipe the lube off a boolit nose using a paper towel and a splash of baby oil to help cut the tumble lube.

Print type like Lino often casts a shiny boolit right from the mould. In my experience shiny boolits don't shoot any better than frosted or dull looking boolits do.
(type metal will tend to cast a lighter, and larger diameter boolit though)

Lino/Mono/Foundry and other high tin alloys also seem to stay shiny and not oxidize over time. Probably doesn't hurt if they get waxed and polished with some derivative of Johnson's Paste Wax either.

I have cast quite a few Lino/Mono boolits simply because I have a lot of printing type metal on hand. While that may sound somewhat wasteful now, years ago I had nothing but type metal, and almost no pure lead because my family was in the printing business.

I'm not the best photographer, but a white background and flash also seem to make a boolit look really shiny after wiping Alox, or 45-45-10 off the nose.


Some 44 magnum after I wiped the Lee Liquid Alox off the noses.
94234

94235


Here's some shiny 45acp cast from type metal

94239

94237

94238

I have cast quite a few diving weights using type metal. I noticed they tended to be a bit lighter than pure lead, and they didn't seem to oxidize after exposure to water and weather like pure lead does.

I often will wipe the lube off my cast boolit noses. Especially if I plan on storing them. Other times I just don't bother. They shoot just fine either way, and your target won't notice the difference.

If I am going to photograph a boolit, I do paper towel wipe them as I think it helps you to see the entire boolit better.

Like this Lee C430-310-RF with Gas Check Shank (GC) and converted to Plain Base (PB)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=95820&d=1403158374&thumb=1

LEFT
Boolit with GasCheck shank weight 282 grains cast from my mix of mostly Mono/Lino.

RIGHT
PB (Plain Base) boolit weight 265 grains cast from 50% pure lead - 50% hardball.

Not Pictured
Boolit with GC shank cast from 50% pure lead - 50% hardball alloy weight 306 grains.




- Bullwolf