Is frosting bad?

[Charlie U.]

I cast up a pile of 400 grain .476 boolits for my 480Ruger. Using a pair of lee 2 cavity molds I got things going, found a nice rhythm, and really started cranking them out. (I love how you can loose all sense of time when you get casting) Anyhow, My temps must have been running a bit hot because a lot of my slugs were a little frosted. After sorting I ended up with 630 keepers......nearly half of them have some lead frosting.

Is there anything detrimental about using boolits that are frosted?

[Le Loup Solitaire]

No. Frosted bullets, even really frosted ones will shoot the same (accuracy wise) as non frosted ones. A lot of folks just don't like the look(s) of the frosting. Simple solution is to lower the heat. If you don't want to do that then when the bullet is cold...preferably when it is loaded in its case, simply rub it gently with some #0000 steel wool and it will shine up very well. LLS

[Pb2au]

Frosting is always good, especially on cake

[DLCTEX]

Only if the frosting is extreme, then it can cause shrunken bands or under size spots. Check the diameter and if the size is OK, no problem. Give a boolit a twist in a paper towel and if the boolit shines then the frosting is minor. My Lee 476-400 2 cavity gets up fast with the large boolits. I run my pot as low as it will keep the nozzle open and cast slower than I do with smaller boolits.

[yman]

I prefer frosting on a sugar cookie, not my bullets. But I have shot frosted bullets and could not tell any differance from the other bullets in the batch.

[Love Life]

I like all of my bullets slightly frosted.

[35 shooter]

# 1 on post 6. Everything seems to turn out best that way for me too. The moulds i have seem to run real smooth and let the boolits go easier when they're slightly frosted.

[bangerjim]

Frosted does not hurt anything. They still shoot and fly the same.

If you powder coat, the frosty even allows the PC to stick ever better!

bangerjim

[Bullshop Junior]

I like all of my bullets slightly frosted.

Ditto.

[freebullet]

Frosting is good, not just on boolits either.

[MtGun44]

No. The majority of mine have frosting.

Bill

[rintinglen]

A light frosting is a good thing, IMO. It is telling you that you are plenty hot enough to get good fill out. Now extreme frosting means undersized boolits and perhaps deformities, but I prefer to see my boolits come out a tad on the dull side. Bright and shiny almost always means more rejects. I strive to hit that sweet spot where the goodies are raining from the mold and then just keep casting.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Agree, I've shot several buckets full of frosted boolits....no problem, as the man says, it's all in the heat. If mine start getting frosty, I just watch the temp...watch the fill out on the bands....all is well most of the time......IMHO

[dromia]

Even frosting all over doesn't harm anything however patchy frosting doesn't help with consistency and all that that entails.

[dragonrider]

In my experience frosted boolits are too small.

[Sensai]

Don't think of it as "frosting", think of it as "tactical anti-reflective stealth coating". You can probably sell them on fleabay for five bucks each!

[Blammer]

Frosted boolits hold more lube! :D

Nothing wrong with them. :)

[Hickok]

I like to have my boolits a little frosty, as I prefer to run everything a little hot. I got into the habit of running melt and mold hot when casting pure lead .58 caliber Minies.

BUT, when making soft point bullets, using a split shot sinker, placing mold in the melt, cooling then adding harder alloy, placing mold again in the melt to fuse the two together, and then letting the mold cool down before dropping the boolit, my super frosty boolit can shrink slightly.

[osteodoc08]

Its fine. Load and shoot. If I have some light frosting on my boolits, I'll load them and give them a twist with an old cotton T shirt to give them that perfect matte finished shine.

[1Shirt]

I believe that frosting in the grooves helps to hold the lube, just my opinion however.
1Shirt!

[Smoke4320]

I find that my molds really start to release bullets better when frosting occurs.. Like everything moderation .. get way to hot and they will be smaller .. just back off a little

[Love Life]

If your boolits come out super shiny, and then frost, then you might be a bit too hot...

If your boolits break when the come out of the mould then you may be a bit too hot...

If your boolits come out lightly frosted and well filled out, then keep doing that.

[robroy]

Buttercream or gnosh are fine but forget the fondant. Sorry I had to.

Frosty works for me.

[DeanWinchester]

I find that frosty boolits will shine like new money with a quick rub from a clean cotton rag. I wipe all mine after seating anyway cause there's always some stray lube here and there.

[44man]

The boolits most affected by frosting are the TL ones, bands might not fill.
Too much heat will make boolits undersize.
Frosting is not a bad thing as long as the boolit is filled out and is still the right size.
Once chambered deer don't see the boolit! :bigsmyl2:

[Charlie U.]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

When I got to sizing these boolits I found that a good portion of them were a bit on the small side.
I will remelt them all and give it another go at a more moderate temp.

[Shiloh]

Minor frosting is no issue at all.

It seems to be advantageous when tumble lubing.

Shiloh

[Toymaker]

A little frosting is no problem. If you want shine just take a bit of flannel and buff the bullet. Look at the bullet and if you see a definite crystalline structure then you had things way too hot. I have had these "crystalized" bullets fragment upon exit from the barrel when I was pushing maximum loads.