Another question - WW question

[selmerfan]

Ok, so I found a couple tire shops that will hold their WW for me. Do I need to be concerned that some of them are coated to prevent corrosion on aluminum alloy wheels? Is this the dreaded zinc WW, or are zinc WW all zinc? The ones I'm talking about just have a silvery coating that I can scrape off with a knife and get down to lead. When I smelt these, will that coating flux off well, or should I not use these WWs?
Thanks!
Selmerfan

[Blammer]

either the WW's will be lead or zinc, not a combo...

smelt at around 700-750 and skim off whatever floats.

I'd not be concerned with any "coating" they put on them. It'll just burn or melt off and float to the top.

if you watch the pot as it melts, just as it starts to "liquify" stir and skim and you'll be fine the zinc will float on the lead like a piece of peanut styrofoam floats on water.

[grumpy one]

Flat stick-on WW are often painted with shiny grey lacquer to improve their appearance. The lacquer is destroyed by smelting, though it takes a few seconds of immersion in molten alloy. If you keep the smelting temperature down to 650-700*F, you will not melt any zinc weights. Zinc melts at 770*F - do not allow your smelter to get above 700*F. When your melt gets to 650*F you'll find that gentle stirring brings everything unmeltable to the top - steel clips, steel WW, zinc WW, and lots of black garbage. The black garbage seems to be a decent flux - when you skim it off you'll have clean melt.

[selmerfan]

Ok, thanks guys
Selmerfan