Lead on my driveway

[Super Sneaky Steve]

As careful as I try to be, I still get some drips of lead on my drive way when I'm melting scrap into ingots.

Does anyone have a good way of getting it off? So far I've tried to pull it off with needle-nose pliers which kinda works, but is real slow.

Tips appreciated.

[Jack Stanley]

Paint scraper perhaps ?

Jack

[Frank46]

Get a sheet of pressure treated plywood about 3/8th" in thickness. I use scraps of plywood when doing this in the backyard as it is all grass. Works to help keep the burner and pot steady and also for laying out them cute little bars of happiness we all love so well. The handles busted off my lee ingot molds so use either a wheel weight remover tool or an old pair of vice grips. Frank

[hiram]

I have the same problem and no solution.

[Handloader109]

Yep don't melt lead in the driveway:O

At least in the yard you can dig up and re smelt

[bangerjim]

Get one of those BIG oil drip pans they sell at WalMart. I have one under my re-melting pot AND my casting area.

Saves the surfaces.........AND my ears from my wife's yelling! [smilie=p:

banger-j

[dkf]

Get one of those BIG oil drip pans they sell at WalMart. I have one under my re-melting pot AND my casting area.

Saves the surfaces.........AND my ears from my wife's yelling! [smilie=p:

banger-j

That is what I was going to suggest. They are roughly 3'x4' and lead won't stick to it if you dump some on it.

[D Crockett]

my fix for this problem was to get 3 sheets of tin roofing sheets. one for my ingot molds and 2 to set up the turkey fryer and melting pot. when done I just sweep up what was drop on the tin sheets and put that back into the pot and melted for the next time I make ingots. I store them under my house that works good for me D Crockett

[mongoose33]

If you have access to a canvas drop cloth, that would also work. I have a big one (12x12) that I use for catching brass at the range. Ditto on the plywood or other barrier methods.

[xringshutr]

Shrug shoulders.............then clean everything else up and go shoot? [smilie=l:

[wonderwolf]

Painters drop cloth works just fine.

[11B-101ABN]

Did you try a pressure washer?

[imashooter2]

If it's black top, seal coat it and the problem goes away. Then put down a covering and ensure it doesn't happen again.

[scottfire1957]

On concrete I have rubbed the lead with the sole of my athletic shoe. Most times it works.

[DGV]

Pressure washer works pretty good. It wil damage pavement if you concetratee stream on a small spot. Ask me how I know!

[Dan Cash]

Work on the grass. Clean up with a rake and you won't see what you miss.

[Toymaker]

Since it is already there - - - - Mine was in a localized area so I used an ice pick to "flick" it loose and a shop vac to pick it up. THEN I put down a 4x8 piece of plywood under-flooring. Its about 1/4 inch thick, cheaper than ply, weathers well, stays flat and smooth surfaced. If you want it smoother paint it with some satin or gloss latex paint (white recommended).

[MBTcustom]

The pressure washer is the best option. It's just strong enough to get the job done, but as has been noted, the lead is tougher than the concrete in some instances. Blast it off, and take the divots as a lesson learned and protect yourself from it in the future using one of the methods mentioned.

[dondiego]

I would leave it as a badge of honor and use it for the curios to ask them to be on the lookout for scrap lead for me as I do whenever possible!

[bangerjim]

If you leave it the "lead Nazis" will see it and know you are the one responsible for the high lead contamination in your area's water source!

:violin:

[dave roelle]

Pour a bigger piece on top of the splatters and then pry it up :)-----worked for me

Dave

[Shiloh]

My smelting buddy has this on his driveway. He's not real concerned. If he wants it gone, hell pick up what he can with a wire brush, sweep it and put on black top sealer. Problem gone. He does however now do it on plywood he scavenged from somewhere.

Shiloh

[John Allen]

No help other than saying you can not hide that one from the wife.

[bedbugbilly]

I cast using a pot on a propane single burner hot plate. I set a piece of plywood across a couple of sawhorses. While it would be no big deal if the lead dropped on the plywood, I have some 12" X 12" ceramic tiles that were left over from a tile job I did. I lay down six of them and set my hot plate on top. It helps insulate the plywood and any drips & drops scrape off easily with a screwdriver or putty knife and go back in the pot.

The painter's drop cloth sounds like it would work well on a driveway. You can get them in smaller sizes at Lowes, etc. and they are fairly cheap - plus they come in handy for other things as well.

[Love Life]

Leading on the driveway? Did you slug the driveway 1st? Did you have good fit? How is the throat? Have you tried a different lube?

[clintsfolly]

Have a buddy lay down on the splatter then spray paint a line around him. The splatter will look like it belongs there :). Clint

[RED333]

Tell people that it is silver, it will get gone.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Lots of good suggestions. I'll try the power washer method then some of those preemptive measures.

I once had a contractor doing some work in my house. He asked me, how old is your house? I told him, then he goes, well, you don't have any lead in here then! I had to quietly chuckle as I had about 200lbs in the garage.

My thinking was that I may someday have to childproof my house, inside and out. That will be a challenge as I'm a 34 year old man boy who loves manly things! My other thought is that if I tried to sell the house the EPA would somehow screw me over. It's not a lot of splatter but it adds up over the years.

[Doggonekid]

I have the same problem in my garage. It has a few splatters of lead on the floor. Not enough where my wife has said anything about it yet. I think I will try all of the answers mentioned. Starting with shrug my shoulders and clean everything else up and go shoot.

[lightman]

Anything like a screwdriver, paint scraper or putty knife will get it up. I smelt on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. It sure saves a lot on clean up and even makes working on concrete a little easier.

[Love Life]

You may need to send your driveway off to be throated.

[Smoke4320]

Leading on the driveway? Did you slug the driveway 1st? Did you have good fit? How is the throat? Have you tried a different lube?

I suggest you powder coat the driveway .. no more leading :) :)

[tazman]

I suggest you powder coat the driveway .. no more leading :) :)

Now that would be interesting getting his driveway into the oven to bake the powder coat.

[JSnover]

Every time I buy anything in a large cardboard box, I save the box. It makes a perfect driveway liner/lead spatter collector. The drippings pull off easily, bits of it can be used as flux and when it's ruined it goes out with the trash.

[MT Gianni]

I assume that you would not paint without a drop cloth? Plywood works well for me, cardboard on the casting table where there is no flames.