I may have made a mistake...looking for input

[jamesp81]

As mentioned in another thread, I did some lapping of a mold that was dropping undersize bullets, which worked reasonably well. I left my lapping tool in a bucket of water I was water dropping bullets into. When I came back to these bullets a day later, having let them dry, there was a good bit of powdery looking stuff on them, the grinding compound I assume.

Didn't think much of it beyond that the bullets were scrapped, so I threw them all back into the pot along with my used lapping tool and remelted them. Then it occurred to me that this might not be a good thing. I don't really want grinding compound in my bullets scouring the rifling out of my barrel. With that in mind, I fluxed my melt, a lot, and skimmed it. A lot. FWIW and in case it matters, I'm fluxing with wooden paint stirring sticks.

I poured bullets with this melt into my recently lapped mold. I guess they are ok, but it's kind of hard to tell. The bullets are somewhat textured because my Leementing is not complete, the cavities still don't have a super smooth finish. I'll do some casting with this batch of melt into one of my very smooth 357 molds to see if it still comes out looking textured, but I guess my question is, how big of a concern is this really? Will skimming and fluxing take care of the lapping compound like it would any other impurity?

[country gent]

Fluxing should remove the most of it. another thing would be to "Dilute" it amongst more lead. Once fluxed and skimmed several times pour into ingots and add back to pots 1 ingot at a time or so. any left will be diluted down even more.

[Springfield]

Wheelweights are some of the dirtiest things you can encounter, what with dirt, oil, dog piss, sand, and even chewing tobacco in some buckets. If melting and fluxing will get that out, I don't think a bit of lapping compound is going to stay in the lead either.

[Traffer]

Since the specific gravity of lead is over 11 and of lapping compound under 4, I would say that the lapping compound would float on the lead like a cork on the water. Skimming should do the trick.

[gwpercle]

Also what you might be seeing is a bit of frosting from a hot mould. Instead of being shiney, the surface has a slight textured appearance, frost . That's normal and frosty boolits hurt nothing.
It doesn't matter how polished the cavities are the hot mould and metal cause the frosty appearance.
Don't worry about grit in the metal , sounds as if you fluxed enough to remove it. If you coat boolits with grit and shoot them...it's called fire lapping your barrel.
Gary

[Down South]

The lapping compound and any other stuff will float to the top. It's lighter than lead. As mentioned, your mould may be overheated and you are seeing frosted boolits.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Maybe. But, what you did is fine. All sorts of things come out of tap water. I suspect you could have let them dry out, hit them with some fine steel wool, and them use them for lapping again.

[clintsfolly]

Watched a gunsmith friend cast laps and remelt them while lapping a barrel. Fluxed and started to pore bullets to go to a championship match.

[15meter]

Watched a gunsmith friend cast laps and remelt them while lapping a barrel. Fluxed and started to pore bullets to go to a championship match.


Wouldn't have been an old guy from Milan?

[dondiego]

Wouldn't have been an old guy from Milan?

Wasn't me! I'm not old anyway. Just mature, Dennis!

[15meter]

Wasn't me! I'm not old anyway. Just mature, Dennis!
I was thinking Gray.