HELP! HELP! My Boolits ls ''FROSTY'

[sw282]

:cry: I cant understand why. They were nice n SHINY the day before.. l cast about 8 lbs from my old 10 lb Lyman pot on Tuesday.. All SHINY. Yesterday l cast 24 lbs or three pots.. They're all FROSTY.. I don't understand... SAME pot Lyman pot. SAME H&G #503 mold. SAME alloy/range scrap. SAME pot temp setting... l hate frosty boolits.

thanks

282

[Beagle333]

The pot gets hotter the longer it runs. Just keep backing them temp down until the frost goes away.
I like mine a little frosty, but if you lose the heat slowly, the frost will go away.

[ioon44]

Nothing wrong with frosty bullets, if your bullets are shiny they may not be filled out as well as the frosty ones.

[robg]

if the bases are good shoot them ,if you tumble lube all the better.lower the temp will stop it .

[georgerkahn]

Beagle333, as they say, "hit the nail on the head". Even with hi-tech PIDs , my RCBS Pro-melt and Lyman pots do in fact vary alloy temp enough to alter finished product (bullet) appearance upon their cooling -- sometimes the change being most noticeable after a bit of time passes. Quite pronounced for me, as I cast outdoors in garage, placing cooled bullets in coffee cans. Some time later -- ranging from hours to months :) -- I size and lub them in my house basement. No worries re frosty appearance, as Beagle333 indicated.
geo

[GregLaROCHE]

Frosty boolits is a sign your alloy is too hot. It often starts to happen to me when I first start casting and the temp keeps rising. Just turn down the setting a little. Not the end of the world. You can still shoot them.

[gpidaho]

Powder coat them! Gp

[GoodOlBoy]

Must be frost from that cold front that came in....

GoodOlBoy

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Frosty or Shiney boolits is a result of mold temperature, not really by alloy temperature.
Mold temperature is mostly regulated by the rate at which you are casting, and maybe just a tiny bit by the alloy temperature.

If you cast at a fast rate, the boolits will get continually more frosty looking as the mold temperature increases. One way to judge mold temperature while casting is watching the sprue puddle freeze...the amount of time it takes to freeze will tell you the temperature. I usually cast so the puddle freezes in 3 to 5 seconds, but each mold is different and each alloy is different also. Once you find the amount of time it takes to get the desired shininess or frostiness, then you need to work on your rhythm to maintain that.
Good Luck.


PS, there are also environmental factors that effect mold temp. Ambient temperature and air movement (breeze) in the area where your mold rests between pours.

[Bigslug]

If you call them "RVS-TMG" (Reduced Visual Signature, Tactical Matte Gray) instead of "frosty" you can sell them for a lot more money..:wink:

[Hossfly]

Get a thermometer, put it in the pot and see what temp your at when your getting these frosted boolits. Bet you will find out your problem.

[454PB]

Control mould temperature by touching the filled mould to a damp cloth or sponge if the frost bothers you.

[samari46]

I cast frosty bullets. Run the pot at 750 to 775 nad cast the first ones fast until all the surfaces are nice and frosty. Count 1 through 10 before I cut the sprue. if it takes longer that the count them the temp is creeping up so then drop the temp down. bullets come out well filled, all edges are sharp and well defined even the gas check heel. When I did cast at lower temps edges for the lube grooves had a slightly rounded appearance and the gas check heel the edges were also rounded. Due to the hotter alloy temp when i get the bullets I like I cast fast and wear welders gloves to hold the sprue plate rather than use a hammer handle to do it.When the pot is almost empty I put some ingots in and of course you have to wait until the pot gets up to your casting temp. I use that time to cull the bullets which usually aren't very many.And putz around the shop. Casting the 314299 which is a fairly long bullet the way I do it means in all cases I get good well defined bullets.Buddy was shooting cast bullets for a wun 94 in 30-30 and they weren't pretty. Told him to come to my house and would show him how I do it, and bring your mold and handles.pot had been on for about an hour and was up to temp. He had the Mold for the 311291 started getting buce shiney bullets then gradually they go frosty. Took a break and showed him the different groups of bullets.His had rounded over kube grooves and even the gas check heel was rounder over. Then looked at mine, nice clean and sharp edges. Gave him a pairof old welders gloves and showed him to use the gloved hand to operate the sprue plate. couple weeks later he comes over with a cigar box full pf completely frosted bullets and to tell me that there was a big difference in how they shot versus his cast bullets. Made him very happy.Frank

[44Blam]

You can get frosty boolits even if your pot temp is good. It happens if your mold gets hot.
I like big bore boolits and those molds heat up fast, so what I do is cast a few really fast to get the mold hot and throw them back in the pot. Then I set my cadence based on the size. When they get really frosty, I just slow down. I try for a little frosty because they are a little bigger diameter so they size better.

[Shuz]

Bigslug--Now that was funny!

I actually prefer frosty RVS-TMG boolits because I've determined that fill out is usually much better than shiny cheap boolits(SCB).[smilie=w:

[Tatume]

I reject all bullets that are not frosty. If they aren't frosty, the mold is not up to casting temperature.

[Mitch]

Most of my bullets is what i call on the edge of frosty.Gray color or partly dull er maybe partly shiny. find this a bout where alot of my molds like to cast.Not a thing wrong with partly shiny bullets.

[jonp]

Control mould temperature by touching the filled mould to a damp cloth or sponge if the frost bothers you.

Yup. I keep a damp shop rag on the side to cool the mold down. As mentioned, the Lyman pot(s) I have only give a rough temperature and I have to keep moving the knob up and down to maintain the temp. Frosty boolits don't bother me much, they hold the tumble lube better. I'm more interested in mold fill-out.

[Old Coot]

You'll get a lot more frosty bullets when it is cold where you are casting than you will in the summer when everything is warm. Personally I prefer a light overall frost on the bullet. The other thing is the bullets will be slightly larger the hotter you cast, and the hotter your mold is. Brodie

[kevin c]

With my alloy (95-3-2) and technique, I seem to get the best and most consistent fill out with an even matte finish/frost. When I see that, I'm in "the zone", where I can cast with the confidence that just about every single boolit is a keeper. Of course, YMMV.

[waksupi]

I always cast frosty boolits. I like them.

[gwpercle]

Bigslug--Now that was funny!

I actually prefer frosty RVS-TMG boolits because I've determined that fill out is usually much better than shiny cheap boolits(SCB).[smilie=w:

#MeAlso...I get my best boolits just at barely frosty temperature. Fill out is best , least internal voids.
If mine are shiny ...I up the temperature .

[hermans]

Frosty boolits = good mold temperature[smilie=1:

[Bagdadjoe]

Don't look at 'em...shoot 'em. 😁

[dragon813gt]

If you rub them w/ a cotton towel they become shiny. Doesn’t take long to do this. So if the frosting really bothers you just twist them in a towel after loaded in the case.

[kevin c]

If you rub them w/ a cotton towel they become shiny. Doesn’t take long to do this. So if the frosting really bothers you just twist them in a towel after loaded in the case.
This I didn't know. So much to learn (sure, and it doesn't amount to anything except aesthetics, but it's just one of those little things that I find interesting).

[David2011]

Just remember that the temperature of the mold is controlled by the pace at which you cast much more than the temperature of the melt. Of course, the melt/pot temperature limits the mold temperature but as long as the pot is hot enough your pace is the determining factor of the mold temperature.

[greenjoytj]

I have found that wiping lightly frosted bullet nose with a rag after it been loaded will make a high shine return to the exposed lead.

[jaguarxk120]

If you pickup the freshly cast bullet, right out of the mold, and
lick the frosting off you won't worry about frosting ever again!!!

[white eagle]

your alloy is to hot
no worries though they will be fine
just turn down pot

[mdi]

Lots of personal preferences, opinions, but frosty bullets will shoot/preform just fine. I've found mold temperature for my molds and alloys determines, for the most part, if a bullets comes out "frosty". Some times I'll use the damp cloth method to cool the mold a bit, or slow down my cadence. I like to run my molds/pot to just at the edge of frosty-shiny...

I won't admit it here, but I sometimes keep a spray bottle full of water on my casting bench. A light squirt will cool the mold (closed mold, light, even spray from about 2 ft.)...

[mdi]

If you pickup the freshly cast bullet, right out of the mold, and
lick the frosting off you won't worry about frosting ever again!!!

BTDT! almost. One time when I first started casting I got excited when a perfect bullet dropped from my mold, and I picked it up. Only has to happen once...:cry:

[waksupi]

BTDT! almost. One time when I first started casting I got excited when a perfect bullet dropped from my mold, and I picked it up. Only has to happen once...:cry:

That's like when you first start blacksmithing. It doesn't take a person long to look at hot metal when they pick it up.