Do You Polish Your Cast Bullets ?

[DoctorBill]

After all these years of casting lead and wheel weight bullets,
I just now fingered something out !

My cast bullets seldom look like those nice shiny bullets that guys
post on forums. Envious me.

I cast some LEE 457-320-F bullets yesterday (out in the cold
Eastern Washington State weather) and most all came out frosty
or they turn frosty fairly quickly.

Flat nosed for my Marlin Lever Rifle Micro-Grooved.

I know about mold and melt temperature affecting the outcome,
but most of my bullets usually come out less than beautiful.

So, just for the Hell of it, I sat down with a fluffy cloth and tried
rubbing the frosty surface.

Walla ! They came out beautiful ! Easily - the frosty surface is thin !

All these years I could have been polishing these cast bullets to
make 'em look purdy !



Don't know why, but it never occurred to me to 'polish' a cast bullet.
The frosty surface, apparently, is very thin and easily rubbed off.

Has anyone ever tried to polish Cast Bullets in a Walnut Shell Vibratory
Polishing Machine ?

I'll be damned !

BTW - one forum post said to rub Lanolin on the bullets to keep them from
getting dark and/or frosty again.....so a few guys do rub their Bullets....

DoctorBill

[prsman23]

Nope they shoot the same purdy or not.

[ffries61]

I threw a handful in tumbler once with walnut media, came out dark gray and dull, no frost though.

[DoctorBill]

I know....but it is like a Purdy wife versus an Uuuugly wife....
seems better if purdy. May work the same where you shoot, but
purdy IS better'n ugly.

Fewer disgusted looks at the range from the judgmental,
old time pharts who lurk around those places and ask,
"Did YOU reload those cartridges?"

"Ya ! Anything wrong with them ?"

"OH - No...they're just fine !"

DoctorBill

PS - Changed my avatar.

[prsman23]

Ok. Logic prevails doc! Especially comparing against women lol

[101VooDoo]

Bill,

I'm not sure if polish is the correct term, but I normally give a freshly loaded round a couple twists with a paper towel to get the lube off, and they come out like this:




These are roto-metal hard-ball boolits, but the WW w/2% tin come out pretty close.

Jim

[rattletrap1970]

yeah, thats about what I do, just so stuff don't stick to em. They just "end" up shiny

[Lefty SRH]

The ones in a speed strip that bounce around in a leg pocket get polished quite nicely.

[44man]

I have stupid guns, never notice if shiny, dull or have a condom on. I keep rounds clean in a box, not in a dirty pocket. Hunting has rounds in the gun, not in a pocket. Lube on the nose, just great. Nobody looks at my boolits, just groups shot with them.

[AlaskanGuy]

Ahhhhh phooey... I think that mine just shoot better purty..... Now you guys are telling me at they shoot the same??????? WTH?
Attachment 91084
Attachment 91084

But in actual shooting, they look more like this....
Attachment 91088
And this

Attachment 91089

Oh crud... Now how did that happen... Must be a server issue... He he

[dverna]

TMT
Too Much Time. That is what you need to polish bullets.

TDL
Too Darn Lazy. Is why I never do it

Don Verna

[bangerjim]

Powder coat them and do not worry about what the lead looks like.

Shiny, dull, frosted, gray........they all coat and shoot the same!


bangerjim

[DoctorBill]

TMT but TDL is me.

I wound up with lead all over my fingers after polishing the bullets.

That doesn't bother me at all (and I am a Chemist), but the Soccer
Moms out there would have a conniption fit if they knew I had gotten
lead (Pb) on my skin ! Warning labels on EVERYTHING !
Causes Birth Defects....maybe THAT is my problem !
My Dad soldered a lot as an Electronics man !

Anyway....interesting and humorous comments guys !

I will sit down in front of the TV now and hand polish
my Cast Bullets, wipe them with oil while I watch Nancy
Pelosi speeches and drool socialist thoughts....lol

The "lol" is so that some of you know I am being ironic and
don't REALLY do that - i.e. ....watch Nancy Pelosi Speeches !

I'm hooked on NCIS right now.....hoping the weather gets better
so I can go to the range and get abusive comments on my reloads.

After all is said and done, this is the important thing.....and smelling Black Powder smoke.

Shooting at 'Paper Zulus' with my Martini-Henry.


But now I can have purdy cartridges too !

DoctorBill

PS - I have a buffing wheel polisher, but I wonder if THAT wouldn't
throw atomized lead into the air. Hmmmm....

[beex215]

i had some pulled bullets that i wanted to tumbled to get the lube off of. turns out it was then powdered coated with what ever was in the media. im gonna smash and resize them and shoot them with this coat on. im curious on the results.

[bhn22]

I have a tool that polishes the more critical areas of the bullets. It's called a lubrisizer. My bullets are lucky that they get sized and lubed.

[btroj]

Mine get all the polishing they need in the sizer and the barrel. I have no need or desire to polish a bullet otherwise.

[Bullshop Junior]

I do, once they are loaded. I wipe my loaded rounds before I put them in boxes to get all the sizing lube and what not off, and the boolit thats out of the case gets wiped when I do so.

[rockshooter]

for me, the lands and grooves do a great polishing job!
Loren

[Garyshome]

Try using a buffing wheel!

[Bigslug]

I figure frosty boolits are non-reflective and "tactical".