Wax deposit on cast bullets? New caster needs some help

[Buckshot Bowman]

HELLO LADS,
WELL I AM TRYING TO BECOME A MASTER CASTER, BUT SMALL PROBLEMS KEEP GETTING IN THE WAY!

Okay, I have been having this problem on every mold and bullet I have been casting. I an using a 1-20 tin lead for BP and the temp is monitored with a thermometer, molds are cleaned with brake cleaner and are pre heated on a hot plate.

I have been fluxing with candles and paraffin and have a nice shiny melt.
almost every bullet comes out looking like the below photo, they have this white substance on them that wipes off with a towell or a toothbrush to clean out the grooves see before and after.

I got fed up and fluxed again with Marvelflux, which only brought up a small amount of dross, but I fast cast the pile in the next photo from a cold mold and all are nice and shiny.

Is there the possibility that there is wax in the melt that floats to the bullet surface?
I would rather use candles due to the cheap cost, but I can't put up wiht this as I can't see how well the casts are going, as I have to stop and rub the **** off.

Any ideas?

[Love Life]

The picture is a bit blurry so it's hard to make out. Is it slight frosting?

[runfiverun]

definitely mold temp related.

if you are getting the whiteness you are getting rounded corners, so you don't need to stop and wipe them off, you need to cool the mold down a little.

[Buckshot Bowman]

Heres a better photo,
These are all from the same run, the three on the right were wiped down with a tooth brush, the three on the left are as they dropped from the mold

Thanks

[9w1911]

Too hot mold

[BIGRED]

Wax will burn off quick. I like others use sawdust for fluxing then finish off with wax or old crayons. It never shows up in molds or bullets. As a few others mentioned mold may be to hot. Some people strive for shiny bullets, but most of us want a slightly frosted bullet. As long as you are getting good fill out and bullets have good sharp corners and a filled base then don't worry about color of bullet.
BTW if your theory about wax was true the wax would migrate up to bullet base not the sides.

[dave roelle]

Trapped air will cause this---make sure the mold vents are clear

try to cool down a bit as mentioned above

the condition looks a bit odd but i bet if you weigh a few the weight variation is minimal

lube em an shoot em

Dave

[Buckshot Bowman]

Thanks to all who added their thoughts, I hope you can advise me on a another set of problems
First I know the molds are clean, these two are new molds from RCBS, and were cleaned with Dish soap, Brake cleaner and then before use Acetone.

I cooled off the molds, and switched to COWW alloy for this run. you can see what I call smiley faces, I get these more than good bullets, I heat up the molds good and hot, and also cool them down, the melt is at 725 to 750 degrees on a bottom pour RCBS Pro melt with the mold right up to the nozzle.

I will get these at the start of a run and get them on the 12 cast.

I will get a nice bullet all the way around, but then I get a smiley face.

I really need to find out what I am doing wrong. as this happens on most all molds I am using, so it is a user problem that I can't find in the dozen casting books I have here.

Thanks,

Buckshot,

Donald Bowman

[BIGRED]

That's a cold mold. How are you determining if your mold is up to temp? I put mine on a 400 degree hot plate for 30 minutes before I start casting. My rcbs molds like to be hotter than my aluminum molds when I first start out. After 10 - 12 pours I will have almost 100% keepers.... I always let a quick squirt of lead out of bottom pour before I start the pour into mold. This will help make sure lead is not cooling at tip before you pour. My molds are typically 350-375 degrees and cast as fast as I can pour, count to 5, cut sprue, dump, close, repeat. Start melt out at 750 for 1st 20 bullets (helps heat up mold) then dropdown to 700 and keep casting.... I can drop back in 15-20 sprues and still cast all the way down to 650 as those cold sprues melt. And if you do not have a PID controller iI Strongly recommend one..... Makes life easier.

[John Boy]

Is there the possibility that there is wax in the melt that floats to the bullet surface?

You answered your own question - Yes. Try sawdust from pine boards
Your 'smiley faces' ... how long do you hold the pour into the mold and how long does it take for the sprue puddle to frost?
Read this ... http://www.longrangebpcr.com/8Phases.htm

[Buckshot Bowman]

John,
I open the pour rod to fill as fast as I can keep up, I let the sprue frost over fulluy and wait anothe 3 seconds before cutting.

These are the worst examples, but I am at a 20% keeper, the rest go back in the pot.

Thanks

[jsizemore]

Acetone and the green can of Brakleen, which also contains acetone, leaves a residue which gives you the smiley's on your boolits. If you keep casting it goes away or change your cleaning prep procedure. Oil or lube in the cavities will also give you smiley's.

Try dropping the temp on your melt to eliminate the tin patches on the surface of your boolits. If you keep the temp up you'll have tin spots on your mold and have a heck of a time removing them.

[Buckshot Bowman]

Hello Lads,
Taking all your advice and getting serious, I got my melt at a constant 725 degrees, I heated my mould on a hot plate and hit the sprue plate with a propane torch.
I cast a little over over 200 bullets till the arthritis in my shoulder started screaming, with just 5 rejects it seems.

I kept an eye on the time it took for the sprue to frost, and let the mold cool when it took a longer time to set. I had a few stickies, but a light tap on the handle dropped them out
I have a few frosted, but not like the original post.

The weights are average of .5 grains, and the diameter averages .429, and RCBS says it is a nominal .428 so I think I am on the right track, but I would like your feedback on these photos.

Thanks,
Buckshot

Donald Bowman

[Buckshot Bowman]

Acetone and the green can of Brakleen, which also contains acetone, leaves a residue which gives you the smiley's on your boolits. If you keep casting it goes away or change your cleaning prep procedure. Oil or lube in the cavities will also give you smiley's.

Try dropping the temp on your melt to eliminate the tin patches on the surface of your boolits. If you keep the temp up you'll have tin spots on your mold and have a heck of a time removing them.

Thanks for the advice, two things, what do you use to degrease and clean your molds, as I keep reading to use acetone? also how do you identify tin patches on the bullet and the mold?

Thanks

[62chevy]

dish soap and tooth past seem to work good for me.

I'd like to know about tin patches too.

[canyon-ghost]

Warm sudsy water and acetone, that's what I've been doing. The iron molds work the easiest, they're the best to learn on. Aluminum molds are quicker to lose heat, etc. Looks as though you have it down to the art form that it is!