how to clean smelted bullet jackets

[milsurpcollector1970]

Is there a way to clean bullet jackets after you have smelted them, mine still have lead stuck to them and are kind of dark/scorched

I was wanting to sell them but I don't think the scrap yard will buy them in the condition they are in now.

[merlin101]

I have had good luck dipping them out of the pot and dumping them into a hardware cloth basket I made then while still hot I add some more heat with a weed burner and GENTLY shake. You would be surprised at how much lead comes out.

[RickinTN]

I usually do my first fluxing with the clips still in the melt. It cleans them and then I'm only removing mostly clean clips.
Hope this helps,
rick

[dragonrider]

^^^^^^^^^^^ works every time. Flux your melt before you remove them.

[dilly]

Merlin I bet you could do a step by step w/pictures and get a sticky out of that, depending on the results. Lots of us have trouble getting it clean enough to sell as copper to cheap scrapyards.

I've thought about seeing what a cement mixer would do to the presentability.

[kbstenberg]

All of my slag (dust, clips, Jackets) from a smelting session goes into the drier that I converted to my case tumbler in a 5 gallon bucket. Let it spin for an hour. Everything is separated. All of the condense is sifted through 2 screens (first is a 1/4" screen the second is a normal house screen). The 1/4" catches all of the larger lead peaces, the clips, and jackets. The house screen catches all of the small lead particles. All of the dust sifts through to the bottom.

[bigjake]

Like dragonrider said, flux before you remove the jackets from the pot. Then try throwing the hot jackets in a bucket of cold water. the fast temp change might get them back to copper color.

[Racenviper]

Has anyone used a magnet on those jackets? Most jackets are steel with copper plating from foreign manufactures. The club I belong to has an indoor range. We were talking to a member that deals with scrape and he was amazed at the scrape price we get, he said there is alot of ammo manufacturers using steel jackets and plating with copper. He dip a magnet into one bucket, attached was many jackets.

[richhodg66]

I'm going to try the mesh box and torch method. I just melted down a bunch of range salvage and have a lot more.

What is the going rate for the copper jackets? I have maybe 30 pounds of them together now. I really don't want cash for them, just wonder if they're valuable enough to a scrap yard that they might trade me lead for them.

[dilly]

If you can get copper price some people get like $2.50/lb, but most scrapyards try and reclassify it.

[richhodg66]

Didn't know copper was worth that much. When I get enough together, I'll go see them and try to come up with a ratio of trade for lead that they'll be agreeable too. I don't know the guy, but there's one scrap guy in town our scout troop brings aluminum cans to because he's honest. I think I'll go get to know that guy here soon.

[tomme boy]

$2.65/lb here. Just took in 110 lbs last week. Along with 250 lbs of brass at $2.10/lb. I'm going to buy a new rifle with it.

[mold maker]

The cleanest you can get the jacket material will only get you at best, #2 brass prices, at most yards. A magnet will remove the steel jacket material, and having it separate will enhance your value.
I usually wait till I have quiet a bit of all metals, and trade for lead instead of cash. It works out for a better deal for you, and the scrapper.

[shooterg]

$1.75 here, 2 - 5 gallon buckets 2 weeks ago.

[Scout800a]

I got 2.40 per lb. A nice swap for a bunch of medical cores. That made for a lot of cheap lead. I didnt clean mine up, but I wondered about just hosing it off a little. If they would have refused me I would have brought it home, cleaned it up and tried again somewhere else

[RP]

I smelt mine in a large pot over a open fire and add used motor oil or transmission fluid to flux. It will light up in a good hot flame and I just stir it up all the lead releases from the jackets. If you want the jackets to be back to a copper look while they are hot hit them with a water hose. The jackets are mostly gliding metals AKA red brass I would run a magnet over them to get any metal jackets out.

[Sgtonory]

I smelt tons of range scrap. The best luck i have had so far is to use a cement mixer with a little soap and water. But i make sure i shake the jackets to get as much lead as i can out of them. I only get Clean brass price for it as there are many jackets that are made of brass. Also there is a lot of bimetal jackets that need to be removed. I also sift everything to get the smaller pieces out as most scrap yards see it as "dirt".

[sschultz]

Maybe a stupid question but can you smelt the jackets down . And if you did would the ingots be bright like copper.

[btroj]

$2.65/lb here. Just took in 110 lbs last week. Along with 250 lbs of brass at $2.10/lb. I'm going to buy a new rifle with it.

If you are getting that kind of money it is worth a drive across IA to sell mine. I will have a couple hundred pounds soon.

[twc1964]

My scrapyard classifies my copper jackets as red brass. i get 1.75 per lb. i don't gripe to much as most yards here don't want any of it.