Lead bubbling???

[Tripplebeards]

I have a bunch of powder coateing, I'm guessing, on my lead wheel weights. I'm melting them down in skimming off the glue like substance off the top and then for some reason it's bubbling with steam coming off. I'm guessing this is powder coating that was stuck to the bottom of my cast iron pan? I've been melting Lead for 5 straight days now and this is the first stuff I've dealt with with powder coatiled or painted weights.. I can tell you it sure stinks when it burns. I'm fluxing afterwards and still getting bubbling.

[randyrat]

Could be some moisture under the paint.
Be careful if you add painted weights to the molten lead it could blow tinsel all over if there is moisture trapped.

I make sure there is no moisture and keep adding to the smelting pot when it gets about 1/3rd, takes less time than starting cold over and over. Wear your safety Equipment..Those full face shields that you can pull up or down easily work great to prevent the tinsel fairy attack

[country gent]

It may be trapped moisture that has seeped in while sitting or it may be the powder coating itself being heated above it burn point in the molten lead either can be a cause for concern. Melting the coated bullets down if there is smells I would also be very careful as these fumes might be hazardous due to the chemical make up of the coatings. You might try a spoon full ( a big serving spoon or ladle) and letting it set in the molten lead for a few minutes to pre warm the small amount and burn off moisture before actually adding it to the melt. This will accomplish 2 things 1) it will preheat the lead burning the moisture off, 2) if its the actual coating causing this it should stay on the top of the melt and be easier to remove.

[Tripplebeards]

I noticed when I move the pan I'll get a bunch of bubbles all at once like I'm knocking sediment loose from the bottom. Once the bubble and smoke from it is gone there is a black speck that remains on the surface. I'm assuming that some of the paint has stuck to the bottom of the pan and has worked its way to the top of the lead? After I flux it really starts bubbling. Must be getting the lead hotter and burning it off the bottom of the pan? Of course I'm using safety glasses, gloves, and a respirator.

Attachment 198037Attachment 198038

[Lakehouse2012]

You need a flat tool to scrape bottom of pot. That is burned junk, stuck to bottom and gasing out. Ive never seen this as a flash issue rather it means dirty lead. Flux and scrape slowly

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[country gent]

You might try stirring and scraping with a wood paint stir stick in stead of a metal spoon or tool. Let wood sit on melt a few minutes to remove moisture and then stir and scrap with it using a "folding" motion pulling lead from bottom to top and then top to bottom mixing and agitating with it. The wood char will make a good flux and be continually replaced as it burns off and the square end will do a good job scraping and working the bottom of the pan. After a few uses it really conform to the bottom, sides, and radious of the pot doing even better. You always want to give it some time to dry charr a little each use as it will absorb moisture from the air that needs to be removed. As you make no note of what your fluxing with for this when smelting I like to use wood chips with soe paraffin or beeswax added. I let the wood chips start to char and add some wax then scrape and stir continuiously for several minutes or until the wood chips are completely ash. It dosnt take a lot of either one and the scrapping stirring motion is as important as the fluxing materials. You want to work the lead thru them and it thru the lead while scraping and stirring the pot.

[Tripplebeards]

I've been using candle wax

[David2011]

Tripplebeards,

You might read up on fluxing with sawdust. You'll be amazed at the difference in the results between candle wax and sawdust. Like Country Gent said, you can mix sawdust/wood shavings and candle wax as well.

[Tripplebeards]

I used part of a wooden ruler to scrape the bottom. Much better, it got most of the stuck burning paint off the bottom and bubbled less. After scraping it only bubbled for a couple more minutes and quit. I finally finished melting all the coated wheel weights today. Been melting every day since Friday. Must have 6-7, 12x12" plus boxes filled to the top and then some of ignots made from 100% NIB WW lead. I still have a couple pales of used WW and all that sheeting I posted earlier that's 100% lead to smelt yet.

Attachment 198092

[Nose Dive]

When melting WW's... i always coat the bottom of my smelt pot with about and inch or so of saw dust. COLD...

add WW's and come up on heat slow...your pot looks a bit shallow...mine is deep and I start sturring when things get melted.
Add more sawdust and stirr....

NOW ,,,keep in mind SAWDUST SMOKES LIKE HEECCK... outside work for sure... and can expect love letters from the HOA.

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly pick two.

tripplebeads ingots are SWEEET...SWEEET...SWEEET

[Oklahoma Rebel]

i only use wax for really difficult situations, and even then sawdust is thrown in right on top of the wax, give it plenty of time to work, and burn down to carbon before you skim, and you will be surprised how well sawdust works on its own. i prefer cedar or pine because of the resin in it, i think it helps.

[Tripplebeards]

I'm wondering if it's my cast iron pan letting loose? I scraped it with a spoon when I got done today and a got about a half a spoonful of iron colored dust that came off the bottom of my pan. I've melted in it for a good 5-6 plus hours straight everyday for a week now. Just wondering if the pan is breaking down from all the use?

[mac1911]

I'm wondering if it's my cast iron pan letting loose? I scraped it with a spoon when I got done today and a got about a half a spoonful of iron colored dust that came off the bottom of my pan. I've melted in it for a good 5-6 plus hours straight everyday for a week now. Just wondering if the pan is breaking down from all the use?

Any time you heat iron hot it will oxidize quickly just like the oxidizing of the top of your lead. Maybe turn back your heat some. I finally built a nice wind insulated wind screen around my burner and pot. I swear I was able to reduce my flame by darn near half. I found the stuff road side. Thin metal backed with what looks like fiber glass glued on. It's hurried in the shed at the moment so no pics.

[Tripplebeards]

The dust came off the inside of my pan...which might have been letting loose and bubbling up?

[D Crockett]

Tripplebeards what ever you dodo NOT HIT THE SIDE OF THE CAST IRON WITH ANYTHING WHILE REAL HOT. I used to use a cast iron pot and smacked it with a heavy spoon and cracked it. a thin spray of lead came shooting out of the crack (what a mess). that when I went to a steel pot that is just something I wanted to tell you about cast iron. now as far as getting the crud off the bottom and sides of the pan there is a easy to make tool for that take a hack saw blade get about 1` 1/2 inches of the end red hot and bend a 90deg. in about 1 1/4 inches of the end. that is one of my best tool that I have. and if you are looking for other tools of the trade come and check out my add in the vendor section.it under "smelting pots and ingot molds " happy casting D Crockett

[54bore]

I agree with stirring with a BONE DRY paint stick

[Nose Dive]

Well gang... back to 'bubbling'.... I am not POT expert.... but... I do smelt -trash...road kill... tire shop scrap and grud.......soo..

I have not seen 'bubbling' as said above...I coat the bottom of my cast iron smelt pot with sawdust...as guys say above...pine is good...pine bark is good.( I used to get bags of that in east Texas...can't tell you where )...seems pine works better than oak...but...sawdust is sawdust to me...

AND... knowing things in my smelt pot are BAD NEWS .... I usually add sulfur...yep... few hand fulls in the bottom of the pot and add the smelt material over the top and... well...let her go. FIRE her up... AND GET BACK JACK... fumes are bad and TOXIC.... NEVER NEVER NEVER do this in the garage,,,basement or livery barn...NEVER>>>NEVER...NEVER... (I just told you six times) my pot is big...holds alot of trash and corruption and I 'suit up' with leather boots, gloves, apron, arms AND SAFETY GLASSES.... I come up slow on the heat and get things melted and stir..scrap bottom and sides...NEVER...NEVER...NEVER...add more smelt to the pot when things are melted...( I told you three times )... I do add more sawdust...stir...mix,,scrape and keep things moving around.... and...lastly...after all trash and clips are screened and removed from the smelt pot...I do...and always...add wax and mix... Depending on the dross and the way I feel at the time...i may add some more sawdust...or suflur...or...or... or whatever I think may help the smelt...help when I clear the dross...whatever....

Fellas here say add acid... sulfuric... swimming pool stuff... I don't as I NEVER add any liquid to my smelt pot... some say BORIC ACID...gee... I really don't do it...don't recommend it and will defer to my chemist colleagues on this site for the desired chemical effect on those items.... But,,, HOME DEPOT sulfur (powder form) from the nursery... added when the pot is cold...helps me with my TRASH SMELT POT...(see my warning about TOXIC FUMES above)...

This pot is poured into ingots...(that is not correct...it is poured into 3x3 angle iron and let to set)...or cupcakes pans and let to set up....

So now...what does this ole south Texas Fatboy have?.. YOU TELL ME... as I dunno know. just some garbage smelted and treated as above. This is my first pass on cleaning up the trash.... have about 100 pounds of this stuff... I do not cast from this... I RETREAT it all and then cast...

Man... Do you guys really wanna read what happens next to these 'gross' texas ingots?... I am once again rambling and just tryin to say... GRUD SMELT POT work ...well...needs work...and as above...that is what I do....

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly Pick two.

[jsizemore]

When you melt SOWW with the glue/tape still attached, bubbling happens. When you melt lead it likes to stick together, that's the lead I'm talking about. That will keep stuff pinned to the bottom of the pot. If some of your glue/tape, epoxy is stuck against the bottom of the inside of the pot, it's gonna cook off on it's way to becoming carbon. Since there's no available oxygen it's gonna take a while. Stirring and scraping creates paths for the lighter then lead stuff to not be pinned and float to the top. Your wood stick will also burn against the hot pot bottom and be trapped. The carbon will act as a flux to get the stuff out of your Pb. You need to stir and scrape and stir and scrape until the bubbling ends and fluxing yields no results. Not doing that leaves residue on the bottom. That's most likely your buildup and dust. There is no magic number of times to flux and stir and scrape. It's clean when it's clean. Not doing this will put unwanted stuff in your casting pot and boolits.

[Tripplebeards]

That reminds me I have a whole box of new stick on WW to melt I forgot about.

[jsizemore]

That reminds me I have a whole box of new stick on WW to melt I forgot about.

Good practice material. A good fit of a barbecue spatula to the pot bottom works well for me.