With determination, all the the methods above work well.
Picks were not required when peeling a lead sheets off the garage ceiling, floor, or off Levis.
Post casting session clean-up and remelt of sprue chips and lead debris from the floor also managed to include an dirt, dust, and an errant primer.
A near full 20 pound pot can get half empty PDQ... fortunately mostly straight up.
Wear your safety gear until you turn out the lights...
Goofball lessons from narrow escapes of decades past are long remembered.