Burns...

[Burnt Fingers]

Believe it or not I'm allergic to one of the ingredients in Neosporin and it's generic creams.

OS OK, I had the mold sitting on the bench cooling. I wear a glove on my right hand to open sprue plate and pick up sprues. I reached over the mold and zap. Yeah, I should know better, I do the same thing every couple of months. I need to move my gear from the garage to the shop. But I need to build benches and frame in an area in the shop first.

[lightman]

The above posts gives you all the R/X needed for your current burns so I'll give you some R/X for preventing burns in the future...works like a champ.

Burns heal and the pain goes away, however...bad habits in casting does not unless, you change your ways of doing things.
Slow down for the moment...think about what caused the burn. It wasn't the hot mould or the splash of the lead from the pot, it was negligence...failure to abide by some personal set of rules that would prevent these burns in the first place.

Set the mould down if you want to cross arms to pick something up. If you constantly are reaching over for some reason...change the layout of your casting area and have left handed tools on the left and right handed tools on the right.

Use a pair of needle nose pliers to grab multiple sprue cuts and place them into the pot...takes a minute longer but it doesn't splash hot lead...after a dozen sprues are in the pot you'll have solid lead on top for the moment, then you can dump or drop all you want in there.

The fluxing spoon spit at you? Moisture, ease the spoon into the melt slowly, then you can stir without sputter.

You like to cast with minimum protective gear?...me too, shorts & short sleeves or a tank top...the secret here is to use extreme caution. Extreme caution becomes 'good habits'...habits you don't have to think about, you just automatically do that.

One of the worst habits I see in this community these days is people that are always in a hurry to get their loading & casting tasks done quickly. Where does it ever say in our manuals that we need to hurry up and get done?

A quote from 'Crossfire Trail', 2001...

Joe Gill: (sees J.T. working on a horse's hoof) "Better slow down there, young fella."

J.T. Langston: "What difference does it make?"

Joe Gill: "Well, see, if you take your time... you get a more harmonious outcome."

I briefly touched on this but this advice is worthy of your consideration. I also cast with a minimum of PPE but no shorts, tank tops of flip flops for me. I save those for the pool! My skimming spoon builds up a crust that absorbs moisture so occasionally I'll clean it up with a wire brush. I'll always float it on top of the melt before I submerge it. Knowing these things will make things safer.

Organizing your set up better will not only be safer but will increase your production rate. Thats a Win Win!

[Hossfly]

I like the Silvadine but don’t have any, so just use cool water and aloe from kitchen window, my wife keeps for all things painful. Burns, wasp stings, etc. real bad 2nd degree gets emergency room visit. Every time I’ve been burned or hurt, was from being impatient or in a hurry.

[RED BEAR]

As i am a slow learner i have some pretty bad scars from burns. Never did like wearing long pants on my motorcycle and had some bad burns on lower legs well don't have a bike anymore so that is solved. I would go along with welding gloves they are pretty cheap from big hardware store long pants long sleeve shirt and eye protection large safety glasses or better yet face shield i also have a long shop apron i wear. I have a scar that covers most of the back of my hand from some casting that was only going to take a couple of minutes. That one took several months and a couple different antibiotic prescriptions . Wife has an aloe plant thats 4ft tall and just about as wide so i always take a piece when going to cast. Safety is the main thing you can't unburn yourself.

[tazman]

Lots of good advice has been given.
I use an even simpler method.
For small, less severe burns(either first degree or very small second degree) I cover with a bandaid to keep from irritating it. For a larger burn, I will coat with Vaseline and cover with gauze. For 3rd degree or very large burns, I will see a doctor.
I find that the use of Vaseline speeds the healing process for me dramatically. Without covering the burn, my healing time is usually 2 weeks or so. With the Vaseline and covering, my healing time is often down to 7-10 days.
Much depends on how severe the burn is and what you do for a living. Keeping a larger burn clean can be difficult in certain jobs.
During my years working in a heat treat facility working with large amounts of 1500 degree lead as a heating medium, I got a lot of small burns. I don't think there is a square inch of my forearms that hasn't had a burn on it. Most of the burns we got were small particle burns where a small piece of lead or carbon about the size of a large grain of salt would land on the skin. After a while, you got so you would ignore those.
Since the area was dirty, I had to develop a means to keep the larger burns clean, hence the use of Vaseline and gauze.

[OS OK]

Another 'preventative R/X' is...

I forgot to mention that the stir spoon can burn you even if it does not 'sputter'...it'll burn the hand that stirs way up there on the handle...

Slip a little rubber tubing like this old extension cord jacket over it and it becomes even easier to handle and it will not burn your stir hand.

[gwpercle]

The absolute best way. Take a aloevera plant leaf , large enough to cover the burn , split the leaf open and press the green inner part of the leaf against the burn , make sure all the burn is covered.
Wrap with gauze to hold the leaf in place . In a few hours , change the dressing to a fresh aloevera leaf...put the split leaf in foil and in refrig. and use it . Keep changing it every few hours , 6 to 8 hrs max or whenever the aloevera starts getting dry .
After 24 to 48 hours the burn will be healed wit NO blister forming.
Keep small pots of aloevera growing on window sills . Cures a lot of things...
Stuff that comes in a bottle isn't any good....you have to use the living plant leaf !
Gary

[Texas by God]

Silver nitrate works really well and Bag Balm or udder cream it's also pretty good I have a few second and third degree burns so I know what I speak of.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Conditor22]

I wear Premium Top Grain Kidskin Leather TIG Welding Gloves: with gauntlets on both hands. they are thin/comfortable and don't interfere with my range of motion but are thick enough to protect your hands and wrists.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(I don't open my sprues by hand, I made a sprue opening jig
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-jig-prototype

For burns, I have a bottle of pure cold processed Aloe, I slather it over the burn ASAP then cover it with a dressing

Like Bama said, only wear 100% cotton clothing. Synthetics will melt and the lead/melted fabric can get stuck against your skin.

[Bama]

Listen to what OS OK said. Also blue cotton work shirts are actually cooler than others and works great when casting. Don’t forget to wear a hat— if you have a tinsel fairy visit you will never forget again. Only took one time for me pain threshold gets exceeded quick

[rsrocket1]

Hate to say it but you need to change your casting habits.
Yes a denim long sleeve shirt, jeans, gloves and a face shield are inconvenient but ugly 3rd degree scars on your face and hands will be more uncomfortable. I've seen little splashes of lead on my $3 HF face shield and am very glad I didn't get those in my eyes or on my neck. If I ever get a visit from the tinsel fairy (no one ever plans for it but you can prepare for it), I would not want a few ounces of lead to splash on my bare arms or bare legs.

I also dislike casting when it gets up to 110F out here in the summer but if I plan to cast on a Saturday and the forecast is bad, I wake up early and set up before sunrise and start casting at first light. I can then be done in a couple of hours before it gets uncomfortably warm.

[mattw]

I have to say... speed is your enemy when casting! I have been at it for 30 years or so and have only burnt myself 1 time, I was in a hurry and made a mistake.

Someone on the forum, years ago, gave me a pair of kevlar sleeves. They look like long yellow fingerless gloves. When they get splattered they do not melt, burn or even let heat in. I use the one on my left hand to close the sprue plate and never even get warm. I wear welders gloves when adding sprues or bulk alloy just incase something goes wrong.

[Walks]

I can't remember the last burn I got while casting.

Probably because I was raised casting & loading from about 2-3yrs old.
60yrs ago My DAD and UNCLE would work 8-10Cavity H&G Molds from opposite sides of a 100lb Plumbers Pot. Passing the filled molds back to My Brothers & Cousins & receiving another set of empty molds.

Safety was Number One. Leather Boots, 100% Cotton overalls & long sleeve cotton shirts. 2nd layer was a pair of Shotgun Chaps made from 10oz Leather, a Leather apron and Welding gloves. Safety Glasses & Wool ball caps.

An open 100lb pot of Molten Lead alloy is something to be mighty cautious around. Pouring an open 4lb ladle of lead up into a 10cav mold while holding over that open pot is scary.

I almost never cast over an open pot any more. The exception is filling a 1cav 45 SWC mold to check hardness or the alloy, 6-8 bullets. That uses a 60lb pot over a turkey fryer. That's a heap fun casting ingots, nope.

I use a 10lb RCBS Pot & Lyman ladle to cast pure lead balls for muzzle loading.

I don't use the chaps, but I do use the leather apron and full face shield. With a folded cotton hankie over the top of my BALD head.

For casting from a bottom pour pot (LYMAN or RCBS) I wear the same clothes, except I trade the face shield & hankies for a Ball cap & safety glasses.

And I've been using an "Ove-Glove on my right hand.
I got it from Buffalo Arms, I can hold a 4cav iron mold freshly filled before I have to put it down. It allows me to pick up a penny off the concrete. I can use small hand tools without taking off & putting on a welding glove.

I use a slightly bent Ice-tea spoon to skim off the dross and it goes into the same 1(lb) coffee can, so no danger of moisture there.
I also keep a ingot mold inverted over the top of the bottom pour pot. Keeps anything out of the pot, keeps my thermometer up right. And leaves a small gap to drop sprue into.

[gnostic]

Ice is the best for burns, put it on immediately and the severity will be diminished, no kidding, by 80%. I've done it many times always with great results. It keeps the blister from forming, but you have to apply it immediately, or I don't know if it will work. Notice in boxing they use 'end swell,' that's frozen piece of metal to keep boxers faces from blowing up. Ice works on all injuries to reduce and prevent swelling, don't ask me how I know...

[fredj338]

^^100%^^^ Ice any burn as quickly as possible. This helps keep it from continuing thru the skin layers & reduces the damage. After, I just leave mine alone until they dry up. If a large blister raises I do pop it with a needle, but many will advise against this.

[Echo]

I buy wells-Lamont leather gloves @ Costco, seems like they are about $20 for 3 pair, and will NOT cast without them. in the meantime, Aloe Vera...

[klenke.ryan]

Best thing I ever did was buy a pair of OVOS Kevlar oven gloves from Amazon and wear both of them while casting. I only get close to burning myself if I take one off and absent-mindedly grab the skimming spoon. They are good enough to touch the mold directly and agile enough to pick up reject bullets or put sprues back in the melt.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[waco]

Okay. Your screen name is Burnt Fingers. You're asking about how to avoid being burnt while casting on April 1st...…..well played......

[Burnt Fingers]

Okay. Your screen name is Burnt Fingers. You're asking about how to avoid being burnt while casting on April 1st...…..well played......

Actually it was a serious question.

[Preacher Jim]

FROILE use it for all burns learned from welders and scrap cutters in foundry. wonder spray stuff