tell me about shiny bullets

[luna butte]

i got a seaco t31 pot that was full of mystery lead a couple a days ago. so today i fired it up and the thing works awesome.:smile:

and ya know... since i had the thing hot and the lead melted i figured i would cast a few, well they turned out really shiny, like way moreso than my WW bullets cast from my coleman stove. so i figured with the wealth of knowledge that frequents these forums i could ask you all for your opinion as to what the alloy could be, here it is several hours later and i can easily scape lead with my fingernail on the rejects. does pure lead cast really shiny, does adding more tin to the mix create more glossy shiny appearance?

the reason i am wondering is because i also got about 75#s of the same mystery lead and would like to know if i should use it for muzzleblasting or centerfire type bullets

they are really nice bullets. almost chrome looking.

[frankenfab]

Pictures, please!

A hardness test will answer your question about the applications for the alloy.

[stubshaft]

If you can dent it with a fingernail it may be pure but is definitely soft. Yes, pure can cast nice and shiny boolits, sometimes it seems a shame to have to shoot them. Eventually if left exposed to air they will start to change color to the dull gray color normally associated with pure lead. I would use it in its current state for ML or alloy it with Lino/Mono for centerfire or a touch of tin.

[luna butte]

i just took a bunch of pics but apparently my wife, the photographer still has the little device that uploads em in her car. i don't know if i could take a picture that actually would show the difference anyway, darn flash.

they're weird almost mirror like.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I cast some 158 RNFP out of pure lead to use for slugging bores. Very shiny.

[fryboy]

hi tin content can also come out shiny ( and stays shiny longer ...fishing sinkers from 60/40 showed me that ) often a hi tin content will seem to have a light golden/straw colored sheen/tint where pure sometimes has a almost blue hue , sometimes it seems that there's a magic temp per mold and alloy combo that also makes shinier boolits judging from many i have seen posted here and a very few i have made ( ie; i dont seem to hit that magic combo often :P ) as we know frosting occurs because of heat , the degree of frosting depends upon how much heat , i do agree tho that some of the prettiest cast i have seen was using pure lead for muzzle loading slugs/balls

[Roundnoser]

Years ago, I mistakenly cast a bunch of 9mm bullets using ingots of only stick-on WWs. The bullets were super-shiny...like silver bullets! Neat! Of course they were very soft...could easily score them with a fingernail.

[luna butte]

i would almost bet that these are pure or very close to it as i can peel strips of lead off of the bullets with my fingernail, i have not tried casting with my new pot and my WW ingots yet, maybe the pot having a more unform heat is also affecting the appearance of the bullets?

[Huntducks]

These buggers were cast with WW and a few oz of 95/5 solder mixed in they were water dropped they came out nice and shinny.

If your scratching them with a finger nail there pure lead or close to it.

[a.squibload]

Years ago, I mistakenly cast a bunch of 9mm bullets using ingots of only stick-on WWs. The bullets were super-shiny...like silver bullets! Neat! Of course they were very soft...could easily score them with a fingernail.

Yep, I cast a few yesterday, stickon WWs only, soft cores for swaging.
Shiny like chrome!