tumbling buckshot

[seawolf]

I bought a 00 and #4 sharpshooter molds and cast about 15 pounds of 00 buck.
I decided to tumble the shot to remove some of he sprue and a small amount of flashing. I bought a harbor freight 2 drum tumbler. I put three pounds of shot in each drum and let them tumble dry for about an hour. The shot is now as black as the drums.
Is there a way to get the black off of the shot? Will the black rubber coating cause drastic problems when fired? Or should I put them back in the melt pot and recast the shot?
I will get a piece of 4 inch pvc pipe and fittings and make a drum that should work better. Any help with this would be great. Mark

[lavenatti]

It's fine lead dust not rubber on your shot. I had the same thing happen. I just dumped them on a towel and wiped them off.

Throw the towel away when done. That fine lead dust will turn it black anyway.

I'm sure soapy water would work just as well, I just didn't want to deal with the contaminated liquid when I was done.

[mold maker]

In this Summer sun the contaminated water will become easily disposable sludge in a couple days.