cast bullet & lead oxide

[rp85]

hello;

starting a project to cast a very large number of cast bullets. game plan to have enough for at least 5 years. is there any to prevent lead oxide forming on the bullets. all bullets will be stored and sealed in either plastic or metal containers.

thanks for any input.

r

[Mytmousemalibu]

Keep moisture away from them namely. Tumble lubing them or powder coating should seal the deal pretty good.

[Yodogsandman]

I've heard to dunk them in soapy water and let dry.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

what alloy ?

I have some pure lead that were cast about 15 years ago by my buddy, and have a bit of white corrosion (oxidation?)...But they are round balls, I have just shot them like that...you know, patch and all...no biggie.

When I started casting in 2010, I cast some near pure (I added about 1% tin to deter corrosion) conicals and round balls and some fishing weights. Some of those are still on my shelves, 5 years old, and still silver colored like the day I cast them. Some are in ziplock baggies some are in open-top tuna cans and such.

[CastingFool]

Back in the late 70's I cast a bunch of 12 ga slugs using a Lyman foster mold. I have kept them in a simple cardboard box I scrounged from work, and stored in a closet in our basement. Quite a few are still shiny as the day they were cast.
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[44man]

Pure has some little bugs living in it to poo on them! A little tin will keep them shiny.
I spray round balls with Barricade or Sheath.

[Ken in Iowa]

I inherited quite a few round balls cast by my Dad 50 years ago when I was a kid watching from afar. :)

He typically stored them in sealed glass jars. Those are as shiny as the day they were cast. Balls and bullets stored in unsealed containers turned dark grey.

I am sure the limited exposure to oxygen in the air made a difference.

[bangerjim]

Vacu-Seal bags if you are that worried.

Or PC them as I do!

banger

[lightman]

If you store them in most any type of sealed container you should be ok. I have some that are older than the time period you state that were stored in cigar boxes that still look like they did when cast. As stated above, pure will oxidize faster than alloys with tin.

[hickfu]

I used to seal my boolits I wanted to store in vacuum bags, Now I just powder coat them and store in plastic containers I got from the dollar store. they will never corrode

[Blackwater]

That white stuff on lead and bullets is lead oxide, and can, at least reportedly, be dangerous to handle. I've had much that went white over the years before I knew this. Apparently, that white stuff can be absorbed into the body through the skin, especially if you're perspiring when you handle them. Since lead poisoning isn't any fun, I've taken to handling all lead with rubber lined gloves, often with surgical gloves under plain old cotton gloves. Once it's melted, it's my understanding that the O2 cooks off and the lead returns to the molten mix, and thus, is "safe" again.

Keeping the white stuff from forming means denying the surface contact with any significant amount of oxygen, and that can be aided greatly by storing in sealed jars or other containers that prevent air transfer, or in coating the lead with something that puts a barrier between the lead and the surrounding air. LLA should do this pretty well, as should PC'ing. For big chunks of lead, a simple spray paint would likely do well, and it'll burn off in smelting, although it'll smell to high heaven, probably, and paint fumes probably aren't good to breathe, so this should and almost surely would be done outside with the smelter keeping downwind.

This is just my understanding of the matter, and please, if anyone out there has better or more technical knowledge, I think we'd all appreciate any corrections on this significant issue.

[Silverboolit]

Keep some of the oxygen absorbing packets from beef jerky and put them in with the lead boolits into a sealed jar. Keeps the O2 in check and the boolits smell like bacon!!

[mozeppa]

Keep some of the oxygen absorbing packets from beef jerky and put them in with the lead boolits into a sealed jar. Keeps the O2 in check and the boolits smell like bacon!!

sounds like anti 72 virgin projectiles for jihadists![smilie=l:

[hickfu]

Im still trying to figure out why they all want the same 72 year old virgin...

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