Dirty boolits?

[Lowbudget12]

Yesterday I made 25lbs of 50/50 COWW and pure and added 1 lb of 50/50 solder. Today I broke out the new never used 429421 and a new lee 10lbs pot. I cleaned the new mold with brake clean and a toothbrush and then smoked it with candle. After the pot came to temp I fluxed with bees wax, stirred and started casting, making good boolits. I have good fill out with sharp edges, they do not look frosted but have dirty spots. The dirt will be on both cavities and different places on the boolits, sometime the bands and sometimes the nose. I have looked and cant find any pics that look like what I have. This is my first go other than a ladle and single cavity mold. Thanks for the help

[Bazoo]

Howdy, Sounds like you're describing an almost frosty or spider web kinda of texture. I get that. For me it's from not fluxing as often as needed. It's not inclusions but almost like oxidation is getting in the mould. I ignore it and haven't had any issues.

Personally I don't smoke moulds. If I'm having any problems during casting that might be mould contamination, I clean with lighter fluid on a hot mould. Just squirt it on and it boils off. I've never had it flame up on me but I'm causious of it nevertheless.

It probably goes without saying but, never toothbrush a hot mould. It'll melt the bristles and is a real pain to remove.

[RickinTN]

A few years ago it was discussed that an imbalance in the alloy between antimony and tin would create random dark spots in bullets. I don't remember the particulars but Runfiverun was one of the participants. I have some bullets like that. Your mix sounds to be pretty balanced with 2% tin if I'm fillowing you correctly.
You might do a search of the archives "dark spots in bullets" or similar.
Good luck,
Rick

[joe leadslinger]

I had something like what you are describing. What I found to be the problem for me was a build up of "dust" in the pour spout. I use a Lee 4-20 controlled with a PID at first I thought maybe I wasn't fluxing enough or thoroughly cleaning the dross out of the mix. After multiple attempts fluxing I gave up, drained the pot and cleaned it. After that all was good. Here is a pic of the bad ones.

https://i.imgur.com/jqGuh0O.jpg

[Lowbudget12]

That looks somewhat like what I have. Was I supposed to clean the new pot before I used it. My boolits look almost like grease is smeared in places. How do I clean the dust out? I was going to clean my smelt pot, Clean the 10lber and remelt and flux my alloy. When making an Alloy how long does it need to be melted before you start to pour ingots? Thanks for the help, Merry Christmas Yall

[greenjoytj]

Don’t smoke a mold with a candle. Gasified Wax is condensing in the mold.
Incoming hot lead is vaporizing the wax again and burning to a carbon state.

[mdi]

I use nothing in the molds, no smoke/soot, no commercial "mold release". In essence anything in a mold to aid bullets' release is basically contamination. I have had soot transfer to the bullets and leave small imperfections much like those in the pics. But from what i see and my experience, the problem looks to be from dirty alloy. Perhaps "dust", or "gunk" in the pot, or even scale from the ladle. Both cavities of the mold and random placement tells me it's just "dirt" in the melt...

[fredj338]

Yesterday I made 25lbs of 50/50 COWW and pure and added 1 lb of 50/50 solder. Today I broke out the new never used 429421 and a new lee 10lbs pot. I cleaned the new mold with brake clean and a toothbrush and then smoked it with candle. After the pot came to temp I fluxed with bees wax, stirred and started casting, making good boolits. I have good fill out with sharp edges, they do not look frosted but have dirty spots. The dirt will be on both cavities and different places on the boolits, sometime the bands and sometimes the nose. I have looked and cant find any pics that look like what I have. This is my first go other than a ladle and single cavity mold. Thanks for the help
Stopping smoking the mold & I bet the bullets clean up.

[Lowbudget12]

So Today I cleaned the pot, scraped everything out and cleaned with a wire brush. I cleaned the mold with a small wire brush and brake clean. I remelted the alloy, used a pine stick to stir and fluxed with wax. started casting and got the same thing. Maybe not as bad as the first day. Some would be perfect and some would have spots. Tonight I weighed some and seem to have a +- of about 2gr.

[Bazoo]

Could be your running right at the edge of frost temperature.

[country gent]

I wouldn't use a wire brush to clean a mould. A nylon or tooth brush is plenty aggressive. You might try heat cycling the blocks to start the patina forming. Another area most forget is the vent lines. A bamboo skewer point lightly pulled thru them goes a long way.

For what Im seeing the heat cycle may help and as you said the second time was better so the blocks may just need to "break in" Those fine small pots probably arnt a fill or vent issue. I also don't believe they are a real temp issue. Try casting a session a little hotter on lead temp and a slightly faster cadence.

Also when lead is up to temp flux it hard, use beeswax or paraffin 3-4 times start with a slotted spoon. When stirring work the flux down thru the alloy and the alloy up thru the flux. Just stirring the alloy and flux doesn't work the bottom part of the pot thru the flux. The last use the paint stick and really work the alloy scraping the sides and bottom. Another is to cut / file a radius on the aint stivk to match the pots radius. Cleaning a new pot before starting helps a lot.

You might try filling the pot with water and dish soap plug in and boil for awhile then empty and dry out.

[Lowbudget12]

Today I cleaned the pot again. Changed alloy to 16-1. I have been ladle casting devastator with this alloy out of a cast iron pan on a turkey fryer and have had no problems.
I started casting and had the same problem again, So I'm thinking its a pot problem. I have cast 16 lbs of bullets with this mold without a problem. so What do I try now?

[Bird]

I sometimes get the same result as joe leadslinger, but to a lesser degree when using clip on wheel weights. It varies with each batch of lead. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it does not. Bullet weight comes out very close, so I do not worry about it. I think it is dirt in the alloy that will not come out.
I have found beeswax to be better for cleaning the mix than candle wax. I never smoke the molds or put anything in the cavities. I use rcbs iron molds.

[Conditor22]

I picture would help ALOT!! http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?375622-Posting-Pictures-using-IMGUR

It sounds like it could be contamination in the mold -- sprue lube/oil in the cavity. Try scrubbing the cavities with hot water and dawn. Get a paneling nail to shove it through a hole drilled in a stick and clean the spout.

I recommend using but pine sawdust/shavings and wax for fluxing.

IF you need to smoke the mold either use a wooden kitchen match or a butane lighter. Not sure what nasties are in the soot from a candle.

[Lowbudget12]

http://i.imgur.com/yAsFVVr.jpg?2 (https://imgur.com/yAsFVVr)

[Lowbudget12]

https://i.imgur.com/qsu5DsQ.jpg?1

[Lowbudget12]

https://i.imgur.com/2dRla7a.jpg?1

[Lowbudget12]

I have now cleaned the pot with dawn. I washed the molds with brake clean and then washed with dawn. I remelted the allow and fluxed with pine saw dust, broke in a dead out, melted some frames and fluxed with bees wax. I put the alloy back in the pot and got the same thing.

[244ack]

I get bullets looking like that quite often, just cast up a few hundred today that looks exactly like yours. When casting today it looks like dirt or something in the aloy that wont flux out. I dont worry about it, just go shoot them. The deer will never know the difference

[John Boy]

I’ve never had this issue and the cause can only be related to the cleanliness of the melt and cavity of the mold. So, flux the melt so there is no dross - eliminates the melt issue. Then clean the mold cavity with a tooth brush and break clean. Then cast with no smoke, just a clean cavity. If you continue to get dirty bullets, when the mold is hot, wipe some paraffin in the cavity and continue to cast until the paraffin stops smoking. If your bullets are not clean then ... it’s a mystery