Contaminated Lead?

[Brother_Love]

I purchased some lead ingots a while back on ebay (big mistake). I have now found that they are contaminated with zinc. Is there any way to remove the zinc or should I just use them as door stops?

Thanks, Malcolm

[Matt_G]

May I ask how you know they are contaminated with zinc?
Just curious...

[Brother_Love]

The bullets do not fill the mold very well. I have tried my other lead stash and they fill out perfectly. Also the ingots seem to be brittle. Maybe it is something else but after reading other posts here I thought it must be zinc.
Malcolm

[leftiye]

Do they make a mush that will not melt in until a high (max on the pot) temp is reached? If not they might still cast well at a higher temp. High tin and antimony levels also sometimes form a mush like I mentioned, but you would have to be playing with stereotype metal or something like that.

[oneokie]

Some things to try

Drop one of the suspect ingots on a concrete surface and listen for a ringing sound.
Do the same with one of your known ingots, is there a difference in the sound?

As leftiye stated, the mush could be an indication of Zinc. Bring your pot slowly up to a temp. of 550-600°, skim the mush. Try casting some boolits and see if they have good fillout.

One can use Muratic acid (pool supply or masonry supply place) to test for zinc. If zinc is present in the suspect ingots, a drop of the muratic acid will cause bubbling/foaming where it is applied. Do not breathe the fumes.

[shooterchris]

Brother Love

What was the username of the guy that sold you the questionable ingots on EBAY. I bought some a few months ago claiming to be 97/3 lead to tin.... some pour gerat, but oher times????? I'm not asking you to put the guy's name all over the thread.....unless you just want to. I would appreciate it if you would at least send me a private message so that I know. I have a good friend looking for ingots on EBAY and I referred him there because I have bought some great lead in the past. I just wanna warn my buddy who to look out for, know what I mean.

[Gerry N.]

Buying anything on E-vilbay is a crap shoot. Once you understand that and spend no more than you're willing to lose there's no problem.

Gerry N.