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What solution/process works best for oxidation removal?

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Got some old 75 cal cast balls that have oxidation (white manure) on them. I have them soaking in vinegar, to see if that works. What is the best way to go?
Thanks
Flintlocklar :idunno:
 
Adding an acid to an already acidic problem won't help anything.
A soapy water wash followed by drying and in this case Water Displacement formula 40 will at least clean and stop the process.
 
Thanks, I know one can shoot them as they are, but as Black Hand said, "lead oxide is more readily absorbed". 75 cal is a large ball giving you more surface exposure, so that stuff gets all over you real quick when loading. For what it is worth, the vinegar solution worked very well. I soaked them about an hour and while the balls were still soaking, jiggled the container in a circular & backward/forward motion on my bench. After about 4 good times on the bench they came out pretty decent.
Flintlocklar :wink:
 
Hey, that lead acetate that you made causes the vinegar to become sweet. One of the things that may have 'lead' to an early demise of many Romans.
 
I think someone said that before that the Romans treated the white powder like sugar. Which is why the empire fell and we don't speak Latin. I took four years of Latin and only remember how I hated it..... :rotf:

Dave
 
58 caliber said:
I think someone said that before that the Romans treated the white powder like sugar.
The white powder on lead balls is presumably lead oxide, the sweet compound used by Romans is lead acetate.
 
that stuff gets all over you real quick

Can't fault you for being cautious. But, really, the risk is minuscule. My practice when doing anything bp or with lead is to be careful to keep my hands away from my eyes or mouth. When finished I wash well. And, I ain't gone crazed.......yet. Unless you ask my wife. :shocked2: :wink: I say, "choot em" as they are.
 
I don't think any of the ideas mentioned so far actually get rid of the lead oxide, or more importantly reduce the exposure hazard. they just create more environmentally toxic substances.
Using vinegar just makes a solution of lead acetate...(lead(II) oxide) AKA sugar of lead....Very toxic.

I would re-melt them in a well ventilated area.
 
What I've done is spray a little penetrating oil on them and shoot them up as quick as possible to eliminate the hazard. :grin:

I do clean any container they have been in to get rid of the oxide so it doesn't get on hands etc.
 
Rifleman1776 said:
that stuff gets all over you real quick

Can't fault you for being cautious. But, really, the risk is minuscule. My practice when doing anything bp or with lead is to be careful to keep my hands away from my eyes or mouth. When finished I wash well.

Lead exposure is cumulative...
 
I think he's right....the more I shoot the crazier I get :shocked2:

:rotf:

I have an aluminum ladder (fold up) and when I use it my hands are smeared with ?aluminum? I wash well after use, its worse than lead I hear :idunno:
 
don't know if this will stop the oxidation problem on my cast bullets but last summer i sprayed baracade on the ones i cast and then put them into a quart food saver bags and vacuum sealed them. so far they are still shining. good thing about this method is you can cut the bag and get what you want to shoot and then re-vacuum the bag. if you leave them flat they stack very well in the safe.
 
I know that but, in fact, actual handling of the lead is very minimal. I have a few years to go so am not worried.
BTW, after I cast a batch I'll spray lightly with WD-40. That keeps the oxidation from occurring.
 
I just cast a bunch of balls. I tumbled them with powdered carnuba wax and small 1/8" steel ball bearings. It gives an even textured finish, sort of like a golf ball but finer. It also removes the sprues. Hopefully the wax will prevent oxidation and it is not oily.

I have the set up from my days of moly coating bullets. Might as well get some use out of it.
 
I think putting some oil on the whitened balls and then wiping them off with an old rag you don't mind throwing away is good enough to get the balls back in shooting condition.

I'd wash my hands after throwing the rag away but that's about as far as I would go.

Looking at your age, you like me and a bunch of others here are all part of the Invincible Kids.

You know. The ones that put lead in their mouths and bit it to see if it would have tooth marks. We coated penny's with mercury to make them shiny and put Calcium carbide and a little water in a paint can and then put the lid with a hole in it back on top. Holding a match near the little hole would cause an explosion that would blow the lid a good 50 feet high.
I also recall poking a hole in the lid of a Skippy peanut butter jar and putting some lye water and aluminum foil in it before screwing the lid back on. Usually, if one waited a while they could light the pure hydrogen gas that was bubbling off.
Then, one day I got in a hurry as I was showing this neat trick to my buddy Bob.
There was still some oxygen in the jar and instead of lighting a nice transparent flame, the jar exploded blowing glass and lye water all over the place.
I didn't get a scratch but the lye water ate the paint off of the desk in my bedroom. :rotf:


We also could buy real black powder in a paper sack from the war surplus stores and shoot off our calcium carbide noise maker cannons.

We all made rubber band pistols and played war shooting each other with pieces of bicycle inner tubes and often had dirt clod fights throwing 2 inch clods at each other. (Damn! Those hurt when they hit you in the head!)

Anyway, as I say, we are the Invincible Kids.

Just clean the balls up and shoot them. :)
 
Calcium carbide

You know, I can't even find that stuff anymore...I have several carbide lamps, (one that belonged to a cousin that was killed in a mine) and no way to use them...

Did you know they use to runs cars on it?

They also used it for lighting in dairy barns back in the day....Way back... :wink:
 
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