I'm new to casting and last night I made my first attempt at casting. Some of my bullets turned out great and others looked cloudy. I was thinking that my temp might not be right. I don't have a thermometer. I bought a new Lee pro-IV pot and ran it at #7. If some bullets are nice and shiny and others cloudy, what I'm I doing? Also does lube go bad? I'm using a RCBS Lube-a-matic and some 20 year old lube that a friend had. It doesn't seem to flow around the bullet nice. Where can I find this LBT Blue lube that you guys talk about and would this be a good lube for .45 ACP 200gr. RN? Thanks for the advice, I'm sure that I'll be picking you guys brains more often.....Big Cedar

Not real sure what "cloudy" is...if it's frosted (kind of a dull non-shinny look...like a find textrued surface) than it's a matter of temperature. IF it only happens to some of the bullets, and not all, then it's proabably the speed at which you are casting and the temperature of the lead. As the lead level drops in the pot, the remaining lead gets hotter, so it casts a frosted bullet...as you cast, the mold gets hotter and hotter as well.
Once thy are casting well, either keep adding lead as the pot level drops, or back off on the thermostat as the lead level drops...much prefer the first as while you are adding lead and fluxing, the mold also gets to drop temp. a bit.

Proably best to clean out the old lube in that sizer...age doesn't do lube a lot of good.

Not a big fan of the hard lubes, most of my shooting is with big bullets going slow, so don't have any good sourses.

Big Cedar/Ribbonstone,
I have a Lyman #45 sizer/lubricator that I have been using to size cores for my paper patched bullets.
It had been loaded with Lyman Moly lube,and not used for two years,or more.
I got a new mold last month,and decided to use the moly lube in the new bullets.
The lube had hardened to the extent that it could no longer be used. When I turned the screw to press the lube into the bullet grooves,the lube pressed against the plunger and forced it to turn with the screw.It just rotated with the screw,and did not press downward.
Lube does get too old.
Frank

I'm new to casting and last night I made my first attempt at casting. Some of my bullets turned out great and others looked cloudy. I was thinking that my temp might not be right. I don't have a thermometer. I bought a new Lee pro-IV pot and ran it at #7. If some bullets are nice and shiny and others cloudy, what I'm I doing? Also does lube go bad? I'm using a RCBS Lube-a-matic and some 20 year old lube that a friend had. It doesn't seem to flow around the bullet nice. Where can I find this LBT Blue lube that you guys talk about and would this be a good lube for .45 ACP 200gr. RN? Thanks for the advice, I'm sure that I'll be picking you guys brains more often.....Big Cedar
I like to cast around 750 degrees and I use a thermometer to keep things dialed in. If you don't have a themometer you can take a dry sliver of pine wood, a wooden match stick or a toothpick and drop it in to the pot. It should char to a lite brown in 2 to 5 seconds when droped into the melt when it is up to temp. For small diameter bullets I have found that they need to be cast hotter as there is more metal in the mold to keep up to temp, while larger diameter bullets having more lead in them and keep the mold hotter. I usually crank up the temp all the way for the small ones and use the wood method or the thermometer for any thing over .256 diameter.
I never put the sprue's pack into the pot untill I am done with that fill, as I have found It can really run the temp down. I would reccomend that when funds are there by the thermometer. I do not no if Veral Smith still sells and manufactures L.B.T.Blue but his web sight is at Graybeard Outdoors. I prefer Lyman's Orange Magic for a hard lube and S.P.G for a sort lube. Beartooth Bullets has a really good lube I have been told, check with Marshall. I have used old lube that I heated up in a double boiler and hand dipped the bullets or poured the lube around them as they were stood on there heels and used a cake cutter to remove them latter.

God Bless: Leon