Howdy folks,
Maybe somebody here will know what happened. I had about 40 pounds of lead sheet that had been used under a shower stall years ago given to me by a plumber that tore it out during a remodel. It was covered with sheetrock and saw dust and whatever else. I did not clean it execept to hit it with a hammer and knock the loose stuff off. I cut into pieces small enough to fit in my smelting pot. Here it got interesting. It would run a purple skin across the top. It won't skin off either. As quick as you skim it, it turns a yellowish color that quikly fades to purple. The ingot that I cast looks like it has purple ink on it. My seventeen year old daughter loved it.
Anyway, decided the pot maybe contaminated. After the pot was emptied it had a heavy yellow dust. Oxidation from the pot? Zinc or someother contaminate? I cleaned the pot while still hot with a drill with a wire brush attachment. Sealed good with emerts lube. Don't know if this was good or not but maybe it will keep the pot from oxidizing a little during heat up. I am going to see what happens in just a few minutes. Any ideas or thought very welcome.
Crookedshot

That may be some of the tin on top, could be the coloration the lead goes thru at that temp. I get the same thing when I'm melting up big bunches of lead making ingots.
Jim

Crookedshot, have you been able to dig out? Heard y'all had a heap of snow. Not to worry about the colored skins on the shower pan lead. I've done a bunch of it and it all does the same thing. Flux it, pour it off into ingot or use it as is. That stuff is prolly not pure, and all you're seeing is impurities. I would not breath any fumes off it though. I've poured lots of round balls and minies and some shotgun slugs from shower pan, and they've all worked good. Oh, yea, even the ingots will have colored streaks in them. Lots of purples and yellows. Shower pan and roof flashing is good stuff, dead soft. Good for making any alloy you want. sundog

Crookedshot, have you been able to dig out? Heard y'all had a heap of snow. Not to worry about the colored skins on the shower pan lead. I've done a bunch of it and it all does the same thing. Flux it, pour it off into ingot or use it as is. That stuff is prolly not pure, and all you're seeing is impurities. I would not breath any fumes off it though. I've poured lots of round balls and minies and some shotgun slugs from shower pan, and they've all worked good. Oh, yea, even the ingots will have colored streaks in them. Lots of purples and yellows. Shower pan and roof flashing is good stuff, dead soft. Good for making any alloy you want. sundog
Sundog,
I remelted a bunch of the ingots just minutes ago. The first twelve out of the pot the same way. Believe it is temperature related. They got purpler (is that a word?) as the pot went down. Heat remained on the same setting. Hard to adust these coleman stoves real well. Easy to tell the first out of the pot and the last. I added about 1" of 50/50 bar solder to the remaining 14 ingots. Trace amount of tin. At best maybe 3/4 ounce of it. The purple for the most part disappeared. It was showing slightly on the wide side of the ingot. The rest looked good. I usually mix my tin in my casting pot which is bottom pour. But I may start alloying in the smelting pot.
Anyway, thanks for the reply guys.
Crookedshot

When melting linotype from printing letter blocks into ingots, I get the purple tint you describe. I always thought that what I am getting is from the ink on the letter blocks mixing with the melt. Since your lead is not from printers blocks, I may be wrong in my assumption.

The colors that appear on the surface of the melt are oxides of the various metals contained in the alloy and are related also to the temperature and time that the surface is exposed without disturbing it. If you are getting to purple very quickly after fluxing then you are running your alloy too hot.

I am not sure about the yellow deposit, but I suspect it is Sulphur. Typicaly this appears when melting Lead that has been exposed for a long time, such as plumbing.

Regardless, neither situation is anything to be concerned about from a safety standpoint. If you have to brush the yellow deposits from the pot again I would take precautionds against breathing the dust.

My wife thinks this is just great as purple is her second favorite color. She would love it if one of you chaps could find the formula for hot pink lead, as she feels her cartridges would be more cosmetically appealing.

God Bless: Leon

One thing I accept as gospel is that if there is ANY residue in the pot after a melt, DO NOT breath any of it while cleaning. Some of it could be heavy metals, or something like arsenic, or you pick the very bad thing to breath. Do it outside in the wind. I've be at it for 30 plus years and, I've been at it for 30 plus years, and I've been at it for 30 plus years.... Well never mind. Make sure the ventilation is goood. Discoloration is partially a result of the high temp required for straight lead and any impurities contained therein. As you alloy it, say with tin, turn the temp down. Impurities will prolly mix in and flux off. The resulting mix will more than likely not display such coloration. I have some dead soft lead for round balls, originally from shower pans, that the purple color is always there. It has to be run hot to pour, but the color does not show up in the round balls. sundog

One thing I accept as gospel is that if there is ANY residue in the pot after a melt, DO NOT breath any of it while cleaning. Some of it could be heavy metals, or something like arsenic, or you pick the very bad thing to breath. Do it outside in the wind. I've be at it for 30 plus years and, I've been at it for 30 plus years, and I've been at it for 30 plus years.... Well never mind. Make sure the ventilation is goood. . sundog

Sundog is soooo corect. Do not be mislead by the color of the powder. Sulfur is rarely a part of a lead alloy. While there may be heavy metal contaminents, the ONE thing for CERTAIN is the presence of LEAD OXIDE. This is the ONLY dangerous part of lead handling. Lead rusts like other metals. Lead ingots or bullets will grow a whitesh powder on the surface. This is the dangerous part. If you handle it roughly it will take to the air. Breathing it is as bad as eating it. Wash and thuroughly dry your ingots before using. Under normal casting conditions you will never get lead "fumes". You'd have to super heat the alloy so hot you'd not be able to work it. It's the d@#$d powder that is bad.
Get your blood tested!! Pepe Ray

Whoops; I got so carried away that I mis spoke.
Lead Oxide is NOT the only dangerous part of bullet casting (rather than lead handling ). Water, snow, sweat, insects, very cold metal ingots or scraps, and probably some others, when falling into the pot will be guarenteed to screw up your whole week end. BOOM!!! Pepe Ray

DON'T BREATHE THE YELLOW STUFF!

Remember "chrome yellow"? It's actually lead oxide, once used as pigment in paint. That yellow stuff is probably lead oxide and highly toxic. Lead poisening is a very slow, insidious neurotoxin.

-91

You have zinc mixed in with it. I had the very same thing you did and nothing will get rid of it. I had to throw it all out along with the expensive tin that was in it. Just throw it out and chuck it up to learning.

I agree with burgerking....I think you have some zinc in the mix. Not good for bullets. I put a post in this forum a few months ago warning about wheel weights that are made of ZINC. Turn purple and doesn't cast good. I fluxed and fluxed....and got most of the crap out....I cast that what was left in the pot for practice bullets. (Too cheap to throw away). I have been cautious ever since.
BTW I use Parafin and Marvelux flux together and flux often.