Colors?

ChestnutLouie

Active Member
Today I put 9 lbs of wheel weight lead and 2 lbs of Lyman #2 and cast a bunch of 200 grain bullets for 45 ACP. All went well but there was more stuff (dross) on top and lots of lavender color. In the past if I toss 2~3 nuggets of Tin in I get a slight lavender shine but look at my photo of my pot after I finished casting. about 3/4" left in the pot.

Any ideas?
Franciscasting colors.jpg
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Wow, looks as colorful as Yellowstone's many steamy and bubbling pools.

I'll leave the scientific answer to others, but my SWAG is a too high furnace temperature.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Yep, I can't say I've ever seen anything quite that dramatic but if I had to make a SWAG is would say WAY too hot.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
done it, it all stirs back in no problem, it's just oxides.
usually the top will be gold with Tin and then it starts turning blue as the lead comes along for the ride.
I can taste the metallic flavor when the pot starts getting that hot [800+F]
 

ChestnutLouie

Active Member
done it, it all stirs back in no problem, it's just oxides.
usually the top will be gold with Tin and then it starts turning blue as the lead comes along for the ride.
I can taste the metallic flavor when the pot starts getting that hot [800+F]
My Lyman thermometer said 710?
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Also Lee pot thermostats have a range of about 150 degrees from turn on to turn off. The best chance for the thermometer to work is if you put it some kind of copper loop holder and leave it in there all the time. HTH, Ric
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
I did one worse one time. I started the pot and went on doing something else. Well I got sidetracked by the old lady. She had me doing a bunch of stuff I did not want to do. Well 5 hours later "OH SHOOT! THE LEAD POT!!!!" I had a inch of dirt on top of the pot. It was so hot it kept turning the lead into oxides bad. Once I got that scraped off the lead was actually red colored it was so hot. I had the dial all the way up like I always do when starting the pot.

Yours is HOT but I don't think it was as hot as mine was. LOL.
 

abj

Active Member
I did one worse one time. I started the pot and went on doing something else. Well I got sidetracked by the old lady. She had me doing a bunch of stuff I did not want to do. Well 5 hours later "OH SHOOT! THE LEAD POT!!!!" I had a inch of dirt on top of the pot. It was so hot it kept turning the lead into oxides bad. Once I got that scraped off the lead was actually red colored it was so hot. I had the dial all the way up like I always do when starting the pot.

Yours is HOT but I don't think it was as hot as mine was. LOL.
Anyone who says this hasn't happened to them may not be telling the complete truth. I would hate to have to own up to every thing I got away with.(grin)
Tony
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
chuckle.
I'm not even gonna tell about the drippy master caster and 40 lbs of solid lead holding a nice miha 2 cavity brass mold captive.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
I just got a yellow film that started to turn blue while melting down wheel weight for ingot. Not as bad as the pick but it was headed there. I was doing it on my lunch break and had to walk away from the pot to weigh a trucker in.
Glad I read this post.
I just took it off the flame, stirred it. After about 30 seconds the colors went away. Put it back on a very low flame. Added some more saw dust, skimmed the carbon off the top, and ladled it on out.
If I had not read this, I would have thought it contaminated and gave the ingot away to the sinker guy.
Or at least been asking the question myself here.
 
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bruce381

Active Member
I had that happen 1 time (too hot) then made a PID controller per Johnnys reloading on U tube works great.
 

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
I think what has happened here is this:
The melt remaining in the pot is so low that it is below where the pot's thermostat is and that spot has cooled down because there is no melt there, thus the thermostat turns the heat up,,,,wide open,, waiting for that spot to come up to temp.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
When My lee pots sits idle for awhile ( a few months) and the humidity is high I have had the thermostat stick! How do I know?..... well I let my pot heat up at 9 setting ....when It hit liquidus it is about 610 degs & I do my first major scraping and stirring with a small piece of beeswax in the pot ....once the oxides are reduced and the junk spooned off the top I watch my thermometer until it is a about 700 Degs Then turn the dial back to 5.5! then the post coast up to about 720 ( my casting temp) You should hear the pot Click and turn off! However every so often you may not get any clicking off..... If that happens unplug the pot and turn the termostat dial off and on about 8 to 10 times ( seems to clear it up)
Plug it back in and turn it again it should click on and off somewhere around 5 and 6