Zinc contaminated lead

[Poppy42]

the problem with zinc bullets is they don't weigh anything.
you can ramp them up to stupid speeds no problem, but by 100yds they have slowed down to a crawl.

yeh exactly! I’d be concerned with ware on my barrel. Sick is considerably harder than lead or copper for that matter! I can cut a lead, jacketed, or solid boolet with a pair of wire cutters. I certainly can’t do that with a zinc Wheel weight!

darn I really hate autocorrect!!!!!

 

[Poppy42]

Still missed some corrections! And I can’t figure out how to edit my previous post!

 

[fiver]

what zinc will do is lay down an ablated coating in the barrel.
it does the same thing in your cars engine if you use a zddp additive.
the bullets will lay down an even coating of zinc that lubricates the barrel and it stays in there once it's laid down.
so your goal is to ''zinc up the barrel'' since once the coating is laid down it actually prevents barrel wear.

 

[Poppy42]

Interesting. did not know that. Doesn’t the coating continue to build up overtime if you continue to using bullets?

 

[fiver]

no it doesn't just keep on putting more and more down, it makes a kind of skin on the surface and anything afterwards maintains that skin or just glides over it.

now in a car engine the gov't has mandated it's removal from motor oils because the cars that burn a little oil will eventually put a coat of zinc on the little pellets in the catalytic converter making them not work properly.
several oils that don't have a ASE certification [amsoil, royal purple] don't have that certification because they contain zinc. [ZDDP]

 

[Walks]

Really interesting stuff.
Any increase in knowledge is a Plus.
Thank You.

I will not even think about doing this. But,

BOY HOWDY !!!! Fascinating !

 

[Boommeup]

Fiver how would these zincers work on smoothing out a pitted muzzle loader barrel? I hate to admit it, But I crap up about a five gallon bucket full of mixed wheel weights! Wish I’d been on here long ago reading all this info ( and other sites ). Tried casting some rifle bullets up a month ago. All looked good just couldn’t get any consistent weights. Anyways all that lead got put away.

 

[fiver]

man they'd be tough to shove down the barrel.

that's one of the issues with zinc contaminated lead.
pouring it becomes problematic because the zinc is trying to cool [it has little sheeted clingers between the spout and the mold] as it is being poured from the hot pot or ladle into the mold.
you gotta put the heat to it for sure.

if you have a rust spotted barrel with not too many dips and dives and just want to clean the surface up Paper will do a better job.
after you get the high spots back down then putting a zinc coat down may help.
but I wouldn't count on it actually filling in any low spots.

 

[Boommeup]

Thanks fiver! No rust just pits! I’m going to hit it with some flitz, an see what that does.

 

[Mitty38]

Thanks fiver! No rust just pits! I’m going to hit it with some flitz, an see what that does.

Caution::::::!!!!!!
You can get away with contaminated lead but...
Note If you start melting Near pure zinc in a Carbon Steel pot (like a lee). The Zinc will react and melt a hole in the pot. It is very reactive to High Carbon steel. Please use a cast Iron or ceramic melting pot.

 

[Boommeup]

Don’t believe it’s that bad Mitty. My pots are empty! But, I’m going to check them out right now!!! Thanks

 

[Boommeup]

Pots are ok Mitty 38! Had some marvelux (sp) in there, never again! Mag 20 for fluxing pro melt for bottom dropping!

 

[Mitty38]

Pots are ok Mitty 38! Had some marvelux (sp) in there, never again! Mag 20 for fluxing pro melt for bottom dropping!

I believe this happened after a bit of use. Melting almost pure zinc in the pot.
But I know from my industry that Molten Zinc does tend to try and merge with high carbon steel.Thus why it is used to coat it for auto industry. It actually eats its way into the steel a bit and bonds with it.
When I did my research on smelting zinc, the mention of cast Iron or ceramic and ceramic lined crucibles, was always the suggestion.
One Manuel I read even warned about rupture of a steel crucible being possible after repeated use.
Thing is these referrals were to an almost pure zinc alloy.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

So many times on multiple sites I read the horrors of zink contamination.

Yet I also read of guys casting in zink!!

I have a friend in Cali who cannot get lead in enough qualtity. So he casts in zink and has no problems. Now he is melting in a cast s
Iron pot and dipping. He is getting much lighter bullets a d they are rock hard. But he is perforating paper a d tin cans in the desert. He shoots i to a 5gal bucket full of sand to recover his "lead".

He has said to me before how he has also worked up mixes with a portion of zink in lead to get hard bullets.

I have never tried and do my best to cull all zi out before melting and keep My temps low enough so IF zi got in it wouldnt melt anyhow.

But I wonder if this zi contamination is more phobia then real problem...

CW

 

[Boommeup]

Cw like I said earlier, the weight where all over the place. Nothing was consistent! I’m talking a full grain of weight not just a few tenths here and there. Mitty I’m thinking it’s a low percentage of zinc, but it’s still in there! Wish there was a way to get most of it out, without all the sulpher. Really don’t want full metal jacket bullets of zinc let alone copper. Mitty38 is that H2S that come off that lead? If so that’s some bad stuff. Used to do quite a bit of refinery work. Glad those days are OVER...

 

[Mitty38]

Never did an analysis of the gasses or the dross-Zinc mixture. Only the original alloy and the recovered alloy.
Did not have the means to do that.
However by what I had researched. That is one of many of the gaseous by products. By what I am told.
In what amount I cannot say. I just reference info for the vapors and dross enough to develop a good safety procedure, then went over recommendation on the mask from Osha recommendations. Instead of a p 95 to a p and n-100.
The dross I disposed of in our zinc dross pile at work.

 

[Boommeup]

Sounds like a fresh air job to me!

 

[Mitty38]

But I wonder if this zi contamination is more phobia then real problem...

I truly believe that statement is not correct for the time. BUT ........as things change and lead is phased out, or contaminated in more and more in our sources. I can see with research and trial and error, that eventually Zinc in lead will no longer be a major issue for us. It will become just a Phobia for a few and a non serious issue for the many.
I can see an eventual clear road paved for future casters, as long as we keep striving and working with new methods, and on the issues that arise.
The reason I even went thru the trouble for a couple lbs of lead. To pay forward what I have been given.
Enjoy your input CW.

 

[hrpenley]

I buy lead on ebay from time to time and have come across zinc contamination, I just use it to pour slugs for the shotgun, since we shoot more for fun than anything a couple dozen imperfect slugs or RB's are not an issue, think they would make a deer just as dead, I know they will splatter a pumpkin or water jugs just fine and accuracy is no better or worse than anything else (RB's or slugs that is) at 25-50 yards, I thought about trying it to make some swan shot out of it but didn't want to f up my nozzles (anyone ever try that?), I probably have 50lb of it I have collected over the years, Just stashed back for the "you never know times"... I have thought about the sulfur wash but just never tried it, maybe next vacation I never shy away from trying something at least once.

 

[popper]

Did an experiment with zinc'd boolits in 40SW a while back. One % Zn was still very soft and shot OK, well, some hit the target sideways but due to being small from the 401 sizer. Used LLA for lube. Then I tried in 30/30 GC 185 (added 1% Sb) with 16 gr 2400, BLL for lube. On a pig carcass. Expanded to 45 exit in gut, No exit in shoulder. They all cast fine from Al moulds. IIRC they shot fine @ 50 on a target. I don't see it as a problem.