fluxing issues please help

riverratt · December 11, 2014, 12:14 AM

I have some used roofing lead that a buddy of mine has been saving from jobs that he did over the summer. When I was melting it down into ingots i noticed that the surface had a golden hue to it. I fluxed it twice with paraffin wax and after skimming off the top the hue came back forming a layer of slag. I fluxed it again with the same results.

I am assuming that this hue is coming from the roofing tar but i don't know. So how do i stop this from happening or should i even worry about it?

deerslayer303 · December 11, 2014, 01:20 AM

It happens and I believe it's mostly from the melt being too hot. But I could be wrong it happens to me also and I noticed it's after the melt sits in the pot, however I don't have a thermometer to verify this. I Flux with saw dust and get better results than using wax.

Beagle333 · December 11, 2014, 04:55 AM

DS is correct. It is just too hot. Lower the temp some and use sawdust to flux...... it'll clear up and be nice and shiny.

riverratt · December 11, 2014, 06:07 AM

Thanks y'all

snuffy · December 11, 2014, 11:55 AM

Roofing sheets are pure lead. Whenever I ingotise pure lead, I get that purple sheen on the surface right after skimming the crud off. It's the reaction of the atmospheric oxygen with the lead to form lead oxide. Perfectly normal. In fact if you do NOT see it, you're too cold, not hot enough to be reclaiming lead oxide back to it's metallic state. That's called reduction.

GP100man · December 11, 2014, 08:22 PM

As snuffy said , you`re purty close to pure lead when gold/ble/purple hues come over the top of ya melt.The hotter the melt the qwiker it happens.

December 11, 2014, 12:14 AM	#1
riverratt Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2014 Posts: 314	fluxing issues please help I have some used roofing lead that a buddy of mine has been saving from jobs that he did over the summer. When I was melting it down into ingots i noticed that the surface had a golden hue to it. I fluxed it twice with paraffin wax and after skimming off the top the hue came back forming a layer of slag. I fluxed it again with the same results. I am assuming that this hue is coming from the roofing tar but i don't know. So how do i stop this from happening or should i even worry about it?

December 11, 2014, 04:55 AM	#3
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	DS is correct. It is just too hot. Lower the temp some and use sawdust to flux...... it'll clear up and be nice and shiny. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

December 11, 2014, 11:55 AM	#5
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	Roofing sheets are pure lead. Whenever I ingotise pure lead, I get that purple sheen on the surface right after skimming the crud off. It's the reaction of the atmospheric oxygen with the lead to form lead oxide. Perfectly normal. In fact if you do NOT see it, you're too cold, not hot enough to be reclaiming lead oxide back to it's metallic state. That's called reduction. __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

December 11, 2014, 08:22 PM	#6
GP100man Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2007 Location: Tabor City , NC. Posts: 1,969	As snuffy said , you`re purty close to pure lead when gold/ble/purple hues come over the top of ya melt.The hotter the melt the qwiker it happens. __________________ GP100man

December 11, 2014, 01:20 AM	#2
deerslayer303 Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2011 Location: Leesville SC Posts: 2,654	It happens and I believe it's mostly from the melt being too hot. But I could be wrong it happens to me also and I noticed it's after the melt sits in the pot, however I don't have a thermometer to verify this. I Flux with saw dust and get better results than using wax.

December 11, 2014, 06:07 AM	#4
riverratt Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2014 Posts: 314	Thanks y'all