Does anyone know how to clean oxidized bullets

Odawgp

I picked up a couple of boxes of buffalo bullets at a yard sale

40 bullets for 3 dollars

and they were not stored properly the lube has dried and the bullets for lack of better term have oxidized

what could I use to clean this crude off them

once clean I have some alox that I will relube them with and shoot them

glabray

That's lead oxide. It's the same stuff that was banned in paintyears ago and is supposed to be very bad news especially for kids. It is only slightly soluble in water but is soluble in most acids. Physical abrasion such as in a tumbler should do it also but you will have all that lead oxide in you tumbling medium which may not be a great idea.

Odawgp

quote:Originally posted by glabray
That's lead oxide. It's the same stuff that was banned in paintyears ago and is supposed to be very bad news especially for kids. It is only slightly soluble in water but is soluble in most acids. Physical abrasion such as in a tumbler should do it also but you will have all that lead oxide in you tumbling medium which may not be a great idea.


I tumble reclaimed shot in graphite all the time once it is washed

I will used a paint thinner to clean the dried goopy lube off and then hit them with a piece of emery cloth, then tossed them in the tumbler with some new 8 shot which polished them quite nice I will re-lube them and let them rip

Roane Ranger

I know what you're talking about- I found a bunch of Buffalo bullets, and several others of different brands at a flea market, that had that crude on them. Yea, there is probably some lead oxide, but most of it is the old waxy, dried up bullet lube. Properly stored or not, some of the lubes will just dry up with age- my boxes had never been open before I got them, and they were like that. It the nature of the lubes.

I used gasoline (varsol works good, too) to disolve the old lube (back when gas was real cheap). I put them in an old coffee can and swished it around alot until it was all gone. Then filtered them out of the fluid through an old rag, and then finished them off by using an old bristle brush to make sure everything was gone. The gasoline might actually remove some of the oxide, too. Remember leaded gasoline?

You could run them through a parts cleaning solvent where you have the fluid running through the brush and it circulates the fluid to wash it away, too- if you know someone that will give you access to one. That way you don't have to worry about disposing of the old solvent. The solvent company takes it away.

The only way to break down the lead oxide is heat and flux. I wouldn't worry about it much. There will probably always be some on them. Tumbling might damage them.

Blairweescot

I have some slightly oxidized lead .375 ball

I'm gonna put bore butter in the plastic box they are in, roll 'em around in it, and shoot 'em