Looking for ideas on how to get white patina on lead bullets

[Dwight S]

Is there any easy, fool-proof way to bring out the white patina or at least brighten dark lead?

Where I hunt at the bullets come out of the ground with a brown, dirty looking patina. While I would like to clean them to a nice looking white patina that you see coming from a lot of CW sites, I'll be happy with a slight dingy, brown finish... The way they look now is very unsatisfying.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

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[civilman1]

I've been down to Wyse Fork's,Kinston and other area's down there and have noticed that myself,If this can be done I'd love to know Dwight.Short of waiting another 150 year's in less sandy soil I can't help ya.Best of Luck

 

[Dwight S]

I've been down to Wyse Fork's,Kinston and other area's down there and have noticed that myself,If this can be done I'd love to know Dwight.Short of waiting another 150 year's in less sandy soil I can't help ya.Best of Luck

Funny thing is it is a crust over the oxidized white patina we are all accustomed to seeing. I have one that if you use a finger nail and scrape it, eventually it will chip off. Unfortunately, I don't think my finger nails can handle the punishment.

I've tried soaking them, hoping something gentle like 409 would loosen it up but I don't want to risk removing the white patina below. I may have to sacrifice one to see what it takes...

I've got some friends who hunt similar lands and their bullets are all pretty clean.

 

[dsinsc]

We dig some of the same color bullets here in SC and if you dig them from low land they are actually cacooned in a thick black crust. The best and easiest way I've found to get both kinds to have that nice white color is to soak them in "ALL" powdered laundry detergent. I mix it pretty strong so it's mostly detergent and just enough water to make a thick liquid. It takes about 5-10 minutes for it to work but I've seen some nasty looking bullets turned into pretty white ones with this method. I'd suggest trying just one bullet as a test and if you like the way it works, you can do a bunch together. I added a before and after pic of some I used the All method on last week..... Dave

 

[Dwight S]

We dig some of the same color bullets here in SC and if you dig them from low land they are actually cacooned in a thick black crust. The best and easiest way I've found to get both kinds to have that nice white color is to soak them in "ALL" powdered laundry detergent. I mix it pretty strong so it's mostly detergent and just enough water to make a thick liquid. It takes about 5-10 minutes for it to work but I've seen some nasty looking bullets turned into pretty white ones with this method. I'd suggest trying just one bullet as a test and if you like the way it works, you can do a bunch together. I added a before and after pic of some I used the All method on last week..... Dave

Thanks Dave, I'll give it a try...