Bullet Patina...

[chukers]

I found a couple of bullets today... most fired bullets I find in my area do NOT have this white patina on them... my question is How long does it take for the white patina to start adhering to lead bullets?

Does anyone know if theses are civil war era bullets?

The one on the right is almost flat on the bottom the one on the left has a 1/8 of an inch indention in the bottom.

They are pretty small as you can tell from the dome in the picture.

any info would be helpful.

Chukers

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[bountyhuntergirl86]

NICE! WTG

 

[swingbot]

Well done,, And with some silver too.

 

[badluck]

I would venture to guess they are modern. There are fishing weights in my tacklebox that have gone white.

 

[wwwtimmcp]

white lead is very old, they almost never make it anymore.

 

[SilverPirate]

I think its all in the way the ground treats the lead, I have found bullets that I know are civil war area that are not white.

 

[Tnmountains]

If they are around acidity like pine needles they can turn dark dark brown. If in soil they will go white. If found under water they way retain that lead grey color. Scratch one and its back to it shiny color underneath the patina. I have one from a mason jar under a cabin and it looks brand new but it was Civil marked base enfield.Maybe 32cal or 38?

 

[BosnMate]

Lead is really bright and silver looking when melted, and when a bullet is cast, it comes out of the mold shiny, but contact with air, causes the lead to tarnish to a dull grey color by forming a complex mixture of compounds over the surface of the bullet. Over a longer period of time, lead forms a white protective oxide layer. Sitting on a shelf that oxidation takes a long long time. I have a box of old black powder ammunition that the bullets are oxidized white and they are still in the box. Water in the presence of oxygen attacks lead, accelerating the oxidation. In the soil the presence of carbonates or sulfates results in the formation of insoluble lead salts, adding or speeding the oxide or protective white or other color patina, which then protects the metal from further corrosion, which is why lead doesn't dissolve and poison the soil, although there are greenies and stupid politicians that will try to say we can't use lead for bullets because we poison the environment, which in fact is taking place in California even as I type this, they are banning lead bullets. Besides conditions in the soil, the impurities in the lead will also have an affect on the oxidation, but that white powder patina reaches a point on the bullet that stops further oxidation and protects the lead bullet, the speed of the process depending on conditions.

 

[dieselfool]

Those are modern bullets.

 

[materdigger1]

I think they are possibly C/W era pistol bullets - Hope you find more of them

 

[Davers]

I know this is an old post , I made a similar one a few years back.

I would love to be able to fix a few ' Digger Kissed' Civil War bullets I have found especially on the Minnie Balls & Enfield's that are from sites that I only have a few Bullets from.

I removed a small spot of patina on a nice Enfield / 'Slick' today , did not dent it ,the soil was rocky & hard my foot must have pushed a small rock or my shoe removed a speck of the white patina.

It's a small spot but in my worry wart mind it looks HUGE!

I reburied it when I got home in some soil from under some pine Trees along with some Needles .

All I got is time. lol ; heck I have had a couple nicked 'Battle of Atlanta' Minnie's buried for 3 years this November , afraid to look at them .

I got some crazy ideas in my mind right now on how to make a 'lead Oxide ' based coating for those dreaded dings & scrapes.

I know i'm crazy , my OCD is Worry & I usually rebury such bullets on site or give them to a Good friend.

It's late here in the Eastern Time zone , I have notifications I need to check out but ill do that first thing tomorrow.

I just had to google a quick fix for today's issue, I do feel a bit better & My prayers go out to those who are Really Sick & going through 'Real' hardships.

Good Night all .
Crazy Davers .

 

[relic nut]

I know this is an old post , I made a similar one a few years back.

I would love to be able to fix a few ' Digger Kissed' Civil War bullets I have found especially on the Minnie Balls & Enfield's that are from sites that I only have a few Bullets from.

I removed a small spot of patina on a nice Enfield / 'Slick' today , did not dent it ,the soil was rocky & hard my foot must have pushed a small rock or my shoe removed a speck of the white patina.

It's a small spot but in my worry wart mind it looks HUGE!

I reburied it when I got home in some soil from under some pine Trees along with some Needles .

All I got is time. lol ; heck I have had a couple nicked 'Battle of Atlanta' Minnie's buried for 3 years this November , afraid to look at them .

I got some crazy ideas in my mind right now on how to make a 'lead Oxide ' based coating for those dreaded dings & scrapes.

I know i'm crazy , my OCD is Worry & I usually rebury such bullets on site or give them to a Good friend.

It's late here in the Eastern Time zone , I have notifications I need to check out but ill do that first thing tomorrow.

I just had to google a quick fix for today's issue, I do feel a bit better & My prayers go out to those who are Really Sick & going through 'Real' hardships.

Good Night all .
Crazy Davers .

You've got me thinking..,. that's scary. I'm sure you find camp lead from time to time that has the white patina. Maybe we should scratch some of it and experiment. I know that vinegar and water will make copper turn green faster not sure what it would do to lead. Maybe we should try a few things and see what happens. I have plenty of melt to fool with.
I also have a few nice bullets that I've nicked but it happens.

HH, RN

 

[A2coins]

Congrats . Treasurer is great!!!!

 

[Tnmountains]

It takes a long time for the soil to turn it.Maybe rub some white out in the nicks? Heck I have cut more in half trying to pinpoint with the at pro than any machine I have ever owned. Good luck!

 

[BosnMate]

Try Clorox. I've never tried it, but I bet it would work. Use a plastic container, put dirt in it, place the bullet in the soil so it has contact on all parts, not just sitting on plastic. Baptize the the entire thing in Clorox and check it in a week or 10 days, then let us know how it worked.

 

[Davers]

Try Clorox. I've never tried it, but I bet it would work. Use a plastic container, put dirt in it, place the bullet in the soil so it has contact on all parts, not just sitting on plastic. Baptize the the entire thing in Clorox and check it in a week or 10 days, then let us know how it worked.

I may try that on some other bullets , it would be 'Neat' to know if it works.

I have a 'Thing' for Enfield Types, & this one is an almost Perfect drop.

Really the mark is so small , that Y'all would Laugh at me if I showed a picture of it , it's about the size of a 'BB' .

The rest of the patina is Fine / a little Red from the Clay it was in for so long.

I'd try your method but "I worry" lol ...that the Bleach may affect the rest of the Bullet.

I do thank you for you input tho.
Thanks Davers

 

[Davers]

It takes a long time for the soil to turn it.Maybe rub some white out in the nicks? Heck I have cut more in half trying to pinpoint with the at pro than any machine I have ever owned. Good luck!

Your so right , over the years I have had many people tell me 'White Out' will work just fine.

Like I said in another post the spot is so small 'BB' size & otherwise the Enfield is perfect, it has a huge Plug Cavity & tho I did not look , ill bet $ there is a 57 , of if lucky 'L' or some other cavity mark.

I have only dug a hand full of 'marked' Enfields all '57' & just 1 with the wood plug still in it.

Most are 'cone' cavity types, but I love those to.

I even saw a 'Stained Glass' site or 'post' that stated the in the past ' Lead Oxide' was used as a pigment in a paint called "Lead White" I need a dab of that.

Ill figure it out , thanks for your time & hope you can Pin-Point better with the ATP as your description (scares me) LOL.

 

[Davers]

You've got me thinking..,. that's scary. I'm sure you find camp lead from time to time that has the white patina. Maybe we should scratch some of it and experiment. I know that vinegar and water will make copper turn green faster not sure what it would do to lead. Maybe we should try a few things and see what happens. I have plenty of melt to fool with.
I also have a few nice bullets that I've nicked but it happens.

HH, RN

Yes sir , I got Camp lead, but don't want to mess it up either
But
I do have other modern bullets that have oxidized , & a good few Minnie's & Round Ball's that I have won at my Club that I could use to 'Dr Up' some Kind of coating.

I had dug a few Spencer Cases & Spencer bullet or 2 & a Round Ball before at this site (oh + a few Wheat Cents).

Like on the site where I eyeballed the Round Ball / Case Shot ; Mother Nature has poured a years worth of rain on this hill top , I was on my way home from the Dr, & decided to pull in there to change clothes & have a quick look , walked the detectable area ,hit a aluminum bottle cap large Iron then a Good High tone & dug down an inch or 3 with my larger Leche digger ,flipped over the rock hard plug (or Clay cod) the target was still in it , proceeded to stomp on it with my foot & a "Cavity" caught my Eye , looked better & saw the Enfield & thought "YES" saw the nick & thought "NOOOOO".

I was really expecting to find more trash so my digging was careless.

So I stayed there for a few hours scanning the Concrete like dirt, managed another 58 Round ball & a Spencer case bottom , a 1950's Wheat Cent then a Clad Quarter.

It will work out tho , I waste my life worrying about Dumb Stuff.

Man !!!! What a long boring detailed Reply.
I Am a strange one.

Thanks for your input , It seems we are on the same thought line 'in using patina from other lead to repair marks & Dings.
Hope u & yours had a Great Weekend.

 

[Davers]

Congrats . Treasurer is great!!!!

Thanks Buddy.

 

[ODELLRORRER]

I'm hoping you all can help me get an approximate age for these "bullets". I use quotations because the doubting Thomas in me makes me say they may not be bullets at all, just old chunks of lead! LOL I'm attaching the photos I have on hand on the off chance they're good enough for someone to help me identify them! The front three on the left in the group picture and the single picture are what I'm curious about. Also, the round ball just below the blue bullet... it's almost perfect for a .50 cal musket ball, BUT it is way too light in weight! Any ideas on that one? Thanks Folks! Happy Hunting!!