Newbie to cleaning, and casting reclaimed lead. Borax, or Sawdust to flux?

[Bob Pratl]

In my Lee 4-20 pot I use a pinch of paraffin wax after the lead becomes liquid to render the metals (tin & lead) back together.  After that I use a pinch of Frankford Arsenal Cleancast Lead Flux to remove the dross.  After that I put another pinch or two of the lead flux on top of the lead as it spreads out on the top layer and prevents oxidation from occurring while using the gravity spout.  I don't add any sprue cuts back into the pot until the pot gets down to an undesirable level for even pouring so as to not break open the flux covering.

Keith, in IMO, that is the best technique to keep the lead clean. I have been doing the same except on using the lead flux which
sounds like the way to go.

[triggertreat]

In my Lee 4-20 pot I use a pinch of paraffin wax after the lead becomes liquid to render the metals (tin & lead) back together.  After that I use a pinch of Frankford Arsenal Cleancast Lead Flux to remove the dross.  After that I put another pinch or two of the lead flux on top of the lead as it spreads out on the top layer and prevents oxidation from occurring while using the gravity spout.  I don't add any sprue cuts back into the pot until the pot gets down to an undesirable level for even pouring so as to not break open the flux covering.

Keith, in IMO, that is the best technique to keep the lead clean. I have been doing the same except on using the lead flux which
sounds like the way to go.

Thanks!  This method has served me well and I think is a good, streamlined approach without a lot of fuss for these smaller gravity pots.

[Spacebus]

I like borax, it doesn't smoke or flare up like wax or sawdust. I also have a lot on hand for processing animal hides.

Even after I've cleaned out all the dross I can sprinkle a pinch of 20 Mule Team Borax into the pot and get more impurities out. My casting has gone much smoother after using borax when I add lead back into the pot.

[triggertreat]

I am not fully convinced the Frankford Arsenal Cleancast is all Borax.  It has a different texture than 20 Mule Team Borax does.  I tried to use the Frankford recently mixed with some sugar water to combat some ants in the house.  After a week of still many ants I switched over to using some 20 Mule team I had asked my wife to pick up.  The ants were completely gone in a day and a half.  Not very scientific but it was clear I had more sucess with 20 Mule team with a known Borax content.  I'll try this 20 Mule Team the next time I cast to see what I get.

[sb327]

The marvelux I use is, iirc, borax and boric acid. I can’t remember where I got that info but I wrote it on my can of marvelux several years back.

Boric acid can be found as powder roach killer for cheap. Fwiw, I’ve used it in the past for athletes foot. Works way better than the otc junk.

Dave