Bob58 Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 I need some ideas about how to recover 300 .224 Speer bullets that were stored, perhaps in heat over an extended period of time, while resting on foam in their original boxes. (run on sentence?) It appears the foam dried, degraded and was then agitated to very fine granules. Most bullets have required only some handwiping and some compressed air in the HP. However, some appear to have foam granules/residue adhesed to their copper jackets perhaps where oil flowed, pooled, rested and dried over time. My initial thoughts are that since foam is formed from petroleum distillate (?) it can probably be dissolved with a lighter petroleum distillate. Initial thoughts include WD-40, penetrating oil, lightweight household oil, lanolin, GOOP, acetone, etc. I obviously want to avoid any abrasive; any chemical that would etch or stain the copper, and anything that would leave an unfriendly residue - preferably something that would evaporate. I purchased the 300, or more for $12 and have already recovered almost 200 simply with hot water so I'm more than whole, but these days I'm not ready to give up on the rest. (Can you get too much of a good thing?) Any ideas as to cleanser or next process? I have a number of ideas but would like to give y'all a reason for existence. Note: I don't have a tumbler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken98k Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Gasoline! Styrofoam will dissolve in gasoline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimro Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Not all foams are polystyrene. If gasoline doesn't work give acetone a try, it normally destroys polymers without hesitation. Jimro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiris Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Maybe tumbling for a while after using gas or thinner. Spiris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob58 Posted March 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Well like most projects, especially the smaller challenges we don't always wait on good advice, but last night while waiting on supper I incorporated many of these ideas. I dumped all the bullets in a glass measuring cup and "tumbled them" by hand in the cup to agitate and separate the foam from the bullets. Of course the granules became finer and sank to the bottom and the action served to remove a lot of the "adhesed" foam. I then scraped the bullets off the top leaving the "foam powder" and then cleaned the measuring cup. Placed the bullets back in the measuring cup and added penetrating oil . Tumbled by hand again for about 5-7 minutes. They didn't tumble as well and tended to cling to each other. The penetrating oil chemically removed the adhesed substance leaving a stain. Dumped the bullets on a rag and wiped and inspected each bullet individually - 227 were unblemished on surface and w/o stain; 73 were partially stained. As I closely inspected the stains I expected a compromised surface, but my fingers could not feel a difference. I'll fire those through my "throw down" 22-250. Not bad for $12. Simple project, simple process, but felt I'd share and write about it. What's time to a hog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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