Liquid Mercury lead removal

[PeeShooter]

Mercury vapor is a significant inhalation hazard . . .

How hot to you have to make mercury before it gives of a deadly vapor? I', just going to pore in in my .357 cylinder and get ALL the lead out and never use it to for .38's again. I have used chemicals in the past and still have trouble cambering a .357; I want to clean it with mercury.

Does anybody know where you can purchase mercury?

 

[Muss Muggins]

How hot to you have to make mercury before it gives of a deadly vapor? I', just going to pore in in my .357 cylinder and get ALL the lead out and never use it to for .38's again. I have used chemicals in the past and still have trouble cambering a .357; I want to clean it with mercury.

Does anybody know where you can purchase mercury?

Knock your socks off, buddy. I hear DDT is an incredibly awesome insecticide . . .

(I can't help myself with this, but given your post, you have have already hit your mercury limit for the year . . . )

 

[PeeShooter]

Knock your socks off, buddy. I hear DDT is an incredibly awesome insecticide . . .

(I can't help myself with this, but given your post, you have have already hit your mercury limit for the year . . . )

LMAO.................................

 

[rburg]

You might have some luck with chemical supply houses..or not. As around and likely as not, someone will have a quantity. I knew a guy up in Indiana who had a jug of it. He wanted to sell it for big bucks. Failing that, think if any of your friends are HVAC guys. Thermostats of old had one or two little glass tubes of it. When the bimetallic spring turned the mercury made contact with 2 electrodes, turning on or off the furnace or air conditioner. Boilers had much more robust contacts. I've still got a few of those I've scavenged with more lined up when we scrap the boilers.

We built a new house 6 years ago. First year, I broke a CFL bulb by door. It should render the whole place uninhabitable. I did nothing but toss out the remains. Yes, in the trash for weekly pickup. Didn't see any little beads running across the tile. My opinion is if you're that nervous, you should never approach a CFL, much have one in your home.

I would guess the lead salts in your primers are a lot worse than the mercury or metallic lead in ammo or cleaning it.

 

[DWalt]

Mercury in liquid form is just not that hazardous given reasonable care. Over 50 years ago, I had a job that involved actually wading (really!) in liquid Mercury, and I did it for over two years without any health problems, even though I had essentially constant daily exposure. Liquid Mercury is not hazardous, but exposure to Mercury vapors, and ingestion of soluble Mercury salts is. At room temperature, vaporization of liquid Mercury is vanishingly small, so vapor exposure is no consideration at all. And there is no absorption through skin. Nonetheless, one must be extremely careful in using it to avoid spills. I have a small plastic bottle with perhaps 3 ounces (liquid measure, not weight) of Mercury I occasionally use for lead removal. I always use it outside, never inside, and always provide containment against any possible spillage during use. I have no idea where someone finds Mercury today. I've had my little bottle for many, many years, and keep it stored carefully inside another sealed container. Nothing beats it for lead removal.

 

[OKFC05]

Since Mercury does not give off vapors, unless heated quite hot,

Unfortunately liquid mercury has a vapor pressure at room temperature (vapor pressure determines the RATE of evaporation, not the total amount which is determined by ventilation), and breathing in the vapors is very hazardous, causing mysterious symptoms and nerve damage. It should not be left open in a room without proper ventilation. Outside is a good idea.

As to buying mercury, it is a controlled metal, not sold to the public. We're lucky the EPA was turned down from putting lead into that category---so far.

 

[glenwolde]

It will work as described but is overkill. I shot up some lead bullet 9mm loads that would not feed in autos in my Ruger Blackhawk Convertible. Of course that leaded the barrel badly.

It took all of 15 minutes to get it out. Mercury is just not worth the risk. I used to use a Lewis Lead Remover but have found that running a few tight fitting patches with a brass jagged tip gets most of it, and a single patch cut from a lead remover cloth gets the rest. I still use the Lewis on the forcing cone sometimes,

 

[Drm50]

My old man worked at a power plant, they had Mercury for replacement in instruments and switching gear. He woul plug
barrel with rubber plugs and fill barrel with Mercury, let set
and pour Mercury out into old tin pie pan, skim off dirt and
return to bottle. Did'nt affect any of us, my brother ain't to
bright, but can't be traced to Mercury. When we were kids at
school they had us "shine" silver dimes with Mercury, we all
handled it bare handed. The last I saw for sale was refills for
pressure gauges on the fans that ventilate mines. Military
ships use it in Barometers.

 

[flintsghost]

Mercury will dissolve lead. That is a fact. The harmful effects of mercury on human beings are also known. Mercury is also a hazardous material so disposal is very expensive and complicated. If one simply tosses it in the trash and it is traced back to you, it is a felony. There are lots of really good methods at lead removal and the Lewis lead remover is one of those.

 

[OKFC05]

Military
ships use it in Barometers.

Mercury barometers were phased out in aviation, National Weather Service, and the military over 20 years ago. I was the project officer for the USAF mercury-free electronic barometer still in use.

 

[Cobbler]

So if you just look at mercury you should proceed to gouge your eyes out with a spoon, followed by burning your house down then killing yourself, if possible get to outer space and have someone jettison you to the abyss to save all humanity.........that's how bad it is.

 

[planojack]

I carefully used the mercury treatment for lead removal for many years. Once I started using the Lee Liquid Alox lube, I never needed it. I don't have leading that isn't easily removed with a bore brush. And, I don't work for Lee.

 

[sceva]

No doubt mercury is toxic under certain conditions BUT then again as a children when getting a tooth filled the dentist would give us some mercury in a rinse cup to play with. They used it to make amalgam fillings from silver for our teeth. I'm 63 now and so far have had no known ill effects.

 

[Geo. T.]

Well!

You have a smart wife and you are smart enough to listen and take her up on her offer! Good Luck!

 

[PeeShooter]

Mercury in liquid form is just not that hazardous given reasonable care. Over 50 years ago, I had a job that involved actually wading (really!) in liquid Mercury, and I did it for over two years without any health problems, even though I had essentially constant daily exposure. Liquid Mercury is not hazardous, but exposure to Mercury vapors, and ingestion of soluble Mercury salts is. At room temperature, vaporization of liquid Mercury is vanishingly small, so vapor exposure is no consideration at all. And there is no absorption through skin. Nonetheless, one must be extremely careful in using it to avoid spills. I have a small plastic bottle with perhaps 3 ounces (liquid measure, not weight) of Mercury I occasionally use for lead removal. I always use it outside, never inside, and always provide containment against any possible spillage during use. I have no idea where someone finds Mercury today. I've had my little bottle for many, many years, and keep it stored carefully inside another sealed container. Nothing beats it for lead removal.

Finally a couple of guys with a level head about this. I know it's by far the nest lead remover and I know it's hazard risk isn't near what people here say. I'd be inclined to say I'm amazed that people who shoot guns are so paranoid about mercury since as it is said here, shooting a gun indoors is far more hazards then a pool of mercury in front of you. I have ha dot laugh thinking maybe I'll glow in the dark or something if I get a bottle of mercury in my house.

Yea I'm going to make some phone calls and see what I can track down. Since it is such a good lead remover, I really thougutn someone here might know where to get it.

 

[PeeShooter]

I carefully used the mercury treatment for lead removal for many years. Once I started using the Lee Liquid Alox lube, I never needed it. I don't have leading that isn't easily removed with a bore brush. And, I don't work for Lee.

I shoot Penn Bullets exclusively and barrel leading isn't a problem at all; he has his own foundry and makes a quality hard cast bullet. But 38's through a 357 makes for a real mess cleaning up the cylinder for a 357 to fit in it again no matter how good your lead bullet is.

 

[BC38]

Like anything that is poisonous or toxic, different people have different levels of sensitivity to it. It can have a wide variety of health effects, mostly neurological.

Mercury gives off trace vapors at room temperatures. Trace amounts of mercury can also be absorbed through the skin (look it up). Most mercury gets into the body from being eaten - usually eating contaminated fish.

The trouble with mercury is that the body has no way to metabolize it so once it gets into the tissues for all practical intents and purposes, it is there for life. So it accumulates and over time, if you accumulate enough it can cause you some serious health issues.

This persistence in tissues is why fish end up with so much of it. If the water is polluted they absorb it and accumulate it in their bodies too. You eat them, you get the mercury they accumulated over their lifespan.

And yes, fluorescent bulbs have small amounts of mercury in them. But then so does just about every kind of bulb you can think of except for the simplest old fashioned incandescent bulbs. Fluorescent, Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium, and of course Mercury Vapor bulbs ALL have small amounts of mercury in them. BUT those trace amounts are NOTHING compared to the amount of exposure you get from breathing vapors and skin contact from handling the liquid metal.

 

[springer99]

Finally a couple of guys with a level head about this. I know it's by far the nest lead remover and I know it's hazard risk isn't near what people here say. I'd be inclined to say I'm amazed that people who shoot guns are so paranoid about mercury since as it is said here, shooting a gun indoors is far more hazards then a pool of mercury in front of you. I have ha dot laugh thinking maybe I'll glow in the dark or something if I get a bottle of mercury in my house.

Yea I'm going to make some phone calls and see what I can track down. Since it is such a good lead remover, I really thougutn someone here might know where to get it.

Mercury DOES work well as a lead removal tool, but as others have mentioned, it also carries some health risks if used improperly. AFAIK, Mercury Displacement Relays are still available and commonly used in some industrial heating applications. Because of the way they're designed, they tend to last almost forever, in hi-cyclic resistive applications. One mfg. still in the business is DuraKool. I'd think that 1 single-pole 40-50amp relay should contain enough liquid mercury for a lifetime of use for lead removel. Just sayin'..........

 

[austinjeane]

I remember as a child in grade school in the 60's, teachers would bring mercury to school and let us play with it. Great at cleaning dimes. Just nostalgia, not a recommendation.

 

[Inusuit]

Anecdotal evidence (I did it and I'm OK) does not diminish the fact that there are significant risks associated with the use of mercury for whatever purpose including lead removal. Yeah, we old guys all played with it as kids. Who knows how that affected our health? There are safer and better methods of cleaning handguns as enumerated by previous posters. But hey, it's your life so do whatever you want.