Roofing Lead Question

[99whip]

For you guys that have used roofing lead for casting.  Do you try and clean any of the tar off or will it burn off during smelting it down for ingots?  Some of the pieces have decent amounts of tar on the undersides, which scrapes away when warm, but not sure if trying to scrape it off is really necessary.   

[Fingers McGee]

If you don't scrape of the heavy deposits, you could start a pretty big fire.  Better safe than sorry and scrape off as much as possible. 

[99whip]

Thanks Fingers, I've been laying them in the sun which warms the tar and makes scraping it off easier.  I thought to much of it might create a fire hazard.  Glad I asked...

[mazo kid]

I haven't used any roofing flashing for several years now, but Fingers is right.....scrape away as much tar as you can. I would smelt outdoors and if the tar does flame off it won't hurt anything. If the lead is molten, scoop off the tar before it burns.

[soundguy]

I just smelted 80# of xray shielding. Bit had glue and backing paper in many areas.

We smelted outside in a cast iron pot with a propane burner .. Went fast, junk burns off.. Scrape the dross.. Flux a little, dump ash after a while.. No biggie..