On 2009-07-11, pyotr filipivich wrote:
Let the Record show that "DoN. Nichols" on or
about 11 Jul 2009 00:25:47 GMT did write/type or cause to appear in
rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Anyway -- they were pure (soft) lead.

You probably want pure lead too, as alloys kept under water are
likely to be differentially etched by the water -- especially if it is
at all acidic.

The question comes to mind - if I put a lead alloy in sea water,
and it is "differentially etched", which is differentially etched away
- the lead or the alloying material? Can I take this mess and refine
it to recover the pure lead?

I guess that it mostly depends on what the alloying material is.
I think that the alloying metal will go first in most cases, but I'm not
sure.

But it probably won't work in too deep too quickly -- just turn
the outer layer into lead sponge until that gets crushed and you get
another turn at etching.

Is it possible to "unalloy" an alloy at "home" (for whatever
definition of "home".

The easier it was to alloy, probably the more difficult to
"unalloy". I could see things like an acid which will eat both, though
one slower than the other, and then adding another chemical to
precipitate out only one metal. Then you have to figure out how to
remove the acidic ions and be left with just the lead which you want.

Harold would have good advice if one of the metals were a
precious metal (e.g. gold or silver) but I don't know what he knows
about lead alloys.

Enjoy,
DoN.

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