Dross

[Tom W.]

I've seen here and other places that the dross on the top of molten alloy is  antimony, tin and trace metals. I've seen in other places where it is crud that gets onto the metal before it is melted.
 

How can the alloy separate after it is thoroughly mixed. In my understanding, compounds can separate, but an alloy cannot, as it is chemically changed when blended, like bronze, for example. Any one out there with a metallurgy background?

[Lloyd Smale]

they dont throw it away its dirt

[richp41]

Dross is usually the result of oxidation of one of the elements in the alloy. Tin is usually the most readily oxidize and is sensitive to temperature. The higher the temp, the greater the oxidation rate. Some of the dross is nothing more than dirt that has floated out of the alloy, but oxidatuion of tin can usually be reversed by fluxing and one of the best fluxes for this purpose is plain , ordinary wax-- candle or canning variety. Rich