> I think they should be painted Teal.

> Sand them well and paint them immediately.

No. Don't sand them well. Don't sand them at all if you can help it. Use a sharp knife to trim off any little protrusions, ans you can re melt those when you get enough of them.

The last thing you need in your life is a lot of lead dust in your body, or in your house. If you don't create any dust you can't possibly inhale it, or get it in the house where your kids or pets can pick it up on their hands or paws. So think twice about sanding, and then think about it a few more times.

Casting of toy soldiers in lead used to be a big hobby. It is not as popular now, what with all the plastic toys, but hobby stores still carry paints for these things. Most of the paints were oil-based enamels. I don't think a primer is required for most use, but these things were not meant to be bashed around too much. You can always try an area without a primer and see how well the enamel sticks.

Or, since you are just using these for weights, pop them in some heavy plastic bags and they won't mark your work.

Scuba weights are cast is the same manner, but with a special mold. The old ones were used au naturel, but I have been seeing a lot of weights recently that have been covered in vinyl. There is a compound sold for dipping the handles of tools to give them a vinyl coating. I believe the stuff is called `Dip-it'. It usually comes in a tall can, (which makes it easy to dip tool handles) but it can be brushed onto larger surfaces. This might be just the stuff for you.

By the way, I thought of using this stuff (Dip-it) as a vinyl coating for waterproofing the canvas skin on a stitch and glue kayak. It seemed too expensive to experiment with, though. Of course if you have any excess and want to experiment on a few pieces of fabric -- hint hint -- please send along your results.

Hope this helps.

Paul G. Jacobson