cleaning moulds

[cgrivois]

I sometimes use a 50/50 mixture of h2o2 and white viniger to clean lead deposits from my pistol barrells. Would this misture be safe to clean lead out my alluminum lee mold?

[Bret4207]

Is H2O2 hydrogen peroxide? (I ranked 37 out 41 students in school, so give me a break). If so, you could try swabing a bit on an outside surface and leaving it for a while. I doubt it would hurt the mould, but better safe than sorry.

[44woody]

the best thing I have found to clean a mould is carb or break cleaner it's under pressure and it gets all the oils and dirt off the mould :castmine: 44Woody

[UweJ]

I´m with 4woody on this ,carb or brake cleaner gets the job done.
Uwe

[cgrivois]

Should have been more clear, trying to get small amounts of built up lead around the pins and between sprue plate and mould. I notice after casting for little while, I have to pay special attention to lining up the pins to insure that the mould is completly shut. I do spray carb cleaner on the mould before a session, and smoke it with a match.

[cgrivois]

should have posted this is the mould forum, my apologies.

[UweJ]

I got some soft brass brushes for that problem,they don´t scratch the aluminium but get the lead deposits pretty good.They are the size of a tooth brush.
Uwe

[MT Gianni]

Get it hot as in up to casting temp and wipe with a cotton cloth. Poly will leave fibers stuck to things. It should wipe right off. A lead removal cloth also works. Make sure that you use a good lube on the pins neversieze or something like it. Gianni.

[lurch]

Ditto on the heat it up and wipe it off with a cotton cloth. I sometimes use those industrial strength paper rags in a box too (glorified paper towels). I have to get the mold really hot though - hotter than normal casting temperature for this to work for me. I take the sprue plate off and leave my molds on a hot plate for a while - until the lead smear is wanting to melt - and then go after it. Sometimes a small wood dowel with a rounded end or a soft brass brush helps if it is really stubborn.

The sprue plate gets a little different treatment as it generally does not hold the heat long enough to get the job done after taking it off the hot plate (use smooth jaw pliers to hold it by the tab while wiping). I usually have to help it out by very carefully and slowly adding some heat with a propane torch. I haven't warped one yet, but there is always that first time. Good news is, if I do, the sprue plate is a relatively inexpensive replacement part and I do keep a few spares on hand - just in case.

One note on using the paper fiber cloth: The mold will be hot enough to at least singe it and even start it to smoldering if you leave it in contact too long. It works, but watch out and make sure that its not burning before you put it down or throw it away. Nasty surprises could be in store otherwise.

[montana_charlie]

Your original question asked if you could use a hydrogen peroxide solution on aluminum moulds.

That seemed like a good reason for a Google search, so I looked at a number of articles. One contained some text which might be important to us, and I have pasted it below.

The most common form is 3% hydrogen peroxide. You can buy it at a drug store or supermarket. Because it has stabilizers in it to give it longer shelf life, it is not used for consumption. Some of the stabilizers are phenol, acetanilide, and phosphoric acid. The 3% is 10 volumes, which means that 1-pint has 10 pints of oxygen in it. The next step is 6%, or 20 volumes used by people to bleach their hair. Then there is the 30%, called reagent grade and is used in medical work. Then there is the 30-32% known as semi-conductor grade, used to wash printed electric boards and components of transistors and chips to remove dirt and dust. Then comes the 35% technical grade used in industry and has a little phosphorus in it to neutralize chlorine, which would up an aluminum tank. Hydrogen peroxide is compatible with two metals: aluminum and stainless steel. This 35% technical grade is 130 volumes, which means a pint has 130 pints of oxygen in it. Then there is the food grade 35% hydrogen peroxide.
http://www.tuberose.com/Hydrogen_Peroxide.html

The sentence which addresses the 35% technical grade is incomplete. It appears that it was intended to read, "which would eat up an aluminum tank".

It seems that hydrogen peroxide (itself) is compatible with aluminum...but it contains chlorine, which is not.
While the common 3% stuff will probably not damage your aluminum moulds, especially when used with 50% water, the mention of chlorine is troubling.

Why...you ask? Because chlorine (I recently learned) is an ingredient in those carburetor cleaners that we all like to spray on moulds...and anything else that needs de-greasing.

As described, heat is a good tool for removing stray lead, and spray graphite is a good way to keep it from coming back. But our favorite mould cleaner may be able to actually damage aluminum moulds.

Seems that more information is needed...
CM

[KYCaster]

I've found that burlap works a little better than cotton cloth. And I've also found (don't ask me how) that "lead-wipe" cloths will also wipe away steel. Vent lines will disappear surprisingly quickly, so I'd really recommend keeping them away from your aluminum molds.

Jerry

[lovedogs]

We might also want to note that this once-popular method of removing lead from gun barrels works only with regular chrome moly steels. DO NOT DO THIS TO A STAINLESS BARREL as it will erode it badly.