Brake Clean Mould? Wrinkled Boolits

[emrah]

I can't seem to find a definitive answer when I searched for this, but is brake cleaner ok for cleaning moulds before casting? I clean the mould before casting with brake cleaner, wait for most of it to evaporate, then pre-heat it with a propane torch to totally dry and burn away any moisture left. Am I doing something wrong?

I cast pure WW using the Lyman Big Dipper pot. With most rifle boolits, I get some wrinkling. In fact, I searched a thread and my boolits look EXACTLY like this guy's http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=122748

My moulds are the Lee C309-170 and the Lyman 314299. The boolits are nice and shiny, but with slight wrinkling. I have not had the moulds so hot that they frost boolits. I understand that I may need to cast at a higher temp, but if I do, then the boolits stick really bad in the mould.

I have never smoked a mould or used any mould release, but if I did, how long does it last on the mould surface? Do you keep applying/smoking after "X" many boolits dropped?

What to do?

Emrah

[docone31]

You have to preheat the mold, then keep the temp at that level.
I just set my mold on the melt for a bit prior to casting.
I go by six seconds to sprue freeze.

[Dan Cash]

Emrah,
If your bullets look like that, you don't have bullets yet. There are different ways of cleaning moulds from boiling in soap and water to brake cleaner. Most of them will remove oil and leave a clean mould cavity. The bullets in the picture look as though cast from a cold mould and perhaps with cold metal.

Make your mould blocks hotter by longer contact with the melting pot or careful flame heating. Make your metal hotter. Cast rapidly until you get filled out bullets then regulate the casting rate to maintain filled cavities but not quite frosted bullets. Pressure casting will work better with long for diameter bullets; that is the ladle spout in direct contact with the sprue hole while filling.

[44man]

Some brake cleaners leave residue so use dish soap and hot water.
Mold temp is important.
A good mold needs no smoking or anything but I have used mold prep from Rapine. I use Bullplate too on friction points to prevent wear.
I used WD-40 as a lube when I cut a mold but it washes off with hot, soapy water, never, ever let it dry. Now I use water soluble oils.
I pre heat molds to 500* and get perfect boolits first cast.
You have nothing more then a heat problem.

[sundog]

It's not unusual to get a wrinkle or other anomaly from a clean mould. Get the heat up and get into a rhythm. If the boolits still do not fill out try VERY LIGHTLY smoking the cavities with a propane lighter or wood stick match. Nothing more than a light film, NOT heavy soot. Keep casting, and you should see an immediately improvement. Do this only when needed.

If you try a mould release, DO NOT spray directly onto the mould. When the mould is clean and NOT heated, use a q-tip semi-saturated with the release agent and swab it on gently and keep swabbing until it is dry. Attempt to leave no visible residue. When done like this products such as Drop-out work great. A side benefit to this procedure is that the carrier will also clean while the agent is being applied.

Neither method, if done as prescribed above, will alter the diameter of your boolit. In fact, by getting a more perfect fill you will actually have better boolits.

All of that said, about the only time any of this is necessary is when you have a mould that refuses to cooperate - and there are a few of them like that. Life is too short to struggle with cr*p.

[emrah]

Thanks Sundog, guess that is really what I was getting at. I realize it's probably a heat problem. It's just that past a certain point (and below frosting), the boolits would stick REAL bad in the mould. And yes, I checked for minor abberations, nicks, etc. that would physically make them stick.

It's funny, I can "feel" when they start to get slightly too hot and not drop very easily. Any hotter and they're a real bear to even whack them out of there. That's why I was asking about mould release.

44Man,

Are you saying to NOT use WD-40? Because when I'm done casting, I spray the mould lightly with WD-40, put it in a ziplock back and put it back in its case for storage. I brake clean off all the WD-40 before casting. Am I doing it wrong?

Emrah

[Larry Gibson]

emrah

I use that method also except after heating with the propane torch i wipe each cavity out with a Q tip.

As 44 man mentions, you have a heat problem if the bullets aren't coming out good after 3-6 casting with the aluminum mould and maybe a couple more with the iron mould. You probably do need to turn the heat up so the alloy temp is 700 - 725. You also need to get the alloy out of the pot and into the mould quickly, do not pour slowly and get a large sprue, even if it runs over.

You may also have a tin problem with your WWs. All WWs are not created equally. I suggest adding 2% tin to your WWs to improve the alloy composition and improve fillout. It will also make a much better alloy for those 2 rifle bullets.

Larry Gibson

[44man]

Thanks Sundog, guess that is really what I was getting at. I realize it's probably a heat problem. It's just that past a certain point (and below frosting), the boolits would stick REAL bad in the mould. And yes, I checked for minor abberations, nicks, etc. that would physically make them stick.

It's funny, I can "feel" when they start to get slightly too hot and not drop very easily. Any hotter and they're a real bear to even whack them out of there. That's why I was asking about mould release.

44Man,

Are you saying to NOT use WD-40? Because when I'm done casting, I spray the mould lightly with WD-40, put it in a ziplock back and put it back in its case for storage. I brake clean off all the WD-40 before casting. Am I doing it wrong?

Emrah
NEVER WD-40 on ANYTHING. You will never remove it once dry. It is the worst stuff ever. The only way to remove it is mechanical, nothing I know will remove it.
The stuff will actually promote rust too. It is a water displacement only.
I used to get many guns from farmers that use WD-40 on farm equipment. Thought it would work on guns. Firing pins were locked solid. NOTHING would dissolve it.
If you have no moisture problems, put NOTHING on the mold. Mold prep is enough in most cases or just some oil if you live in very humid places. Vegetable oil works fine. Wash it off with soap.
I have a dehumidifier in my basement and my molds never get anything on them. I have molds 60 years old that have never had a drop of oil with zero rust. Just smoking the mold might prevent rust. Do NOT get anal over it.
Throw out the can of WD-40!

[sundog]

+1, nix the WD-40.

Couple other thoughts. IF you use aluminium mould and it needs help, use smoke not release agent, just works better. Either smoke or release agent work on iron, mehanite, steel, etc. Candle smoke is greasy, stay with butane lighter or wood stick match (without wax).

At some point, even problem moulds usually begin working better. At that point very little is needed other than cleaning and judiciously lubing in the right places.

[Bloodman14]

Get a can of carburetor cleaner (the dipbasket-in-the-can type) and soak the mold itself (NOT the handles!) in it for a few hours; that'll take care of the WD-40.

[trixter]

A toothbrush and Comet will clean the residue from the brake, or carb cleaner and I use it every time before starting to cast. Just make sure they are dry before you stick the mold into the hot lead to warm it up.

[finishman2000]

use acetone or lacquer thinner and a toothbrush and you'll be fine. i think the wrinkles are from to cold of a mold though.

[9-toes]

Could your sprue plate be colder than your mold? Would act as a chiller. I heat mine up with the sprue plate on the pot first.

[DLCTEX]

If you use brake cleaner on a hot mould do so only in a well ventilated area and take care to not inhale the fumes. Some nasty stuff happens when it is heated.

[montana_charlie]

use acetone or lacquer thinner and a toothbrush and you'll be fine.
Won't acetone melt a toothbrush?

CM

[white eagle]

I have never cleaned a mold with anything.... even a brand new mold
just preheat the mold get the alloy up to temp and go
it may take a few to get good boolits but I do
if your getting wrinkles chances are you aint hot enough

[Lloyd Smale]

I use it alot but prefer electirical cleaner as it doesnt leave any residue.

[ku4hx]

I never had a problem with the solvent based brake cleaner; worked to perfection. But then it suddenly dawned on me for the last decade or more I've been using only non Ferrous molds ... warm soapy water and a toothbrush work just as well. Works for the Ferrous molds too no doubt, just heat 'em up on the top of the pot to dry the out before use.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

What DLCTEX said. Fumes from that stuff can mess you up real bad. I had a hard time having boolits stick when I first started casting. It just took some practice at doing it. I had to have the lead up to the correct temperature and keep it there, have the mold at the correct temperature and keep it there, pour the same way each time, put the correct sprue amount on each time, wait for it to harden before opening (but not too long) . Have the correct distance from the pour spout. It just took me awhile. I would have to bang that poor old LEE mold to get the boolits out. I had some very bad looking boolits for quite awhile. Then it just started working. Now I don't know exactly why I had such a time of it. The boolits drop out great, look great and weigh very close to each other. For me, it just took practice. I had a bunch of boolits like you have in the picture. Seems that when I started using a hot plate to preheat the mold (plus pouring literally thousands of boolits), Things just started to work out. You'll get it. I recommend trying just one thing at a time.

[DLCTEX]

Won't acetone melt a toothbrush?

CM

Yes it will! And brake cleaner will melt an RCBS ammo tray.

[40Super]

My new Miha mold does that badly also. I can cast with other molds and get perfect bullets and switch to that mold(preheated quite a bit hotter than my other molds plus a torch 30-60sec on sprue)and I'll get 70% wrinkled,eventually it will get hot enough to cast good. Then 5degrees warmer and I get frosted bullets. Some molds NEED heat,more than others, so you will have to just gradually increase the heat and mark it down.
I'm hoping my fussy mold gets better with use.

[44man]

Yes it will! And brake cleaner will melt an RCBS ammo tray.
Now that is funny! [smilie=l:Why were you spraying the ammo tray?