What happens???

[mrblue]

So i keep reading i need to clean my new molds once i get them. OK thats fine....but why. Why cant i just slap those babies on the heating element and burn that stuff off. Why is it so important that the oil or whatever is on there needs to come off. And why do i need to reapply oil when Im done. Just wondering is all.

[rbuck351]

Any oil left in the mold will cause wrinkles in the boolits. It doesn't burn off it just burns in. If they are cast iron and clean they will pick up moisture from the air and rust. If aluminum they don't need oiled just clean them once and they are good to go. Well, except for alignment dowels and sprue plate hinges and such.

[44man]

Steel molds depend on where kept. Either way, if they NEED oil, it MUST be washed off and dish soap with hot water is as good as anything. Aluminum only needs lube in places like rbuck said.
My basement is dry and a mold can sit dry for 10 years without rusting but my friends basement is a swamp.
NEVER spray a mold with WD-40 and let them sit to dry. I use it as a lube to cut aluminum molds once in a while but it will wash off with soap, but never if it dries.
Just use plain oil to keep rust away and wash it off before casting. If you burn it off, it will form all kinds of junk on the mold.

[turmech]

Like stated steel mold are the only one you need to oil for storage. I use kroil. When I am ready to cast again I spray the cavities with brake cleaner warm them up and cast.

I only clean the mold in the house with hot soapy water when the are new or new to me.

[mdi]

Nope, you don't need to clean the new molds spotless. But if you want good bullets you will. "Burning off" the machining oil would be fine, if it didn't leave a lot of residue/carbon/gunk behind. It's a proven, clean molds will produce the best bullets...

[runfiverun]

having tried this once.
just clean them.
unless you just want to practice filling and dumping lead out of a mold for about 5-600 pours.

[captaint]

mrblue - As has been said - get the mold clean and forget the "smoking the mold". Also said, clean molds produce the best boolits. It's true. You'll see, after a while. Get that lead nice and clean, get the mold
clean and get after it again. You'll know the good boolits when you see them. If you are using a 2 cav mold, it is easy to get them too hot, pretty quick. The iron molds hold heat real well. Might have to slow
down your pace a little. Let us know how it works out. Mike