What's the best way?...

[waco]

I have an older Lee two cavity mold that has drop out sprayed in the cavities.
What is the best way to remove this stuff? It is making the boolits drop a bit on the small side. Brake cleaner? Mineral spirits? What are your thoughts?
Thanks guys.

[gwpercle]

I got it out of mine with a tooth brush and acetone. Lots of scrubbing. Will never use that stuff again.
Gary

[IraqVet1982]

What's so bad about this stuff? It has great reviews on Midway...

[mdi]

What's so bad about this stuff? It has great reviews on Midway...

Tongue in cheek?:???:

I clean my molds a couple ways. My aluminum molds get a soaking of mineral spirits and a spray down with brake clean. For a new mold I like to clean with hot, boiling water and dish soap to get all the machining oil/coolants out of the pores. I tried a toothbrush and acetone and it melted the toothbrush...

[waco]

Thanks. I'll try the acetone.

[osteodoc08]

Acetone nail polish remover will work in a pinch......dont ask:razz:

[plainsman456]

Yep i have raided the wife's stuff before.:bigsmyl2:

[IraqVet1982]

Tongue in cheek?:???:



No seriously. I haven't started casting (yet) and i planned on picking some up. Looks like I should stick to matchstick carbon method.....

[Pb2au]

No smoke or release agents needed IraqVet1982.
1) Clean with dish soap, hot water and elbow grease.
2) repeat step 1. Dry thoroughly.
3) Carefully inspect the cavities for burrs. If you find one, use an exacto blade and a light touch to GENTLY flick it off.
4) grab a small piece of wood and GENTLY rub the edges of the cavities.
5) lube the alignment pin and sprue plate with a microscopic amount of anti-seize. I touch a corner of a matchstick to the stuff and put a tiny tiny smear on the pins. I take the same amount and give the underside of the sprue plate a super light haze. Get none on the cavities or the faces of the mold!

Preheat mold, cast!

[mdi]

When you get your new molds, re-read Pb2au's post...

[Kraschenbirn]

Tried applying "release agent" to an aluminum mould only once...and that was back in my 'dark age' before I discovered cast boolit enlightenment by way of this forum.

If you've got a really heavy build-up of that gunk, you might want to begin with brake or carb cleaner and a small kitchen (vegetable) brush. Once you've got your mould to where it looks really clean, then go to the hot, soapy water and toothbrush to finish the job. After that, it's just a matter of deburring (if required) and lubing the alignment pins/sprue plate.

So far as 'smoking' your mould, that's sort of a 'what works' thing. Many, many years ago, when I first began casting, I was taught by my mentor that you 'always' smoke your mould cavities...and, back in those days, smoking often appeared as a 'hint' in those (rare!) articles that occasionally appeared in the Rifleman and the commercial gun rags. On the other hand, there are those on this forum who will curse any suggestion of the technique. In my personal experience, though, I've found that I own a few aluminum moulds that require a (very!) light smoke job after cleaning in order to drop really good boolits from the very beginning of a session. (If I don't, it's kinda like shooting through a freshly cleaned bore...takes a bit of 'fouling' to obtain real consistency.) On the other hand, once up to temperature, none of my iron (or mechanite) moulds need any kind of release agent.


Bill

[IraqVet1982]

Thanks gents

[RSB]

Good morning guys,

Just getting back to casting again after a 20 plus year hiatus (26 now that I think of it). Even then I was only dabbling, and as such I bought a can of Midway Mold release and it didn't work, except it really stuck to the mold and made for cloudy bullets. Yes I used too much and I realized it at the time. The good news is these molds are still in the same condition they were the day I put them away, no rust what so ever and I've moved twice. So now I want to clean that stuff out of my no longer made Lyman 210 Grain GC 41 mag duel cavity mold.

I've read this thread and I see a few things that members have tried, but I guess My question is this; Is there a prescribed process to do this with out risking damage to the surfaces of the cavity and the top of the block and spru plate.

Thanks for helping me beat this dead horse back to life, but please remember, I'm starting all over again some 26 years later.

The reason I stopped casting then was my discover of Bull-X Bullets. Right down the road and cheap in comparison. I had a ton of various bullets but now I am out, and I just feel like bringing my old equipment back to life.

[Conditor22]

No smoke or release agents needed IraqVet1982.
1) Clean with dish soap, hot water and elbow grease.
2) repeat step 1. Dry thoroughly.
3) Carefully inspect the cavities for burrs. If you find one, use an exacto blade and a light touch to GENTLY flick it off.
4) grab a small piece of wood and GENTLY rub the edges of the cavities.
5) lube the alignment pin and sprue plate with a microscopic amount of anti-seize. I touch a corner of a matchstick to the stuff and put a tiny tiny smear on the pins. I take the same amount and give the underside of the sprue plate a super light haze. Get none on the cavities or the faces of the mold!

Preheat mold, cast!

I've found that you can remove most burs by rubbing a carpenters pencil or dowel over the edge of the cavities. I'd only use an Exacto knife (on aluminum molds) after trying the wood method and lightly lementing method.

Waco, you could try lightly lementing the cavities to get them clean and larger.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I have an older Lee two cavity mold that has drop out sprayed in the cavities.
What is the best way to remove this stuff? It is making the boolits drop a bit on the small side. Brake cleaner? Mineral spirits? What are your thoughts?
Thanks guys.

I clean mine with a good cleanser, like Comet and a tooth brush, rinse well with hot water then clean with dish soap and tooth brush rinse well, preheat on hot plate make boolits.

[tazman]

I purchased a couple of molds off Fleabay that were full of the stuff. I ended up soaking them in transmission fluid for about a day and it brushed right out.

[44Blam]

I used that stuff once.

Denatured Alcohol (DNA) gets it off nicely. Then do soap and water with a brush to really clean it.