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45-70 Chevroner
09-17-2016, 07:57 PM
Well for a few hours anyway.
Started out with a double cavity RCBS 250 gr RFN. I set it on my hot plate on high, the mold still had two boolits in it from the last session. I got busy setting up every thing else and after about a half hour the furnace was ready. Well the mold was ready, the two boolits were gone well they were under the burner in one neat little flat shiny disc. I had to cool the mold off in water and then got started. I cast about 200 maybe 250, every boolit from
the very first to the last was a keeper I felt pretty good about that.
I then decided to try a new mold that I've had for over a year, I'ts a double cavity Lyman 200 gr .452 SWC I cleaned it with Acetone, this is the very first mold That I have tried to clean with Acetone I pre heated it on the hot plate well that mold was so clean the first
Two boolits that fell out were perfectly filled out and the following few that I cast were also perfect. I only cast 12 as I ran out of time. We had a lunch date with some friends. I can hardly wait too get at it again using that new mold. Have any of the rest of you had a similar experience using Acetone?

toallmy
09-18-2016, 07:00 AM
I use my wife's finger nail polish remover with a q tip , it's mostly acetone .

lightman
09-18-2016, 01:03 PM
No, but I often use an electrical grade of contact cleaner and a toothbrush.

Victor N TN
09-18-2016, 01:56 PM
I guess I'm different that way. This time of year WallyWorld is starting to close out their "Summer stuff". I prefer to use lighter fluid. The Kingsford brand of charcoal lighter fluid is a very good solvent for cleaning. (It doesn't work well in a Zippo though.) That and an old tooth brush is normally what I use for cleaning.

Can anyone show me that acetone is better? The local Home Depot sells it. But it's a bit more expensive than the lighter fluid.

toallmy
09-18-2016, 04:33 PM
acetone I don't know if it's better but she keeps it in the cabinet and it works . I shouldn't be so lazy .

45-70 Chevroner
09-19-2016, 10:52 AM
I made a mistake on what the 250 gr mold was it is a RCBS mold. Victor N TN. The Acetone worked for me. I don't know how much it costs today I haven't checked but I paid less than $4.00 for this gallon can I have. When you buy finger nail polish you only get about Six ounces for a couple of dollars. I probably bought it 10 years ago. It has about a quart left in it. When I cleaned the mold with it I poured about 6 ounces in a cottage cheese container I dropped the mold in the Acetone and let it set for a few minutes then scrubbed it with a small brass brush not hard though. I then poured the Acetone back in the can, I don't waste it.

robg
09-19-2016, 12:08 PM
Isn't paint thinners the same as nail varnish remover ?

daloper
09-19-2016, 12:43 PM
Never tried Acetone. I just use my white gas for the Coleman lantern.

country gent
09-19-2016, 12:55 PM
I have used accetone as a pre clean for new moulds for awhile now. Some of the persevative coatings are harder to remove with soap water sometimes. I wash scrub with accetone and an old tooth brush till it seems cleaned and then hot water dish soap and bruch to remove any residues left behind. I dont put the used accetone back in the original container since I dont want to contaminate the whole jug with what is removed from the moulds. I do save it in a nail polish bottle and use it as needed for cleaning or what ever. I mould cleaned isnt alot diluted but 4 or 5 moulds cleaned and added back can be. On the hot plate I put a rubber band over the back end of the handles to hold the mould blocks closed on the hot plate. This keeps the blocks closed and lightly tensioned while warming but allows give for expansion. Bullets or lead in the moulds dosnt run out that way. Simple little trick that helps alot. WHen ready to cast just hook the rubber band with a finger pull off the handles and hang up for next time.

gwpercle
09-19-2016, 01:05 PM
That's all I use now. I could never get used to the idea of washing moulds in water...water causes rust and soaks into the wooden handles(if attached).
Acetone is pure and removes all traces of oil. With a new mould , a good cleaning with acetone , a toothbrush and a light coat of Liquid Wrench Dry Lube to start with, instead of smoking, gets them off and running.
Gary

gwpercle
09-19-2016, 01:10 PM
Isn't paint thinners the same as nail varnish remover ?
Paint thinner is mineral spirits.
Nail polish is lacquer , nail polish remover is lacquer thinner ( I have used lacquer thinner in place of acetone for mould cleaning but acetone is the best grease/oil remover)
Acetone will remove most paint , and lacquer also it just has a higher evaporation rate, too fast an evaporation is not good in brushable paints, mineral spirits/paint thinner has a lower evaporation rate and better suited for oil based paints applied with a brush or roller.

45-70 Chevroner
09-22-2016, 02:36 PM
Isn't paint thinners the same as nail varnish remover ?

The simple answer is no! Nail polish remover is Acetone, Acetone is a completely different animal than paint thinner. Paint thinner takes quite a while to evaporate, Acetone only takes seconds to evaporate and it will completely degrease oils and grease from metal serface's.

toallmy
09-22-2016, 03:23 PM
I use the rubber band on the handle to .when stored with handle on the moulds and preheating also .

sigep1764
09-22-2016, 05:42 PM
I spray Rem Oil on molds that are not in use. I just boil the mold in water to remove any residue.

WRideout
09-24-2016, 07:29 AM
Acetone is a short-chain ketone, while mineral spirits is a mixture of longer-chain aliphatic and some cyclic hydrocarbons. Pure acetone has a very high vapor pressure, unlike mineral spirits. When I worked in a crime lab many years ago, I used to put acetone in a plastic wash bottle for one of the tests I was doing. If I left it overnight, the bottle would develop enough pressure at room temperature that it would empty itself out. It took me a while to figure out what had happened. When you have acetone on the shelf, keep the lid on tight. BTW most nail polish remover that I have seen has oil added, but you can still find sometimes the non-oily kind, which is pure acetone. Because it is a somewhat polar molecule, acetone mixes well with water, and anything that has water in it. I have used it to dry test tubes that I have just cleaned.

Acetone has been used in the manufacture of smokeless gunpowder, originally the old cordite. I have some older cans of Dupont powder that I can still smell acetone when I open the cap.

Wayne