More Al mold stuff

[Marlin Junky]

Instead of smoking Al mold cavities, which can get a little messy, has anyone tried to apply a thin coat of carbon to the cavities with a swab? I was thinking of wiping the soot from a piece of b-b-q charcoal on a 38 bore swab and then turning the swab inside the cavities of .360-220 with the mold halves held together.

MJ

[docone31]

Smoke em, it ain't that messy.
I get a small candle, and hold it close to the cavity. A few seconds of close flame, my mold is smoked and I cast away.
What you are talking about is messy. Plus, the charcoal will fall right off.

[HeavyMetal]

I've also used the sight black made by Birchwood casey. A lite spritz and I'm good to go.

Haven't had to smoke a mold in a good long time.

[Willbird]

I use one of the butane grill lighters, not messy at all. I try almost anything to not have to smoke the cavities however.

Bill

[Marlin Junky]

Smoke em, it ain't that messy.
I get a small candle, and hold it close to the cavity. A few seconds of close flame, my mold is smoked and I cast away.
What you are talking about is messy. Plus, the charcoal will fall right off.

Soot gets in the vent lines and a lot of the time, the flame is hard to control.

MJ

[Marlin Junky]

I've also used the sight black made by Birchwood casey. A lite spritz and I'm good to go.

Haven't had to smoke a mold in a good long time.

How is "Sight Black" purchased? Aerosol cans?

MJ

[leftiye]

Nei mold prep = Graphite that you apply with a Q-tip.

[Marlin Junky]

leftiye,

Does Graphite work better that carbon? Why do I need to buy my graphite from NEI?

Here is another somewhat related question:

Bull Plate lube works great on ferrous molds because it "bakes" on the surface; however, Al molds don't retain heat very well and the Bull Plate lube tends to run off before it can cure. What about using graphite on the wear points of the Al group buy molds?

MJ

[Calamity Jake]

"Bull Plate lube tends to run off before it can cure."

You are using to much of it!

After getting the mould hot(6 cav or otherwise)I shake the BP lube then with a Q tip I swobe the inside of the bottle lid, that is more than enough to do 6 cav lee's. I apply to the plate first then the mould top with boolets in the cavities, then remove the excess with another
Q tip.

[Maven]

MJ, What you use to "cure" or prepare the Al mold often depends on the mold itself. Smoking with wooden matches or a butane flame works for many if not most such molds, but a candle flame is too oily. E.g., I have a few LBT molds, but only some of them needed smoking. Indeed, it made some of them worse. Ditto dry graphite spray. Speaking of dry graphite spray, it's a crap shoot on Al molds, a bit less so on Meehanite (iron) molds (does help prevent rust though). You'll just have to experiment with mold temp.* and smoking v. dry graphite spray to see which works on a given mold. The beauty of either is that it's easy to remove the "improvement" and start anew.


*I find that Lee molds cast well somewhere between 730 deg. F and 750 deg. F, but the LBT's do best at a higher temp., 800 deg. F in the ones I use.

[dromia]

I cast with naked cavities,tried smoking and mould preps but find I get betterresultswith a clean cavity.

Horses for courses, one man's meat.............:-D