Mold release

[nonferrous]

What is a popular mold release agent, are there any home brews you could share?
Thanks

[Buckshot]

.............Probably the best is merely soot from a Bic type, or Zippo lighter. If the boolits are really bad to get out of the blocks, it's time for remedial mould attention in the form of a mild abrasive (toothpaste, Bon Ami) spun in the cavity on a lead boolit cast in the mould. A set of blocks you have to beat are simply a PITA and will wear you out. They should fall out or do so with a simple tap on the handle hinge.

.............Buckshot

[snaggdit]

There recently was talk of Kano Kroil applied to the mold helping with release. The word was spray it on (or wipe it on) then when you wanted to use the mold you wipe it off with a Q-tip. I tried it on a few of my aluminum Lee molds and it did not help. Word was it does help with iron molds. +1 on what buckshot said. If you are having problems with boolits dropping, you might have to smooth out the mold.

[madman]

Smooth, polished, cleaned and smoked they will drop like butta on a hot July Day.

[nonferrous]

Would soot from a burning candle work for this? How frequently would a mold have to be smoked?
Thanks

[Dale53]

I find little reason to soot up my moulds. I have iron, brass, and aluminum moulds and use NO mould release. If they fail to release bullets, they DO need some VERY careful attention (preferably under magnification).

I DO believe strongly in properly lubricating a mould with Bullshop Sprueplate Lube but NOT for the purpose of dropping bullets.

FWIW
Dale53

[HeavyMetal]

Back when I first started casting I tried mold release's.

Some worked some didn't. What I really learned was an iron mold needed to be broke in. Done properly the cavities looked like they'd been blued and boolits came out of the mold like peas from a pod!

I've only had one brass mold and can't say enough good things about brass as a mold material. I will have other brass molds in the future.

Aluminum molds, particularly Lee's, require a soft touch and some deburring and maybe a touch of polishing with some toothpaste before they worked well.

Now if your going to insist on a mold release use Lymans Super Moly lube spray.

I've used this on several iron molds and it works extremely well but might reduce the final diameter of your as cast boolits. I've also found that if applied properly it is a pain to get off.

A year or so ago I sold a Saeco 124 gr tc 9mm mold to a fellow member he couldn't get the moly off and decided to cast with it to see how bad it was.

He sent me a PM asking me what the H... I had put on the mold it worked so well!

Every other mold release was just cosmetic's and, once I figured out what I needed to do to make each type mold material work, release agents just became a thing of the past for me.

Eventually that will happen for you as well!

[snaggdit]

Would soot from a burning candle work for this? How frequently would a mold have to be smoked?
Thanks

Not recommended. You will get wax residue from the candle. If you want to soot the molds, use a bic lighter or wooden match. I soot my Lee molds every so often. Not every session, but every couple if I begin to have dropping issues. A session for me is 300-500 boolits per mold, YMMV.

[Bret4207]

Don't smoke them, don't use mould release, that isn't the answer. If the boolits are hanging up there's a reason. First get the mould surgically clean, scrub it with a toothbrush and something like Bon Ami and then clean it again. Get the mould good and hot and see how it does. If they still hang then read the articles on "Leementing" and find out where the burr is that's making them hang.

Smoking gives you a smaller boolit, insulates the mould from heat and doesn't address the problem at all.

[armyrat1970]

Don't smoke them, don't use mould release, that isn't the answer. If the boolits are hanging up there's a reason. First get the mould surgically clean, scrub it with a toothbrush and something like Bon Ami and then clean it again. Get the mould good and hot and see how it does. If they still hang then read the articles on "Leementing" and find out where the burr is that's making them hang.

Smoking gives you a smaller boolit, insulates the mould from heat and doesn't address the problem at all.

May be true but Lee recommends you smoke the cavity of their molds. It is in their instructions. I have found a wooden match is best for this method. Never tried a candle (had to edit because I have tried a candle once and it gave poor results) and have tried a butane lighter with poor results. I clean off all the soot and just leave what is in the cavities. I have also found after casting a few hundred boolits with the Lee aluminum molds I had to clean them and smoke the cavity again. Not a big deal. I do agree your boolits should drop free and if you have to tap your mold more than twice to drop the boolit you may have a little burr somewhere. Toothpaste, not the gel kind, with a toothbrush is good. I have used rubbing compound with a toothbrush rubbing very lightly because it is really abrasive.
I only use Lee molds so I can't give a true comparision with others like brass or iron. And I have had problems with Lee molds. Some of them need a little care before they will drop good boolits, but they are inexpensive, and if you get them working right, they will drop good boolits. As good as any boolit I have seen from any commercial ammo I have bought with lead boolits. And Lee is very good on their return policy if you need to replace a faulty one.

[high standard 40]

I have several Lee molds in one, two, and 6 cavities. None of them need to be smoked or use mold release. Lee's instructions do indeed suggest smoking but in all honesty, I look at this as a band-aid fix to cover up minor flaws in their molds.
Smoking will reduce the diameter of your bullets. I have tried just about everything I have read or heard about to get bullets to drop from the mold. Nothing worked to my satisfaction till I properly cleaned, de-burred, and polished the cavities. Now all my molds drop bullets freely with no smoking. And mold fill-out is much better than it ever was with smoking. It works for me anyway.
Try the leementing. It takes a little initial effort but is well worth the effort.

[armyrat1970]

I have several Lee molds in one, two, and 6 cavities. None of them need to be smoked or use mold release. Lee's instructions do indeed suggest smoking but in all honesty, I look at this as a band-aid fix to cover up minor flaws in their molds.
Smoking will reduce the diameter of your bullets. I have tried just about everything I have read or heard about to get bullets to drop from the mold. Nothing worked to my satisfaction till I properly cleaned, de-burred, and polished the cavities. Now all my molds drop bullets freely with no smoking. And mold fill-out is much better than it ever was with smoking. It works for me anyway.
Try the leementing. It takes a little initial effort but is well worth the effort.

Been reading up on that and may give it a try.

[Bret4207]

May be true but Lee recommends you smoke the cavity of their molds. It is in their instructions. I have found a wooden match is best for this method. Never tried a candle (had to edit because I have tried a candle once and it gave poor results) and have tried a butane lighter with poor results. I clean off all the soot and just leave what is in the cavities. I have also found after casting a few hundred boolits with the Lee aluminum molds I had to clean them and smoke the cavity again. Not a big deal. I do agree your boolits should drop free and if you have to tap your mold more than twice to drop the boolit you may have a little burr somewhere. Toothpaste, not the gel kind, with a toothbrush is good. I have used rubbing compound with a toothbrush rubbing very lightly because it is really abrasive.
I only use Lee molds so I can't give a true comparision with others like brass or iron. And I have had problems with Lee molds. Some of them need a little care before they will drop good boolits, but they are inexpensive, and if you get them working right, they will drop good boolits. As good as any boolit I have seen from any commercial ammo I have bought with lead boolits. And Lee is very good on their return policy if you need to replace a faulty one.

The Lee family is in business to make money, they provide a useful service and I wish them a long successful run. But from reading the manual and their instructions for casting, I don't think either are the passion of the Lee family. Smoking just fills imperfection in the cavities. It doesn't fix the problem. Plus it insulates the mould and makes a smaller boolit.

Clean the mould, Leement it if needed, lap if you have to. Smoking is a temp fix at best.

[cheese1566]

Maybe so, but I can buy two Lee 6 bangers for the same as another's 4 cavity and still get superb results. I don't recall Lee being out there for top end products, just adequate tools to fit the low end spectrum. They found a market share and have a hold. Supply and demand...yada yada yada.

It is the old argument of getting what you pay for. Don't expect quality and high performance when you buy a Ford Escort compared to a Ferarri. But both drive down the street at 75mph.

[largecaliberman]

I get a wooden dowel and snap a piece about 3" in length and leave a jagged end. On the jagged end, start to wind a cotton ball enough for a snug fit going into the mold. Drop a dab of Flitz past and with a drill (electric drill), run it through the cavities. Next, do the same with a clean cotton wad and give the mold a smooth polish. Wash off any Flitz residue and under a microscope, look for burrs. If any burrs are present, C A R E F U L L Y scrap it with a burr remover or an exacto knife. Once that's done, close the mold and squirt some dry graphite powder then go with a cotton wad (with an electric drill) for a few seconds to work the graphite into the metal. I read that some casters use pure alcohol mixed with graphite and give the mold a spray once the boolits begin to stick.

[KYCaster]

I agree with Bret and High Standard....the best release agent is a clean mold.

Jerry

[docone31]

Mold release,
I tried, candles, matches, BIC lighters, Silicone spray, high temp mold release, I believe a waste of time.
What really works well for me, and I have accumulated a bunch of molds now, I soak in mineral spirits for days. I then heat the mold and cast two castings with a nut usually 1/4-20, or whatever I have on hand. I let the mold cool and drop the castings. They take effort usually.
From there, I smear lightly fine valve lapping compound on the castings. I then take one, a wrench to match the nut, and slowly close the mold turning the casting untill it spins freely in the closed cavity. I do the same with the second casting in the second cavity.
I then switch castings in the cavity and repeat the process. I rarely add more grit during this.
I then cast two more.
These usually fall out of the cavities easily now.
I take opposite castings and put them in the other cavities. I switch them around. I VERY lightly polish with more lapping compound.
From that point, after I again soak the mold in mineral spirits for days, I get very easy castings to drop out.
I like to push them out with the same stick I use to push the sprue plate. It is a two step process. Watch the sprue freeeze, push the plate, then push GENTLY the middle of the casting. They plop into the water bucket.
I do not like the castings to just drop out of the mold. I do not feel like I have control that way. The slightly slower dropping of the castings also gives the casting itself to cool slightly so no deformation happens.
If I were casting to compete, I might do it differently. I do not compete, I just like to put holes touching themselves, or just coming close.
I had originally done it so I could tap the mold with the castings in it so they dropped out. I do not really like smacking the mold that way, so I just push them into the water.
That, with sizeing, I get very few rejects. I time it by the sprue freezing.
Works for me. I tried other things, and I did not find it relaxing. Good for a while, then they got stuck.
The smoother the cavity, the better the casting.
I also sharpen the sprue plate before I start casting. There is always some burring in the sprue hole.

[armyrat1970]

Mold release. I also sharpen the sprue plate before I start casting. There is always some burring in the sprue hole.

Good info but I cut this down to one thing. Every Lee mold I have bought has had burrs in the sprue hole and needs to be removed.

[nonferrous]

Ok, I get it, thanks very much. Interesting insight into what LEE says in the casting section of the book.

Question answered, very well I might say.

Thanks again.