Silicon sprayed on mold

[Sonnypie]

I'm pretty much a traditional sort of guy.
Smoke my molds with a candle flame and cast away....
I'm beginning to cast/load my own boolits. Last week I was casting away and my mold got a bit "sticky" so I checked the hinge screw, and the sprue screw was loosening, too.
After a little adjustment, my thoughts turned to a little lubrication. So I got down my can of Silicon spray lube and put some on.
Wow, nicer!
So, me being me, I dusted the inside of the mold (cavities) with the spray which dried immediately because the mold was still pretty warm.
The boolits nearly jumped out of the mold afterward.

Now I searched, and I only came up with a buried post in a thread by Dale where Silicone Spray was mentioned.

I'm getting good results casting.

Anybody know why I should NOT use silicone spray as a release agent?
It seems to work real good. It's the Industrial type, not "Food Grade".

Call me Curious George...

[Shooter6br]

Works in my Sharpshooter buckshot mold

[Dale53]

Sonnypie;
When using pure, industrial grade silicone, I learned to use only a light dusting. That did everything expected with no bad results.

These days, with a climate controlled house, my humidity is kept low enough that I have NO rusting of bullet moulds. I now use NOTHING on my moulds except Bullshop's Sprue plate lube. NOTHING in the cavities.

If you have rusting problems due to humidity or where you have to store the moulds, a light dusting of silicone will preserve the mould with no problems when casting (it's not necessary to clean the moulds before you cast).

Don't forget, " LESS is MORE"...

FWIW
Dale53

[Sonnypie]

Hi Dale,
Thank You for replying.
Yep, just dusted the mold with the spray.
Maybe fogged would be a better discription? From a distance.
I figured that if I had to clean it off, lighter would have less "blue words" needed.
Anyway, it has been working great for me and my very limited experience.
I've only cast about 2000 boolits so far. All 30 cal.
But ordered a .45 mold today for the .45ACP's in "the family".

Oh, my molds are Lee Aluminium. I'm retired, so I tend to be... cheap.
I have time, so I have 2 cavity molds. Keeps me busier that way. LOL!
I spend a lot of time gleaning info here, it gets too hot to be out in the shop.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[shotman]

the Kroil works better as it seasons and stays on longer. the silicon verion of their brand dont do as good as the reg type

[Sonnypie]

I have some on the way, Shotman.
(Um, the regular. Far as I know.)
Thanks!

I ordered this one.

[dragonrider]

I never put anything in the cavities of my molds, my molds release quite well, if they do not then there is a problem and carefull inspection and removal of burrs and lapping has corrected the it. A properly prepared mold needs no smoke, kroil, silicone or anything else.

[geargnasher]

I'm with Dragonrider, but I DO use Sprayway #936 on the sprue plates and alignment points of my aluminum moulds.

Gear

[mosinman]

geargnasher, is that Sprayway product #946 silicone spray in the red can? They have two different silicones, and #936 appears to be a different lube.

Where can you buy this stuff?

Can I substitute?

Have some Gunk Silicone Spray from WM but figure it's not industrial grade - is IG stuff important?

TIA,

mosinman

[geargnasher]

Sprayway makes at least three "wet" silicones and several "dry" sprays. The #936, 945, and 946 are all "wet" and contain virtually the same ingredients, only in slightly different proportions. The 936 has had three drastic changes done to the label in as many years, and the name has changed from "instant spray" to "instant shine" to something else now with a purple and chrome label. Same product, though. I recommend both, but the 946 has a higher polydimethylsiloxane content and a lower hexane content IIRC, so I recommend it if you have a choice.

Gear

[John Boy]

Give paraffin a try. The classic reference is to use beeswax. But it burns and leaves a residue. Paraffin does not burn or leave a residue. I use it exclusively to lube the pins and a dab in the sprue hole that allows the puddle to drop out with minimum effort - like a shake for a gravity drop. The I tried it on the insides of the mold halves. After a few wrinkled bullets, found that the bullets dropped 80% or better with a light tap on the handle bolt before opening the halves.

[mosinman]

geargnasher, thanks for the Sprayway info.

Couldn't find it at any of the big auto parts stores, best move is to contact Sprayway directly for dealers in your area. Have a can of #945 on order from Fastenal, can't wait to try it


mosinman

[williamwaco]

I have some on the way, Shotman.
(Um, the regular. Far as I know.)
Thanks!

I ordered this one.

Please do not put this in your mold cavities.