cleaning lee pot

[jeepguy242]

hey guys, i just started casting, been reloading for 15+ years with cast lead, so now i am thinking of how much money i could have saved had i been casting.

friend of mine gave me an old lee pot, the smaller one. and a ladle.

the pot has some rust (light surface rust) all over the inside of it, and some lead that he was using to make fishing weights. when i turned the pot on, and melted the lead i noticed that some of the lead had redish streaks in it, i assume is the rust. and the ladle has rust on it too,

my question, will it hurt the pot or ladle if i took a wire wheel to them to clean off the rust? or is there a coating on them that keeps the molten lead from sticking..

thanks..
Don

[geargnasher]

wire wheel or just plain old steel wool or Brillo pad. Use water to keep the dust down, and rinse. Plug it in for a minute to dry it, and give it a light coat of any kind of oil. Same with the ladle, but use caution when dunking a cold, oiled ladle in molten lead.

Gear

[jeepguy242]

thanks, i didnt think it would be a problem cleaning, but i just wanted to check with you guys here before i did anything stoopid that cost me in the long run, i didnt think about coating it with a light oil tho, probly use some hoppes oil. that should keep the rust down on it.

and thanks for the caution of dipping a cold ladel with oil in the pot, i guess i should wipe it clean first before i start using it right.

[johnvid]

After each casting session I drain any remaining alloy into an empty ingot mold. The next session, I'll clean the pot with a brass wire brush. This will keep the pot clean enough so that I won't have problems with dripping or dirt in the pot.

[geargnasher]

One thing that helps keep the pot clean is scrape the sides with a wooden stick. The dross and gunk stuck to the side metal will dissolve and wipe right away, leaving a clean grey surface behind. If you get yellow oxide gunk stuck to the sides, the stick will clean this off too. Just be careful not to scrape the bottom with the stick as the tip will slough ash off and it will get stuck under the melt and cause drips when it migrates to the valve. Put clean alloy in the pot and maintain it with a stick and skim any ash with a spoon, that's really all you need to do to keep it clean indefinetely.

Gear

[BPCR Bill]

Marvelux and some of the other commercial fluxes attract moisture, and rust is what you get. I use a wire wheel in my pots (using a face mask), and clean the pots on a regular basis. I clean the dippers with the wire brush and spray that down with graphite mould release. Keep your pots empty as much as you can and keep them clean, your melts will thank you for it.

Regards,
Bill

[DODGEM250]

Same here. I always drain my lead into a ingot after every casting session and I usually run the wire brush around the post really good a few times before I fire it back up. I also run a light coating of crisco around the inside when I plan on not using the pot for a few days.

I have 2 wire brushes so I can get the bottom and sides really well. Plus I feel the cleaning with the wire brushes helps add some amount of metal to the side to help season the pot. Almost like a teflon non-stick affect you might loosely call it.

I have the Lyman 4" cast iron, if this is the same one you are using. I prefer this pot over others because of the depth of the pot. I do wish the mouth was a bit bigger.

Brush for the bottom - example

Brush for the sides - example