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Thread: Lead Adhearing to Mould

  1. #41
    Boolit Master ColColt's Avatar
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    I can always use it for the pistol loads. The search for some decently priced lead/tin goes on. I'm still amazed at the price of a pound of tin these days.
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  2. #42
    Boolit Grand Master

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    The isotope lead works great air cooled for handgun medium velocity loads and light rifle loads. Water quenched it works up to about 1,900 fps in my 30-06, usually about 15 BHN.
    I also use it air cooled in my Pedersoli Rolling block in 40-65. Works great.
    Cold bluing for guns will give brass gun parts a nice aged looking patina on them. Would this work on a brass mold?

    I wonder what a soldering iron would do to these spots of oxide that build up?

  3. #43
    Boolit Master
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    Call me crazy, but there's alot of good information in this thread. Could this possibly be "stickied"?

    Just my thoughts.
    Bob

  4. #44
    Boolit Master ColColt's Avatar
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    I wonder what a soldering iron would do to these spots of oxide that build up?
    Good idea. I'll try that when there's a next time...not if but when.

    Since I have a fair amount of Isotope lead, I may as well try it since it's been sitting there for months begging to be liquified.
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  5. #45
    Boolit Bub
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    +1 on the sticky. Saved my beautiful 308 mihec mold by warming it up and using his supplied sprue plate lube on a q-tip to easily remove all the tinning! Instantly! No scrubbing, no wood sticks, no damaged $120 mold!

  6. #46
    Boolit Master ColColt's Avatar
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    That's good news on your mould but what about next casting session? That's what I want to eliminate, not having it happen again.
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  7. #47
    Boolit Master


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    I have had a lot of problems with this. Just for what it is worth, in addition to brass I have had problems with aluminum and iron , so it is not just brass. It only happens to me with alloys that had added tin, such as 1-20 and WW with added monotype.

  8. #48
    Boolit Master dudel's Avatar
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    How about using a foul-out? Get the lead out atom by atom with no scrubbing. Clip one lead to the sprue screw the other to the rod. Submerge in lead-out solution. Give it a few hours.

  9. #49
    Boolit Master
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    Brass Mold Patina

    I think brass molds run a lot cleaner if the brass is oxidized. I have some MP 503 clones in rotation and as they "tinned" and boolits started to hang I cleaned them and tried a new patina. The last one was a suggested by a member and it's the best yet.

    Cleaning: MP molds are works of art and my goal was no dimensional change (including scratches from cleaning). I've had no warping from heating the mold halves, stripped of hardware, cavities up on a 3/16 steel plate sitting on a gas range burner. I have a HF Infrared thermometer and I don't let them go over 650F. At that temp most lead wipes off with a half drop of Sprue Lube on a long Q-tip. Beeswax and Popsicle sticks will get most of the tough spots. When it's down to molecules, after cooling slowly, I put the mold halves in a bath, 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide to 2 parts Vinegar for 15 minutes, clean, soak again. Seems to me I used M Pro 7 to get some black deposits off. That's to get a mold back to a pristine state.

    I worked out the following out on one of my first 503s and was impressed so when HP mold arrived I only did one double check of my early work.

    I stripped the mold of removable hardware and cleaned the mold halves with warm water, Dawn, and a tooth brush to remove oil. I rinsed in Reverse Osmosis Water because I could. The mold then went cavities up in a bath of 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide to 2 parts Vinegar at room temperature for 30 minutes. Washed in water (RO) and dried. I applied Birchwood Casy Brass Black with a 6" Q-tip to the mold cavities, top and block face. You can't put the swabs back into the bottle after they touch brass so I'd put in 6 in at a time and throw each away after use. It takes about 5 to cover each block. Rinse, dry, and repeat. Brass is Really Hard to Patina. Just keep putting Brass Black on the bright spots until it evens out. Took me about 8 applications until it looked like an old, polished, statue.

    Birchwood Casy is big in metal finishes not just guns any they say no dimensional change.

    I cast almost 600 last night, lead doesn't stick. I raised my casting temp to 675F and slowed down a bit, left the mold open longer for more temperature difference between alloy and mold. Cleanest run ever. The new HP MP 503 clone is awesome.

    For me it looks like problem solved. For those who never had a problem with brass molds: Nevermind (GR)
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails HPBoolits.jpg  
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  10. #50
    Boolit Mold Dumasron's Avatar
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    "Lead Adhearing to Mould
    Having a little problem getting rid of a very small piece of lead right at the second drive band on one half of the mould. I tried brushing it off with a cloth while still up to temperature and it didn't work. I tried a toothpick and the same. Being a brass mould I didn't want to try anything sharp for fear of scratching it. Any suggestions as it's leaving a mark on the bullets like there was trash in the mix when it's not, it's coming form this stuck on small piece of lead."
    ********************
    My suggestion would be to take a piece of B/C lead cloth and rub out the offending flake. It works for me on the plain mould faces.

  11. #51
    Boolit Mold
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    use hoppies like you were cleaning your barrel, you may need to put some on a cotton ball and let it sit on it for a while... thats what i usually do

  12. #52
    Boolit Mold
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    what do you use to keep the bullets from sticking to the aluminum? i tryed smoking with all sorts of stuff, they still stick...

  13. #53
    Boolit Buddy
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    Iron Moulds and Peroxide/Vinegar Mix???

    I remember from years ago that vinegar tends to dissolve rust. Black oxide on iron-bearing metals is fine rust...

    Anyway, since my attempts with three different bore cleaners over the past year show that they work on lead so slowly as to be "maybe it don't work at all", I'm interested in a more proven chemical approach while avoiding electrolytic processes. I just can't get myself to WANT a Foul-Out machine...

    So, how safe is the 1/3-Peroxide/2/3-white vinegar mix for iron moulds? Just got a misbehaving RCBS back from the maker and after two sessions I'm plagued with tiny pinprick lead goobers on parts of the mould, next to and sometimes IN the vent grooves.

    I won't talk about base fins from a badly curved sprue plate that I spent maybe 90 minutes grinding flat on my diamond "stone"...

    Have two other iron moulds that need a bit of cleaning, so any time/temperature curve limits on soaking them would be most useful.

    Thanks!

  14. #54
    Boolit Master
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    That peroxide mix corrodes Iron a bit during a short soak. Overnight could do damage.

    Heat is better. Heat the molds on a hot plate above the lead melt point and wipe it off with a Cotton rag. Beeswax and Sprue Lube can help. Cool slowly.
    Last edited by Mal Paso; 03-03-2014 at 12:22 PM.
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  15. #55
    Boolit Master


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    What Mal Paso says works. Get the mold really hot so the lead on it is molten and then use a Q tip soaked liberally in Sprue Plate Lube, preferrably the blue stuff, and wipe it off. You only have few seconds if you remove the mold from the heat to do this, so it may take several heatings to get it all. If it doesn't wipe off, the mold isn't hot enough.

    Keeping it from coming back is still the tricky part for me. I am experimenting with different things, but am not overly successful yet.

  16. #56
    Boolit Buddy
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    Thanks!

    But okay, where do I get some sprue plate lube nowdays? I've gone to the BullShop web page a few times but it doesn't have any product ordering stuff I can locate.

    Do I remember RandyRat offering some of that??? Almost halfway through the last batch of Loob I ordered from him...

  17. #57
    Boolit Master Toymaker's Avatar
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    A drop of Kroil over night will creep under the lead and you'll be able to pop it off with a toothpick or popsicle stick. Wash with soap and water, alcohol then acetone. Re-smoke or treat your mold if you do that. Works for me.
    I treat with Rapine mold prep

    http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product...95&osCsid=dced

  18. #58
    Boolit Master
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    PID Plate

    I decided to move my mold cleaning from the kitchen stove to an electric hot plate to cut down possible lead contamination and make work more comfortable. It came up to temp quickly but after a bit I had to fiddle with it to maintain temperature. I have PID control for both my pots so I looked to see how cheap I could build another PID. I found a MYPIN control, thermocouple and 25A SSR on Amazon for $41. The 6x6x4 box from an electrical supply was $10. The cords and switch already I had. Shoulda spent the extra couple bucks for a TC plug and socket. Oh well.

    My Auber equipment is definitely better quality. The MYPIN thermocouple nut actually broke but I managed to get it all running in a few hours. The thermocouple is screwed into a boss that was braised to the bottom of the steel plate sitting on top of the heating coil. The temperature is bracketing my IR thermometer and after auto tune it works very well. I left the Hot Plate control alone as it works fine set to HI.

    There is also a can that fits over the top for mold preheating.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails PidPlate.jpg  
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  19. #59
    Boolit Master
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    Mold cleaning

    Here's my setup. Stick to hold the mold from moving. Cotton swabs do most of the cleaning. I drop a tiny flake of beeswax on the plate, quickly soak it up with the swab and clean. Sprue plate lube works too but not as well with oxidized lead. The other tool is a drill bit holder with a Brass Dremel Brush for the tough spots. I used to wear gloves but this unit doesn't radiate excess heat like the burner did.

    Edit: Geargnasher suggested and I agree the difficult spots that don't melt when they should are oxides. Beeswax acts as a reducer. Once it is base metal again it should wipe off.

    OH, and a Big Lighted Magnifier so I can see what I'm doing.

    Notes: The steel plate is transferring heat to the mold and needs to be set higher than the temp I want the mold to be. Right now it's 700F + to clean the mold and 600F for preheating. Still playing with it. Cast 1000+ last night with a clean mold. It ran so smooth I didn't want to stop.

    I would not buy the Sylvania Hot Plate again. It is not metal like I thought but plastic and is cracking. 1300 watts is plenty though.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails PidPlate2.jpg  
    Last edited by Mal Paso; 03-08-2014 at 11:06 AM.
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  20. #60
    Boolit Bub
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    Rapine bullet mould prep works fer me. Micro grafite in alcohol. Track of the Wolf sells it now that Rapine is gone. Keeps stuff from sticking in the first place. Too thin to change the mould specs. unless slobbered on way too much.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check