casting pot, long term storage.

[facetious]

There is a good thread on how to clean your casting furnace but once you have it clean how do you treat it before putting it away to keep it from rusting?

Also how do you treat your iron molds for long term storage.

[Froogal]

I just my casting pot back into the original box, and close it up. I'll know in about in a year if that is good enough.

[bangerjim]

Clean it well and spray/wipe light weight oil inside. NOT WD40 or other penetrating fluids. They are NOT oil and evaporate quickly, leaving no protective oil film behind.

Remember WD40 is "Water Displacement formula #40", not a long-term lubrication product.

Fe molds are the same way.

I only have 2 Fe molds and the do not rust. Most of my HUGE collection of molds are either brass or Al.

banger

[StuBach]

Somewhere on here I read coating iron molds with any sort of viscous oil or grease should protect molds well. I just Coat mine in a light coating of MP mold lubricant (have several of his sample bottles floating around) and than store them in a nice dry drawer or in air tight containers.

I also once read that you can just wrap them in a oil soaked rag if you want to go real old school. When I unpacked my grandpas molds they were wrapped in some sort of old cotton paper that had been soaked in oil and even after 50 years in storage they were like new.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I cleaned my old pots reheated and wiped with beeswax , look fine sitting in garage , smokes a little when heating up to use again but beeswax is a pleasing smell.

[Rich/WIS]

When long term storing molds and pot used regular gun oil, forget the brand but it came in a pump spray bottle. Applied it liberally and put the molds back in their boxes and wrapped in VPI paper from IIRC Brownells. Stored by the government shipping company for three years twice when sent to Germany and for a year while in Korea. No issues with rust but obviously needed a thorough cleaning before being put back into service.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

My pots are never idle!

[Jtarm]

The same way your mama & grandma used to protect their cast iron cookware: grease em up with shortening (grandma may have used lard).