Should we leave cast boolits in iron moulds for storage?

[gwpercle]

I used to do it because that's what was supposed to be the right way to store them... but I discovered they don't really stop rust in the hot humid Louisiana climate ... it does cover any rust so you can't see it untill it's a bigger problem .
I stopped leaving boolits in the mould and have since found spraying the warm (not hot) mould with a Dry Spray Lube before storing leaves a rust protective coating that doesn't wrinkle boolits or have to be removed before casting ... the dry spray lube acts as a mould release and the boolits just jump out the mould when opened .
Gary

[45-70 Chevroner]

I guess I'm lucky. Living here in Arizona it is dry enough that my molds never get rusted just setting on the shelf, even here where I live now. The elevation is 5660 feet at my house, we get quite a bit of snow sometimes but the humidity is not real high here even during the monsoon season.

[Edward]

sounds like a waste of a bullet /Ed

[MT Gianni]

I have bought several with a bullet in them. I live where things rust if they are left outside under the sprinklers, inside not as much. I just store mine in a wooden drawer.

[FISH4BUGS]

I store my moulds by letting them cool, then spraying thenm with WD40 (blasphemy I know) the wrapping the mould in a plastic bag and taping it shut with masking tape. The handles are typically not taped in the plastic bag.
I also go over all my moulds every year or two just to fondle them and check them out.
I have never found any hint of rust.
They are stored in a cabinet in the unheated remodeled horse stall/man cave. It goes from zero to 90 over the year.

[Dimner]

I have a can of aerosol Kroil I keep on the cleaning bench(as separate from my loading bench and casting table) that I use to give an iron mold a quick coating when I finish for the day.
No need to clean it when you start casting again. Two or three sets through the mold when hot and it is ready to go. The Kroil can also act as a release agent for a short time with difficult molds.

Kroil doesn't give you the wrinkles when you start casting the next time? I have not found an oil yet that doesn't make my mold wrinkly for the first dozen casts. I'm not coating the cavities, just the outside and sprue plate. So if Kroil doesn't cause this, I'm gonna have to try it.

[BrutalAB]

I store all my moulds in a 40mm ammo can with desiccant packs. Got tired of cleaning the oil off my iron ones and i never oiled my aluminum's sprue plates saw some rust developing on the sprue plates and decided to change things up. Also, never had a problem with rust on anything until i moved across town, only difference in where things are located is before was an attached garage, now its a detached building.

[lightman]

I'm another that tried leaving bullets in the mold and I had one rust. Now I spray them with whatever oil that I use on my guns and store them in an airtight container. A shot of brake cleaner removes the oil when I'm ready to cast.

[photomicftn]

What is the specific lube you're referring to?

I used to do it because that's what was supposed to be the right way to store them... but I discovered they don't really stop rust in the hot humid Louisiana climate ... it does cover any rust so you can't see it untill it's a bigger problem .
I stopped leaving boolits in the mould and have since found spraying the warm (not hot) mould with a Dry Spray Lube before storing leaves a rust protective coating that doesn't wrinkle boolits or have to be removed before casting ... the dry spray lube acts as a mould release and the boolits just jump out the mould when opened .
Gary

[longbow]

I do both! Oil and leave a boolit in each cavity. I don't leave the boolits to stop rust, I leave the boolits to hold oil. If you cut the sprue then open the mould while still warm (not hot) and oil the inside faces then close the oil wicks around the boolits and stays in the cavities by capillary action. oil likes tight clearances. Then I oil the outside surfaces. I have never had a mould rust by doing this.

Some say brass and aluminum moulds don't need to be oiled which is true to an extent but they also have steel sprue plates and if the sprue plate rusts it will damage the softer aluminum or brass mould tops so I oil those too.

Different strokes but this has worked for me for about 50 years.

Longbow