Experiment,oil in mold

[Cleve Branch]

After reading a lot here on this forum I decided to test, casting with oily Moulds. I took my RCBS double cavity and sprayed it with Kroil penephite. Then put it on the newly aquiered hot plate till it started smoking,took it out wiped out excess oil and put it back. After it quit smoking I started casting. First two boolits came out wrinkled, every thing after came out perfect and dropped better than before. Something to be said about Mould Temperture.

[bangerjim]

I have touted the "grease does not cause wrinkles" thing for several years now. It's an old wives' tale that got started countless decades ago and people are so afraid of grease, they never really tested it. They just assumed it did, but never used a hotplate, just sat the mold on the pot! Grease/oil does NOT cause wrinkles, cold molds do.

Anyone CAN easily test it!

You might have had an excess of oil in that 1st couple and the grease has to go somewhere! Usually heating to FULL casting temp will either drive it out or make it so thin the lead pour just pushes it out the vents immediately.

I use PAM as a release agent for casting hot melt glue boolits and do not clean my molds when going back to hot lead. I just wipe any excess of with a paper towel and if any excess is down in the groves, I use a Q-tip. That's all. No scrubbing and cleaning and cleaning and scrubbing like so many promote on here. And I have never cleaned a new mold.....get perfect drops from the 1st one.

The key is a HOT HOT HOT mold when you are starting. Buy that hotplate! The best investment you will ever make. It is as important as a mold and a lead pot.

Do what you feel is necessary. While you are scrubbing your molds, I will be casting perfect boolits!

bangerjim

[427smith]

ever over lube a sprue plate screw part way thru a casting session then 1 or 2 cavities turn to **** from lube migration.

[GhostHawk]

Liquid Wrench dry lube solves a lot of problems.

[MarkP]

ever over lube a sprue plate screw part way thru a casting session then 1 or 2 cavities turn to **** from lube migration.

I have experienced the same after lubing sprue plate and or lubing alignment pins while casting perfectly, after lubing wrinkles appeared. This was while using a thermo couple on mold blocks and temperature was being monitored.

[Mal Paso]

I smeared sprue plate lube so it got in the cavities just to see and no casting problems.

Get a drop of water in a mold however and pour in some lead, you should hear that mold Squawk.


First time a mold talked to me. Boolits look awful too. Ragged holes in the middle.

[Walter Laich]

I ran a test on a new Lee mold that had some kind of oil in it from the factory. No problems. First pour was wrinkled but rest were fine. Think I didn't have the mold all the way up to temp for first pour

[dudel]

It may look like I'm cleaning my new Lee molds with a Q-Tip. I'm really checking for burrs.

Kroil hasn't been a problem either. Wrinkles went away when the hot plate came in.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Depends on the mould... my noe 360-180 I got a little run off lubing my sprue plate and I could not get wrinkle free bullets again until I scrubbed it clean. My 400 grain .476 lee mould that I have leemented will give me un wrinkled bullets after about 3-4 pours from a dead cold mould dirty or clean, oily or dry.

[Dan Cash]

When an oily mould gets hot enough, oil turns to carbon. Result is similar to extremly heavy smoking of cavity. Check your bullet diameter.

[gwpercle]

Liquid Wrench dry lube solves a lot of problems.

Correct, my exact experiences. Q-Tip a film inside the cavities and they try to jump out , with no wrinkles.
I also use it topside and underside of sprue plate and top of blocks , lead doesn't stick .
Applying thin coat with a Q-Tip works much better than spraying a heavy coat.
All my first moulds were steel Lyman, you oiled them for storage . Next session you cast boolits until they started coming out well filled, usually 10 or 12 pours got it done. No big deal. I do prefer aluminum because of no rust and weight.
Gary

[MarkP]

My wrinkles were caused from synthetic 2-cycle oil. NOE aluminum and brass molds and an Accurate brass as well as a Lyman slug mold. It did eventually burn off but it took a while.

[reddog81]

I recently purchased a 6 cavity Lee mold that caused wrinkles for the first 200+ bullets. Prior to casting I cleaned the mold with mineral spirits. I wiped the mold down and let it dry for over a day. The first couple of drops were terrible even after pre-heating on a burner. The next couple of drops still had wrinkles. I took a break and looked into the mold and there was a brown film covering the cavities and block faces. I used a clean rag to wipe off what I could after letting the mold cool for a couple of minutes. It took another dozen+ drops to get non-wrinkled bullets. By the time I was casting bullets with 0 visible defects the 20 lbs pot had been half way drained. I took all the rejects and refilled the pot. Once everything got back up and running I was getting 6 perfect bullets every time and they would drop easily. I am certain the mold and pot were hotter than I normally run then and reduced the pot temperature once everything was good to go.

I have no idea if the mineral spirits caused the problems I was experiences or what was going on. Looking back I should have washed the mold with hot water and dishsoap like NOE recommends but I figured the mineral spirits would be fine especially since I was going to let it dry for over a day afterwards.

[toallmy]

Every once in a while , I touch a little bull plate lube , or bee's wax on the top of the blocks , and the spru plate bottom and top wile I'm casting and wipe it back off . But I may have a wrinkles afterwards if not careful . I just keep going until it cleans up , but I drop the cast bullets in a separate tray easier to find later .

[trixter]

So I have been using 2 cycle oil to lube pins and plate, if I change, what should I use? Is BULLPLATE a viable choice, what about others?

Thanks

[bangerjim]

I recently purchased a 6 cavity Lee mold that caused wrinkles for the first 200+ bullets. Prior to casting I cleaned the mold with mineral spirits. I wiped the mold down and let it dry for over a day. The first couple of drops were terrible even after pre-heating on a burner. The next couple of drops still had wrinkles. I took a break and looked into the mold and there was a brown film covering the cavities and block faces. I used a clean rag to wipe off what I could after letting the mold cool for a couple of minutes. It took another dozen+ drops to get non-wrinkled bullets. By the time I was casting bullets with 0 visible defects the 20 lbs pot had been half way drained. I took all the rejects and refilled the pot. Once everything got back up and running I was getting 6 perfect bullets every time and they would drop easily. I am certain the mold and pot were hotter than I normally run then and reduced the pot temperature once everything was good to go.

I have no idea if the mineral spirits caused the problems I was experiences or what was going on. Looking back I should have washed the mold with hot water and dishsoap like NOE recommends but I figured the mineral spirits would be fine especially since I was going to let it dry for over a day afterwards.

You problem was probably just one simple thing......a COLD MOLD! Buy a hot plate and cast perfect boolits from the 1st drop with a mold heated to FULL CASTING TEMP . . . . not just warm as it gets on the edge of your pot. That is totally olde school.

Pouring techniques can cause minor wrinkles also.

[bangerjim]

So I have been using 2 cycle oil to lube pins and plate, if I change, what should I use? Is BULLPLATE a viable choice, what about others?

Thanks

BullPlate is 2 cycle oil!

Getting it in the cavities will not hurt anything. I do it all the time. I use the blue stuff from WalMart that costs about $3 for a small bottle that will last me 3 lifetimes.

[toallmy]

Trixter you will probably get good bullets with the mold from now on . Just do as bangerjim suggested pre heat your mold .

[reddog81]

I had preheated the mold on a hot plate burner. I was casting hotter than I typically cast. I usually cast with the LEE pot set to 2. I was casting at 5. I cast at a fairly quick rate. I noted the preheating and hotter than normal casting temp in my post...

[bangerjim]

I had preheated the mold on a hot plate burner. I was casting hotter than I typically cast. I usually cast with the LEE pot set to 2. I was casting at 5. I cast at a fairly quick rate. I noted the preheating and hotter than normal casting temp in my post...

2????? OMG! Both my Lee 4-20 pots run at 6.5-7.5 all the time.

The setting is arbitrary, as the Lee t-stat is an indirect reading of pot temp, but I have never seen 2 used before to get good drops.

banger