Kroil: it was a half great idea for me

[milprileb]

I read the merits of Kroil on molds somewhere here. I used it first on ingot molds and the ingots flew out at light speed. That had me juiced to use it in molds.

Short Version of painful experience: Kroil in molds allowed bullets to fly out and drop like thunder. Unfortunately, all were wrinkled and continued to remain so till I had to stop casting and let mold cool.

It took a few hours of effort with carb / choke cleaner and Q tips to get all that Kroil from mold cavities. I would clean it and go heat up mold and cast only to find issues.

Eventually enough cleaning got the Kroil out and I smoked the mold cavities with matches and things got back to normal.

Kroil may work for others but on my Lee 6 cav. mold, it was NO CIGAR. Your mileage may vary and I am not attacking any proponent of Kroil on molds. Only reporting the drama and chaos that visited me this week.

I will go a bit further on Kroil. I got the stuff cause M1 match shooters for years said to use it 50% to Hoppes No.9 for a ultimate bore cleaning agent. I did for nearly a year and saw no difference than using pure Hoppes. I have heard pure Kroil will lift lead and fouling out of bores. I used pure Kroil in rifles and pistols and saw no difference over Hoppes or Breakfree CLP.

Kroil seems to be a great penetrating oil on nuts and bolts and screws and in this mission, it appears best suited per my experience.

When I read others expand upon the merits of Kroil, I often think about Marvel Mystery Oil and all the ills it claims to cure. Maybe it does but I am not going to chase that rainbow.:violin:

[Maven]

milprileb, Kroil in my molds was no cigar for me either.

[1Shirt]

It works for me, but is used very sparingly, on a cotton swab.
1Shirt!

[onondaga]

Kroil contains petroleum. I use no Petroleum products on my molds, ever. Sure some users just love it. Here is my reasoning not to use it : there is petroleum in kroil or brake cleaner or any solvent that has petroleum or petroleum distillates and it does creep into the surface of metal. Penetrating oils and solvents are designed to creep into the metal.When the metal is heated the petroleum heats and flows out of the metal. That puts oil in your mold and causes the standard oil in the mold problems when casting.

I find cleaning molds with hot water, Dawn dish washing liquid and a brush then following with petroleum of any kind just puts oil in the mold and regenerates the same problem. You won't fix your problem by cleaning your mold and then putting oil back into it.

I have not seen the ingredients listed for the products so many like here on the board for mold lubricating and wouldn't try them until I do and am sure there is no petroleum or petroleum distillates in them.

I use Clear Silicone Dielectric Grease and I also have some pure medical grade Silicone oil. These have zero petroleum and do the job foe me. Casting temperatures cannot bake, discolor or cake on silicone and make it sticky. You can over apply any mold lube and get it into a mold cavity and cause casting defects. I apply only enough to make a light microscopically thin shine on the mold anywhere I want and have no detrimental problems from petroleum EVER.

The same Silicone products are also great for a long term rust preventing coat on molds from steel or iron.

"Do not use petroleum in bullet molds" has previously been added to the commandments but some people are just contrary no matter what anybody says.

Gary

[williamwaco]

My experience with Kroil was also underwhelming. I bought it because of the rave reviews here.

I was really uneasy about trying it on a mold so I tried it to clean lead from a pistol barrel. It actually did it - removed the leading. I was surprised. It was not as effective however ( took more scrubbing ) than Casey Bore Scrubber or Barnes CR-10.

I wondered why it should be expected to work so I guessed it was penetrating between the lead and the steel. I don't know if that is correct but it prompted me to try WD-40. It worked just as well as Kroil in removing lead but also not as well as Casey Bore Scrubber or Barnes CR-10.

One (sorta) success prompted me to try it on a mold. I have a four cavity iron mold that sticks in cavity 2 when it gets too hot. I treated only that cavity very lightly with a Q-tip - moist but not wet with Kroil. I let it soak about ten minutes then wiped it with a dry Q-tip and started casting. As expected, the bullets popped right out, also as feared, they looked like prunes.

Bullets one through six were successively less wrinkled and bullet seven was perfectly formed. I was shocked to get good bullets that quick. Unfortunately, bullet seven was also stuck firmly in the cavity.

Well, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I consider this experiment a complete flop. ( I did learn that penetrating oil will do a passable job of removing leading.)

I set the open mold blocks over by the fan for the five minutes it takes to cool off and started casting again. There was no serious delay in the casting session and the mold is as good as ever.

[35remington]

Gary, I use brake and carb cleaner (Gumout) to degrease a mould and have not the slightest trouble with excellent mould fillout after using them.

Yes, it's derived from petroleum, but it's a solvent, not a grease or oil. Manufacture from petroleum does not preclude it from being a solvent that evaporates completely and leaves no trace to harm mould fillout. Excellent solvents for grease and oil are manufactured from petroleum every day.

No need for the tedium of dish soap and hot water. Rinse with Gumout, let dry or wipe away, cast.

Nothing is faster for degreasing a mould. Nothing else is necessary.

I would be happy to demonstrate, and a hundred dollar bill can ride on the outcome, any time, any place. No downside to their use, ever.

But I don't want to take your money.:D

Perhaps you'd best try it first, then condemn it later, if you can.

[captaint]

I do use Kroil in my molds, however, I apply when I am done casting with a particular mold.
I put it on with a Q tip, let it sit for a few hours and then Q tip it out , sorta like the Bullplate deal. Sorta..... If a mold has release issues, it's no cure all. I do believe though that it helps. Mike

[cbrick]

No Kroil for me either. I've read that thread a couple of times and just couldn't bring my self to put oil, least of all penetrating oil in my molds no matter what anyone else had to say about it. Once my molds are clean they stay that way.

From the thread I gathered that Kroil is supposed to make the bullets fall out easier. I'll suggest that if the bullets aren't coming out of a cavity its because there is a problem, a bur or something. Kroil would be the same as smoking a mold, rather than find and fix the problem simply cover it up.

No thanks, not for me.

Rick

[Ben]

There is NO WAY that I'd put Kroil in any of my molds !

[btroj]

I didn't spend time getting oil out of my mould just to put it back in. Not gonna happen in my moulds.

Brad

[onondaga]

Glad the Gumout works for you. I bet there is somebody out there that can get much worse results with it than you do.

Personally, I consider Gumout an explosive because the flashpoint is so low that if you laugh hard at it, it can take off. Additionally it gives me HIVES!!!! And an ASTHMA attack at the same time!!!! I suspect that somewhere in all those petroleum distillates in Gumout there is one that is, or is similar to, Myrrh, that I am highly allergic to. The couple of times I used Gumout years ago, once it exploded in my face, while following directions cleaning the Holley carbs I put into my tricked out 73 Trans AM .

Incidentally, I clean my Motorcycle carbs, off the bike, with a Mean Green scrub and then an air blast dry.

I also bet there is a lot of people out there that find soap and water does an excellent and easy job on boolit molds and they never worry about explosions or petroleum distillates soaking into their molds when cleaning them.

Gary

[btroj]

I have never used Gumout but that is because I don't have any. I have always used Comet because I have it on hand.
I would have no problem with Gumout. I am all for things that work.

I just can't see why anyone needs tout Kroil in a mould. I find clean moulds always work best.

Brad

[dragonrider]

I use soap and water, works for me. Nothing in the cavities but lead.

[gefiltephish]

I tried it recently on a brass mold. Didn't hurt, but didn't help one iota.

[Tom W.]

I'll spray the molds with RemOil, and have no problems...
But that's me....

[Ron in PA]

I Spray my molds with Mineral Spirits 66,and then with Acetone. No Problems. Ron

[gasboffer]

I didn't think Kroil would work in molds, I was right!

[milprileb]

So you all spray something into aluminum molds between casting sessions?

I do for iron molds but I was thinking not to do so for aluminum molds.

That said: old wives tales told me long ago was that all molds should be stored
with bullets in them from last cast with the mold.

Kroil set aside: can anyone tell me about aluminum molds and how I should keep them between casting sessions?

As always: I get a fair hearing on this board and I appreciate your assistance, patience and experience.

[doghawg]

I use Kroil for barrel cleaning but one attempt in a mold was enough for me.

[btroj]

I put nothing but lead in my moulds once they are clean. Not iron, not brass, not aluminum. The moulds all are stored in the house, rust doesn't seem to be an issue. Why put things into a clean mould if it means needing to clean it again?

[35remington]

Gary, can't see how anyone would do worse with Gumout than me because it's hardly a secret in how to use it. Hose down the mould, wipe off and let evaporate, which occurs quickly.

Cast well formed bullets thereafter. These solvents are quite volatile and evaporate completely leaving no bullet wrinkling residue.

I'd think it should be pretty obvious not to hose down a mould next to an ignition source. I don't let propane gasses build up before I light my grill, either.

Still have all my eyebrows.

[Flinchrock]

I too, fell for the kroil hype a while back, as a machinist for over three decades, I know that the reason boolits hang in cavities is that the cavity is a couple thou off center of the parting line, but I figured wth, can't hurt to try it. Wrong,,,it took quite a while to get that deep penetrating stuff out of those iron blocks! Normally I use a couple of acetone soaks to get the oil/preservative out of the mold and it's good to go. That time I had to use a 10-1 solution of "clear pink stuff" and water with a five minuite soak to clean the mold, and then I had to neutralize with a baking soda solution since CPS is an acid (weak). By the way that CPS will remove light rust, but you need to keep an eye on it, don't go to dinner with your family while your blocks are soaking or your mold might wind up "beagled" more than you want! found that out soaking some rusty parallels.Kroil is durn good at doing what it's designed to do, but treating iron boolit molds ain't one of them!

[cbrick]

So you all spray something into aluminum molds between casting sessions? I do for iron molds but I was thinking not to do so for aluminum molds.

Nope, nothing. Once you get them clean keep them that way. Store them in an air tight container.


That said: old wives tales told me long ago was that all molds should be stored with bullets in them from last cast with the mold.

Just that, an old wives tale. In fact keeping the bullet in the cavity could trap moisture and make things worse.


Kroil set aside: can anyone tell me about aluminum molds and how I should keep them between casting sessions?

Air tight container with the rest of your molds. Certainly no oil that needs would need more time & effort to remove. Again. And again, and again. Every time you cast? Use a desicant in an airtight container.

Rick

[Tom W.]

Uhhh, no. I put the RemOil on my RCBS molds. My Lee molds I leave the last boolit in and when it cools I put it back into the box. Been doing it since the "old wife" started the tale, I guess. Don't see any reason to stop now.