Mold problem

[Lefty SRH]

I'm new to casting and I've bought a new Lyman 4 cavity 358311. I used it one time and couldn't really get a good bullet out of it. I decided to try again tonight and I found that it had a little surface rust MAINLY on the outside. One cavity has a tiny speck in the nose portion.

Question: Whats the best way to protect a steel mold in a high humidity/constant temperature fluctuating environment? Do I use a silicon cloth like what you'd rub a blued gun down with? Or simply a light coat of WD-40? How do I take care of my steel molds?

[462]

You didn't say what was wrong with the boolits, but I'll take a guess and say they were wrinkled. If so: 1. The mould was cleaned properly, to get rid of the machining oils. 2. The mould wasn't hot enough. Let us know exactly and we can help.

As far as rust is concerned, I've used Kroil. Prior to casting, you'll have to thoroughly clean it.

[Ben]

WD-40 is near the bottom of the list for long term rust protection.
One of the best products you'll find anywhere for rust prevention is FluidFilm.

http://www.theruststore.com/Fluid-Film-1175-oz-Aerosol-P179C67.aspx?ctype=2&gclid=CLW_xKrjy6wCFZJS7AodbRR7rQ

Ben

[Le Loup Solitaire]

This is a long time used bullet of around 158 grains that has been a standard for the 38/357. It is relatively easy to cast, has a good crimp groove and large lube groove. If you are getting any wrinkling or poor fill-out it is due to either the mold not being thoroughly cleaned out of oil, preservative something or other that has hydrocarbon in it. It has to be completely gotten out of the cavities and off the faces of the blocks and the top of the blocks and the sprue cutter-top and botom. Some casters go to great lengths to do that including a trip to the dishwasher, soap and water with a toothbrush to scrub, or the use of various solvents. I use the latter; a bath in acetone or lacquer or paint thinner and a scrub with a toothbrush. I dry the mold with a hairdryer and then preheat it on an electric stove coil with the setting at 5(medium) for around 20 minutes. The reason that I use this method is that I store my molds by spraying or wiping them with a product called Cleanzoil and it has to be entirely removed. The same goes for any kind of oil or hydrocarbon based product. The other main reason for poor fill-out is the mold and/or melt/alloy temp being too cold. So turn the temp up...if you go too high you may get frosted bullets, but you can always back the temp off. A third possibility of course could be inadequate venting, but that is a separate topic. As for rust prevention on steel/iron molds there are lots of good ideas in use, ranging from dessicant style products, to tightly sealed GI ammo cans, rust inhibitor products etc. Do some search and reading on the subject. Especially in a high humidity situation you have to play hardball or else you will have a ruined mold in no time at all. Rust never sleeps and oil is cheaper than metal. If you want to kid around with silicon cloths or whatever is written on any old box...that's your call, but above all don't try to leave bullets cast in the cavities...that doesn't work at all. Some folks use WD-40 and wrap the stored mold tightly in saran wrap. Any oil or grease will preserve the mold as it cuts off the contact with air and moisture, while plastic wrap insures that, but again whatever you use directly on the mold has to be completely removed before trying to cast. LLS

[Lefty SRH]

This casting session went MUCH better.
The main problem before I suspect was I didn't clean it well so a lot of them were wrinkled and I thought I didn't have the mold hot enough. This time I wiped (q-tip) the cavities and the outside surface out with acetone and pre-heated a little under medium on the stove. A few were wrinkled still so I smoked the cavities and that seemed to help some. I got a lot a good bullets out of it this time and I'm much happier. Although some were "frosted", I'm not worried about that since there are mainly learning curve bullets/IDPA bullets for my GP100. I will definately be more maticluous when my .45 colt SAA 270 brass mold arrives. Just trying to get the basics down for now.
I was borrowing a buddies single cavity Lyman 358311 and it was casting AWESOME bullets. My 4 cavity seems to be a little more finicky. Time for bed and time to coat the mold for the next session.
Thanks

[shotman]

Kroil wont prevent rust. It will do good If you put it in a zip lock bag. But to leave it out in open it will rust. The silky kroil seems to prevent rust but it burns off too fast to use, as I do the reg Kroil for a release

[happy7]

I was borrowing a buddies single cavity Lyman 358311 and it was casting AWESOME bullets. My 4 cavity seems to be a little more finicky. Time for bed and time to coat the mold for the next session.
Thanks

It is not more finicky. It is just a learning curve. Every type of mold material casts a little different. Every size blocks casts a little different. Different bullet designs cast a little different. My first time casting with a Lyman four cavity mold was VERY frustrating. It took a while, but once you get the hang of it, you will cast great bullets most every time with ease.

If you are casting with wheel weight type alloy and your bullets are not at least a little frosted, they are not going to be consistently filled out. You don't want them to be glossy shiney for sure.

[Bad Water Bill]

When many of us started casting all we could afford was a SINGLE cavity mould. It was much easier to learn how to cast boolits with not to mention it is a lot easier on the wrist. The more cavities you have the heavier the mould and longer time to bring the mould up to temp.

As far as storing a mould for any amount of time wellll I had to put all my guns and stuff away for years and was fortunate to have found a product caller RIG. Here is the information

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/385501/rig-universal-gun-grease-12-oz-jar

After 20 years sitting there in a drawer 10 feet from the FISH ROOM with 100 tanks of tropical fish there was not one speck of rust or anything.

When I want to start casting I turn on the pot then select the moulds I want to use. I grab my trusty can of BREAKCLEAN and the moulds and head out of the house. Just a couple minutes and all of the preservative is removed and I can begin heating my moulds for casting.

Everyone has a slightly different way of doing things. None of these are bad any more than putting on the left shoe before the right one. Develop the system that works for YOU.

It looks like you are on the right track to a lot of fun over the next 40 or 50 years.

Keep us posted and ask a lot of questions and then ask some more. We all do.

[imashooter2]

Store them in an airtight box with an overuse of desiccant.

[MikeS]

For protecting a mould from rust, I use Lee's Liquid Alox. It's sold by Lee to use as a boolit lube for tumble lubing, but it's original purpose is as a rust preventative. I've found that after casting, while the mould is slightly warm I'll give it a good coating of LLA, and once the mould is cool I wipe it down to remove excess, so there's a very thin coating that's barely noticeable, and the next time I go to cast with that mould, I don't bother removing the LLA coating, just pre-heat the mould, and cast like normal. It doesn't cause wrinkled boolits like an oil based rust preventative could if not removed, and it works really well as a rust preventative.

If you have a mould that's gotten rusty, the best product to remove the rust easily, and safely is a water based rust remover called Evapo-Rust. Just soak the mould in it for between an hour, and overnight (if the rust is really bad), and when you take the mould out, it will look great! But you have to be careful to coat the mould with a rust preventative right away, as if you don't, you can get surface rust real quick. Another warning, it WILL remove blueing, so be careful if using it on a gun or gun part!

[old turtle]

I take the mold apart and wipe everything with Marvel Mystery Oil. I then put the mold back together and store in a plastic box. Works ever time for me here in Florida.

[OuchHot!]

I store my molds in air-tight boxes with vpi paper.

[DeanWinchester]

Buy an aluminum or bass mold. :)

[MtGun44]

Ammo box and dessicant.

Bill

[rintinglen]

Ammo box and dessicant.

Bill

+1 When I lived inland, it didn't matter much, we seldom had much in the way of moisture. Here near the coast, I was chagrinned to find that molds left out over night in the shed were developing rust spots. I just wish I had the room to pull off the set up thar CBrick uses.

[Lefty SRH]

I've also noticed that the bullets have a more pronounced "seem", casting line, the line you see is the side of each half. Don't really know what to call it.
And the bullets aren't round. They are dropping, the same boolit, .357-.359 and .358-.360. I'm not sure if I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill. But the mold I borrowed (a single cavity 358311 Lyman) dropped a beautiful boolit. This 4 banger, I haven't been too impressed with yet.
Any suggestions?

[41 mag fan]

You got any bits of lead on the mold by chance?
I've heard, don't know if its true or not, but te QC on the Lyman molds have went down hill in recent yrs.
Buy a mold off of NOE and you'll never buy from anyone else. I know I'm an avid customer of his. I got my 4th NOE mold coming in this friday.
Mihec makes really good molds too, I just hate the wait of it being shipped overseas.

[grubbylabs]

Buy an aluminum or bass mold. :)

You beat me to it. A quality aluminum or brass mold is a joy to use. I just started using brass and also just received my first 4 cavity, It took a little bit but before I new it I had and empty pot and a pile of really nice boolits.

[Lefty SRH]

You got any bits of lead on the mold by chance?
I've heard, don't know if its true or not, but te QC on the Lyman molds have went down hill in recent yrs.
Buy a mold off of NOE and you'll never buy from anyone else. I know I'm an avid customer of his. I got my 4th NOE mold coming in this friday.
Mihec makes really good molds too, I just hate the wait of it being shipped overseas.

I've got a MiHec mold coming for one of my .45 colts. It looks like there may be 2-3 tiny specks of lead on the mold. I tried getting them off but it wouldn't come off. How do you get them of with out dinging the sharp cavity edges?

[Tumble Bug]

Many years ago I acquired an old guitar and tried to pay it. It didn't sound good.
Wasn't any thing "wrong" with the guitar....... It was just that I had go thru the
learning curve. That done the old guitar sounded much better.

Although there may be some issue with your 4 cavity there just might be a bit of
a learning curve required. For the most part, I agree with the advice given in each
of preceding posts. It was good advice.

A few additional pointers:

1. Although there is more than one thing that can cause wrinkles the most common thing is cold molds.

2. Aluminum and brass molds heat up quicker than cast iron ones. There is nothing wrong with cast iron...... it just takes longer to heat up.

3. Small molds (single cavity) heat up much faster than larger molds (4 cavity)

4. A 140-150 bullet is small compared to a 250 grain. When you first start casting the molds may not be up to temperature. They can heat up as you go by absorbing heat from the molten lead that you pour into them. If you are casting "little" bullets the molds will heat up at a slower rate than if you are casting "big" bullets.

5. You are casting little bullets (140-150 grn) in a big mold (4 cavity) in cast iron (the heat up slow material). There is not one thing wrong with that combination it's just gonna take longer. Be patient with the molds and take time to "enjoy" the learning curve that you are going through. It is an adventure!

6. If your bullets are bright and shiny with wrinkles, then your molds are cold.

7. If your bullets are bright and shiny without wrinkles, every thing is just right.

8. If your bullets are bright and shiny without wrinkles but all of the corners are not completely filled out, then you don't have enough TIN in your alloy.

9. If your bullets are just a little frosted, you are getting a little on the hot side but you may still be in the "OK" range.

10. If your bullets are in the "totally frosted" zone, then you have gotten too hot.

11. If when you pour your first mold it takes more than a few seconds for the lead to solidify, then you excessively pre-heated your molds. Let them cool down before preceding.

12. If you are casting with lead that is more than 700 degrees F. You are too hot. Get a thermometer!

13. Based on what I heard so far, there is "most likely" nothing "wrong" with your mold.

Enjoy the process of learning...... before long your old guitar will sound much better.

[Tumble Bug]

I've got a MiHec mold coming for one of my .45 colts. It looks like there may be 2-3 tiny specks of lead on the mold. I tried getting them off but it wouldn't come off. How do you get them of with out dinging the sharp cavity edges?

I recommend Brownells J-B non-embedding bore cleaning compound. Use with only a soft cloth to scrub the affected area. May take a bit of scrubbing but the compound is gentle, won't hurt the mold surface and will "dissolve" the lead.

Works like a camp!

In you back yard...... in Winchester, TN

[grubbylabs]

Thanks for the suggestion. I know I did not ask for it but I need it as well.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Most casters clean off smears and lead spots by heating and then vigorously rubbing with a piece of burlap/rough cloth. Another method which works hot or cold is to rub the smear (works on top of the blocks and the underside of the sprue plate too), with the sharp corner of a lead ingot. The smear sticks to the ingot corner. Of course a razor blade can work but you have to be ultra careful to not scratch the surface of the blocks or sprue cutter and more often than not that is exactly what happens. I would stay with one of the first 2 methods. Anything (like a smear, etc,) that keeps the blocks from closing completely will cause oval/out of round bullets and variations in/of bullet diameters. There is a tendency on the part of casters to get "mechanical" and "fall asleep at the wheel"....one has to pay attention to what is going on and watch for any irregularity that appears. As with many other things, practice always makes for better results. LLS

[SSGOldfart]

I'm using Rig#2 comes in a spray can easy to clean off later

[Tumble Bug]

Sorry I didn't pay enough attention when I made my original post. I use the Brownells J-B non-embedding bore cleaning compound on my cast iron molds. I have no idea how it may react with aluminum or brass molds so beware.

The Brownells J-B non-embedding bore cleaning compound was designed to remove lead from barrels that have become leaded. It is not like other compounds that require it be cleaned up immediately due to the risk of eating up the barrel. This stuff just works on the lead and does not hurt the steel barrel. Again.... It works great on my cast iron molds.