clean w. toothpaste???

[currahee1911]

Howdy,

Guy at the range is telling me that he cleans his Lee aluminum molds w. toothpaste and an electric toothbrush!

Never heard that one. Any experience or opinions?

All input appreciated.

Thanks,
C.

[Bulldogger]

Seems possible, but the powdered calcium carbonate (chalk) typically in toothpaste as a mild abrasive could be a bad idea over time.

I say, use whatever works.

BDGR

[sqlbullet]

I polish the cavities on new lee two cavity molds with a bullet cast from the mold, coated with toothpaste and chucked up to a drill by a wood-screw shank. But that is a one time occurance.

[.22-10-45]

Before J-B compound came about, I had read of benchresters using whitening T.P. for bore cleaning. I had a tiny bump in buttstock finish..didn't want anything drastic to scratch..used a bit of Pepsodent on thick piece of felt..polished it right out!

[smokemjoe]

Back in the 60s when I lived out in the sticks and had no money , I used tooth past to clean my rifles bore with, It worked good.

[fcvan]

I had a gunsmith tell me he used pearl drops to 'break in' new 1911 pistols. He would strip down the weapon, contact points were given a drop of pearl drops and fired for 50 rounds. None was applied to the sear. After that, the weapon was stripped down, cleaned, and lubed normally. All surfaces were 'worn in' and mated. I saw one new gun given this treatment and it was cycling and shooting like a match gun afterwards. I told another smith about this and he took a new revolver and gave it the same treatment. The weapon afterwards fired like one of the older range guns that had many thousands of rounds through it.

[MtGun44]

Waste of time. This isn't jewlery for pete's sake.

I scrub Lee molds with Comet and a toothbrush for a couple minutes.
Removes small burrs (larger ones need careful hand removal) and REALLY cleans
off the gunk that keeps it from casting well.

Bill

[uscra112]

As a kid I read about using Colgate to lap in model airplane engines. Worked. I could wear out a Thimble Drome .049 in about half an hour with it.

[btroj]

I have scrubbed many Lee moulds with a toothbrush and Comet. Never caused a problem. I don't put it on bullets and spin it in the cavities though.
Be intelligent and it is pretty hard to damage a mould. Do something stupid and it isn't tough at all.

[warf73]

I have used toothpast to polish up a few Lee molds, just make sure you rinse the mold off in mouthwash.

[casterofboolits]

I use "BarKeeps Friend" to clean and then use Dawn dish soap to remove all residue. Works great.