help! I may have ruined my new Accurate Mold!

[gofastman]

I was cleaning off my new accurate mold and the cleaning solution i used must have had something caustic in it. now it has what look like little warts all over it, they are little white crystals.

any ideas how to clean it off?
lemi-shine?
citric acid brass cleaner?
flitz?

[GLL]

What was your "cleaning solution" ?
Before you get aggressive wash it again in VERY HOT water and Dawn detergent. Scrub lightly at first with toothbrush. See if the crystals are soluble.

Jerry

[cbrick]

Yikes! What did you use to clean it? Are these white crystal warts on the mold or does it look like it has pitted the mold?

I have used citric on molds but on iron molds, never tried it on brass & don't know what it would or wouldn't do. Somebody here will know.

Rick

[John Boy]

any ideas how to clean it off? Put the mold in an ultra sonic cleaner unless the mold is pitted in the cavities

[R.M.]

From past experience, I know not to use dish-washing soap to clean an aluminum mold.

[gofastman]

I thought it was Simple green PRO HD which I have used in the past with great results, its non corrosive and safe for all surfaces.
the crystals aren't water soluble, but on the up side it doesn't look like the cavities have been pitted or damaged

the mold is aluminum.

[longbow]

Personally I would avoid using anything other than a solvent like Varsol or brake cleaner on a mould. I know many use hot water and dishwashing detergent and that may be fine as long as the mould is dried thoroughly right after. Iron moulds rust and both brass and aluminum corrode quite easily when exposed to many water based chemicals. Also, don't kid yourself about aluminum and brass moulds not "rusting" ~ the screws and sprue plate are steel and will rust if not protected or kept dry. A rusted sprue plate will ruin the top of an aluminum or brass mould quickly.

Back to your question, if you used a water based cleaning solution then I would take GLL's suggestion and scrub in hot water and detergent with a toothbrush or other soft bristled brush (do not use a bronze or brass bristle brush!). Dry thoroughly after and lube steel parts. I would not use any aggressive cleaning solution, especially one with ammonia or any sort of acid in it including vinegar or citric acid.

Water (with or without MILD detergent) won't hurt your mould if it is dried and lubricated after.

Mineral spirits/Varsol will not hurt your mould. Some petroleum based solvents and some brake cleaners have chlorinated compounds in them that may not be good on brass or aluminum.

WD40 will not hurt your mould and it also makes a not bad cleaning solvent to remove "guck".

Good luck! Your Accurate mould will be a gem once cleaned up.

My $0.02 worth.

Longbow

[OuchHot!]

I don't know about Pro HD but the run of the mill simple green will attack aluminum. It has some quartenary ammonium ions that are bad news...great for cleaning most things but its hell on cast wheels if you let it sit a while. Short exposure seems ok.

[GLL]

I was assuming the mold was brass ! I still use Dawn on aluminum but clean, rinse, and dry all in one or two minutes time.

Jerry

[fredj338]

I just use something like Gunscrubber & a tooth brush to clean any mold, no issues. Maybe mineral spirits?

[gofastman]

I think I got it back to working status!
I soaked it in mineral spirits overnight and then cleaned it with PPC Real Wheel Cleaner
this removed most of the corrosion and gunk.

[cbrick]

I think I got it back to working status!

Great news, I'll bet this caused a panic sick to your stomach feeling. Now you can chalk it up to a learning experience with no harm, no foul. :mrgreen:

Rick

[SP5315]

gofastman, that's good news. Be careful when cleaning aluminum or brass molds. Any cleaning agent that contains ammonia will attack both aluminum and brass.

Aluminum reacts with base solutions. My guess is that the cleaning solution used contained some ammonia and reacted with the aluminum mold to form aluminum hydroxide. So the overall effect would be to damage the finish.

[Springfield]

That's why I just cast and let the hot lead take care of any oil on the mould. Takes longer but works fine. Then lube with Bullshop.

[leadman]

I only use the original Simple Green for cleaning anything now. The Pro stuff will remove anodizing or plating from plastic and aluminum. Will also turn brass black if left on long enough.
The various purple soap cleaner will clean an aluminum mold but do not leave it on the surface very long. Spray, scrub, rinse.
At work a long time ago I put an a/c evaporator core from a garbage truck that the fins were completed plugged in a pail of the purple soap and went to break. When I came back there was white foam going out onto the floor. Part of the fins were gone!
I have never had paint thinner or brake cleaner damage a mold.

[nanuk]

I put an aluminum canner in the dishwasher... came out same way, all speckled with white crystals.

I cleaned part of it with aluminum polish. the rest I left as it was not affecting the operation.

I'm not sure what was in the detergent (phosphates? or lyes?) but I sure found out aluminum and dishwashers don't mix.

for all my moulds, either plain water with one drop of liquid dish soap in the ultrasonic, or hot water/soap and a toothbrush, followed by immediate drying and heating in an oven to 200F to ensure dry, then lube!

[bigboredad]

I would contact Tom he will advise the best for cleaning and if your mold is OK. His customer service is one of the best in the business

[kweidner]

yikes. glad it worked out. I only have a couple custom molds. they cast so much better than anything else. All are aluminum. I shall remember this.

[MtGun44]

Moderate scrubbing with Comet and toothbrush works well.

Bill

[zuke]

You learned something and also taught us all a new fact.

[cajun shooter]

Dawn and a toothbrush is all that is needed to clean any new mould.
I have used this process with all types of moulds with no ill effects. We get to see how well Dawn works every time we have a oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the only product that they will use on live animals to clean all the oil off of them.

[bigboredad]

I have never had to clean a accurate mold if they are pretty heated properly they will drop perfect bullets right from the get go

[10x]

Any cleaning liquid with sodium hydroxide in it will react with aluminum.
I used to make hydrogen by tossing tin foil into a lye solution. The tinfoil disappeared.

When I was a kid the neighbor was rebuild a VW engine. He heard from someone that if he mixed up a tide / lye solution in a wash tub he could clean the engine block.
So he mixed up the solution and tossed the crankcase halves into the solution - overnight. Apparently overnight was too long as it destroyed them.

Be careful that whatever you use to clean does not have NaOH in it - that kills aluminum.

[tomme boy]

Did you ever take a picture?

Every mold I have got from him has had these little specs on it after casting. They eventually they disappear after about 10 casting sessions. They are little specs allover the cavities.

[krems]

Glad to hear your mould is saved. I think I'll stick to dawn and water to clean out the moulds followed by a good scrubbing and rinse with iso-alcohol. Never had a problem yet as I dry thoroughly with a hair dryer afterwards.

Krems

[Willbird]

From past experience, I know not to use dish-washing soap to clean an aluminum mold.

I have cleaned every aluminum mold I own at least once with Dawn or other dish washing soap...never harmed a single one, in fact it made them work much better.