Cleaning up rusted smelting tools

[oneMOA]

I have several Lyman ingot moulds, the four cavity, one lb size. They have some rust on the inside and I wondering if grit blasting in my blast cabinet would be a problem. Certainly it would clean up the ingot moulds, but would there be grit imbeded in the cast iron from the blasting process which would find their way into my RCBS furnace and wind up in my boolits. I also have a couple of ladles in the same rusty condition.

What are your thoughts on sand blasting ingot moulds and smelting gear.......good or bad?

[CastingFool]

The ladles, yes, but definitely no grit blasting on the inside of the molds.

[Bullwolf]

I find a light coat of rust to be an excellent mould release agent when using cast iron.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0caa9eb68.jpghttp://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0de87c371.jpg

Obviously there is a fine line between a light coat of rust, and simple neglect. I have stored this mini muffin pan outside for over 25 years, and it's starting to look a bit ragged around the edges. Still makes nice ingots, and they simply fall right out of the pan.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0eaeb722d.jpghttp://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0ec2500c9.jpg


If it really bothers you... You can replace the media in your blasting cabinet with something else like corn cob, or walnut shells, short grained rice, or sugar and blast them down to bare metal again. They would likely just rust again shortly after blasting anyways.

Just be real careful of condensation before pouring into the ingot moulds. I like to pre-heat my ingot moulds, or even flame them with a torch before using so I don't get any tinsel fairy visits while pouring ingots.

Try using them in their current rusty condition, and afterwards store them indoors instead of outdoors.

All that being said, I really would not worry about it.


- Bullwolf

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

What Bullwolf said. Don't bother removing rust off of smelting molds.

[theperfessor]

I would make sure there is no loose flake rust to get caught up in melt, but a thin coat of rust (iron oxide) does not harm and may actually make release easier.

[MrWolf]

I purposely left my corn bread moulds and rcbs moulds out to rust. Never had a release issue.

[SSGOldfart]

Dip them in evopo-rust then rinse after a couple of hours,,dry them out well before using then coat with a lightweight oil

[monadnock#5]

I'd like to reiterate the warning Mr. Bullwolf offered about moisture hiding in the rust. Very, very disconcerting to say the least, to hear the POP!! and feel the burn. If you can't keep the moisture out, make sure that you wear your PPE.

[alamogunr]

All my equipment for cleaning up scrap lead has a coat of rust. Since I don't have it on display, I don't worry about it. I just set it in the sun to dry out before using because the rust will absorb moisture. It usually is only enough to cause a sizzle when lead is poured and the mold is dry after the first pour.