Best way to clean a new Mould?

[Meatco1]

Hello:

I'm looking for some advice on cleaning new moulds. How do you clean off that goop that comes all over new Lyman molds?

I just bought a 4 cavity Lyman 429421, and it is really sticky!!

Thanks,

Richard

[Buckshot]

.............Put it in a suitable plastic container and boil a pot of water. Pour it slowly into the container, and just before you're done pouring add some dish detergent. Kind of swish it around and let it set awhile. Come back in 10-15 minutes and with an old toothbrush scrub it well in the cavities and block faces. Rinse it well in hot water. Take it out and let it dry. Smoke the cavities and pour in the hot alloy.

..............Buckshot

[Meatco1]

Hello Buckshot:

Won't that won't cause rust, when it's air drying??

Thank you,

Richard

[James C. Snodgrass]

It ought to dry pretty quick and not rust as long as it's hot.

[mtgrs737]

I can tell you from experiance that you do not want to leave a cleaned mould unprotected for very long after you are done casting with it. I cam close to ruining a brand new four cavity 429421 by letting it sit for a week with out oiling it, it had surface rust on all surfaces. It did clean up pretty well with much elbow grease and a bit of swearing.

[beanflip]

I used brake cleaner and a tooth brush

[montana_charlie]

For a mould that is truly 'squeaky clean', a session in an ultrasonic cleaner is the best I've found.
A 2% solution of Micro 90 (for iron) or Surface-Cleanse/930 (for aluminum) will leave 'em totally bare of contaminants.
A hot water rinse, drying over the kitchen range, sparing lubrication (with an actual lubricant), and reassembly, provides a mould that you can trust to perform at the best level it's capable of.

CM

[Naphtali]

Try Simple Green.

[montana_charlie]

I had a PM from a member in which he said, "Hello Montana Charlie:
I have a fairly good sized UltraSonic cleaner (cleans 100+ 06 cases each round), but thought it would stip off any protective coatings that might be on these moulds."

Because others my wonder about protecting a 'squeaky clean' mould from the elements, I'll add this...

You are correct. The ultrasonic will leave the mould metal unprotected, but most guys will also strip off 'protective coatings' from every firearm-related device they get...including guns...and replace them with products kept for that purpose.

After cleaning a mould in an ultrasonic unit, you do need to be quick with your lubrication and application of protection.

For the outside of the mould and both sides of the sprue plate, I use spray-on graphite...which has the added bonus of keeping lead from sticking to surfaces. For pivot points, alignment pins, and the threads of all screws, I lubricate with microscopic quantities of anti-sieze compound. These are applied during the reassembly, after the hot water rinse and drying.

The mould faces and the cavity get no coating of anything...whether it's iron or aluminum...but I go straight to casting after prepping the mould.

Using the mould to cast with seems to make the unprotected surfaces take on a quality that keeps rust from forming (for a certain length of time) in the dry climate I live in. If the mould will be unused for more than a week (or so) I oil it generously...and do the ultrasonic thing again for the next session.

CM

[dromia]

MC have you any experience of a Micro 90 solution on its own for mould cleaning, without the ultrasonic do dah?

[sundog]

Rust on a mould is good..., in moderation. I've even blued moulds to get them to cast better. Here's the thing. If you are going to go through all the gyrations to clean it, take it apart, and then clean it. While it's apart, hone the bottom of the sprue plate after honing the sprue holes. The holes that the sprue plate screw and it's set screw need to be cleaned to, or oil in them will migrate back out when heated. All the more reason to 'lee-ment' a lee mould.

[hyoder]

Boil boil the mold in water with a little dish detergent, scrub it with a tooth brush or similar, rinse it in hot water, assemble it, hang it on the side of your melting pot while heating up the pot or set it on a hot plate. When everything gets hot, cast 'till you can't. Let the mold cool down until its just good and warm to the touch then coat it with whatever you like as a protectant - I happen to use WD40. Store it in a safe, dry place. Next time you cast, do it again. Some folks think all this takes too long. If you are in a hurry, you started too late.

[miestro_jerry]

Montana Charlie,

I got samples of that stuff, haven't tried it yet, but it looks promising. After I smoke the mold once, I leave them that way, many of my steel molds, I just keep the last casting in them. That seems to work for me.

Jerry

[Meatco1]

Thanks Guys:

Some good information here and I appreciate all the advice. As a beginner, in the kindergartener stage of this casting stuff, I need all the help I can get.

Thanks again

Richard

[montana_charlie]

MC have you any experience of a Micro 90 solution on its own for mould cleaning, without the ultrasonic do dah?
Micro 90 is touted to be effective without the do dah.

However, since it appears to be a type of non-sudsing 'detergent', I don't know if it would be much more effective than dishwashing liquid...when the ultrasonic 'scrubbing bubbles' are absent.
CM