Acne Scars?

[Old Ironsights]

I cast up a bunch of boolits from a new 2 cav mould last night.

A little less than 1/3 of them look like a bad day at the Reservation Dermatologist - mostly on the nose, not so much on the bands.

The alloy was 3/1 and fluxed.

I don't get it...

[masscaster]

Is this a Steel/Iron mould Old?
If it is I can help, Aluminium won't hold up to the treatment I use to get rid of this problem.

Jeff @ Forefather's

[Trey45]

Could be oil in the mold.
Could be impurities in the water, if you water drop.
Could be too much chocolate, it's known to cause acne ;)
Could be a mold imperfection.
Could be a lead temperature issue.

[Old Ironsights]

Brand new Brass mould. It's not specific to any cavity. It's not consistant.

I had 48/174 with acne, but otherwise OK (no wrinkles).
I had 39/174 with non-specific casting errors (wrinkles, etc - most acceptable plinkers, a few discards)

I had 87/174 (50%) that were "good".

The look for all the world like dirt was suspended in the melt... but it was happening throughout the pour, not just at the end of the melt... (bottom pour furnace)

[44man]

Brand new Brass mould. It's not specific to any cavity. It's not consistant.

I had 48/174 with acne, but otherwise OK (no wrinkles).
I had 39/174 with non-specific casting errors (wrinkles, etc - most acceptable plinkers, a few discards)

I had 87/174 (50%) that were "good".

The look for all the world like dirt was suspended in the melt... but it was happening throughout the pour, not just at the end of the melt... (bottom pour furnace)
I hate to say it! :bigsmyl2: A ladle would have given you 174 perfect boolits.

[RayinNH]

Wow, brass moulds are top shelf too. Maybe try emptying the pot, clean it then try a new batch of alloy just to weed out that variable...Ray

[docone31]

Either drop in some Kitty Litter, or some sawdust. Let it float while you cast.
Before that, drop in some NoKorrode flux, found in the hardware store.
Crank up the heat.

[sheepdog]

I have this happen to me alot cause I only own used moulds. Clean your mould out with a good degreaser and and old toothbrush (wont hurt a soft mound) then wash it and let it dry over your pot where it will evaporate quickly.

[looseprojectile]

Betcha ain't got the mould hot enough yet, to drive off the oils and solvents.
If I had a brass mould I would be careful with it also.
I always suspect dirt in my melt if I get specks, if wrinkled I suspect dirt and oil in the mould. If they come out clean and wrinkled the melt and or mould is not hot enough. Or add a little tin.
Three of what and one of what?

Life is good

[JMtoolman]

Sounds like your melt is dirty, always flux three times before casting. Stir and scrape the pot with a pine stick and skim. Always works for me when I cast dirty bullets. The toolman

[anachronism]

I used to get that a lot with certain moulds when I used a bottom pour. As near as I could figure it out, they were tiny air bubbles, likely caused by the alloy getting aerated as the mould filled. I would cast one bad one by bottom pour, then pick up the ladle & pour the next one perfectly. I would melt one of the bad bullets down in a clean ladle, floating on the top of the alloy, but no dirt or contaminants ever floated to the surface.

[jsizemore]

OI, When I got my last new 4 cavity mold, I cleaned with Brakleen and it took about 20 casts for the wrinkles to go away. Probably should have boiled it in to get the oil out but I didn't mind casting and getting to know the mold and how it felt. Just dumped each cast back in the pot. No big deal, I cast for fun not to be efficient.

Now for the acne. I dicovered no matter what temp or pace that I cast at, my first boolit would have a little acne. Didn't hurt anything. Shot into the same group, but it bothered me. So I tried a few things and the one that made it go away was I started the pour before I put the mold under the spout. I tried leaving the stream going when I stuck the mold into the stream and I also stopped it before I put the mold under the spout and restarted the stream. Either way #1 boolit looked just like the others. Acne gone. I think what was going on was that #1 cavity got poured first and by the time it was poured again the mold was at it's lowest temp. Also the spout had had a chance to cool and #1 cavity was being cast at a relatiely lower temp then the other cavities. Could be I don't know what I'm talking about and just by dumb luck I stumbled on a solution. You know, blind hog and an acorn. Maybe it will help, gives you some more things to try.

[jcwit]

Are your bullets going thru puberty? Just a thought.

[runfiverun]

how much tin is in your mix?
i would still suspect oxides in your alloy. or just grunged around the stem.

[leadman]

Are you using Marvelux? I had similar problems when I way using it.

From what I could tell the Marvelux crystals were suspending in the melt even if stirred well. If I fluxed then let the pot sit for 15 minutes or so there would be alot of debris on the top. I would skim this off and the boolits would cast good then.

I no longer use Marvelux.

[shotman]

Well Kroil works. set mold on bottom and let lead drop in. Be carefull of the kind of flux you use with a brass mold, you may have a perment brass boolit

[Bret4207]

I suggest you start of with a very,very thorough cleaning. "Acne scars" have always been the result of oils or some contaminant in the mould for me, what ever it is it seems to release a gas that is trapped by the alloy and makes the scar. Wrinkles mean the moulds not hot enough.

Get the mould really clean and get it hotter, you should get good boolits.

And I agree with Shotman, I wouldn't use a plumbing flux (especially No-Korode, which does corrode) around brass.