Insects killed my 9mm mold.

[Elkins45]

So I've started casting again after a 10 year hiatus. My molds were stored outside in an unheated/cooled shed with all my other casting gear. I went to get my 6 cavity 9mm Lee mold only to discover that mud daubers or some other sort of insects had packed the cavities with mud and egg casings.

I tried to scrub them out with Simple Green and a toothbrush, but preliminary results make me thing the stuff in the cavities has eroded the aluminum surface. My bullets looked like total **** when I tried to cast some from a bottom pour furnace. I'm normally a ladle caster, so that may be part of the problem, but it doesn't look good.

Moral of the story: store your aluminum molds in a sealed box or plastic bag. Damned insects!

[ANeat]

You may be able to lap them out to a point and save it. If all else fails they are still good for a core mold or something.

Certainly not "trash"

[cheese1566]

Yep, by all means don't trash it or toss it!
Someone here (like me!) loves to tinker and would gladly take it off your hands, even trade for some lead.

Try lapping it with Comet using the Lee-menting methods.

[hiram]

Don't use simple green on aluminum

[ihmsakiwi]

Don't use simple green on aluminum



Yikes, Why not?

I wash my aluminium boat with it all the time. Should I stop??

[Shiloh]

Yep, by all means don't trash it or toss it!
Someone here (like me!) loves to tinker and would gladly take it off your hands, even trade for some lead.

Try lapping it with Comet using the Lee-menting methods.

Lee-Menting with Comet has made two of my stubborn molds drop boolits with nothing more than a gentle tap. Works GREAT!!

Shiloh

[hiram]

http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing-product-discussion/59319-simple-green-aluminum-embrittlement.html

http://www.simplegreen.com/solutions_faqs.php?search_query=aluminum&search_query_backup=danger

extreme simple green is for aluminum

[Tom_et]

I've also been told simple green and aluminum don't like one another
But I know coated aluminum(siding) does fine with it
could be a wifes tail


Tom

Edited and here is a caption from the above arti.


Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green® on aluminum?
When used with caution and according to the instructions, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner has been safely and successfully used to clean aluminum. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Crystal Simple Green® Cleaner/Degreaser, Simple Green Pressure Washer Concentrates, and Pro Series™ Simple Green® Automotive Cleaner have been used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green® product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

[madsenshooter]

Those nasty insects! They're little wasps, about the size of black ant. Like you, my equipment was out in an unheated garage for a long time. They love round holes. Their nests are everywhere in my stuff. I've got a model 96 Krag that must've been out where the vermin could get to it before I bought it, it had a nest in the muzzle. Bought a Stevens barrel/receiver off ebay back when you could get gun parts there, it had a nest in the chamber. I suppose the little vermin serve some purpose, but I haven't figured it out yet.

[MT Gianni]

Bring the mold up to temp and let them flux the pot.

[HORNET]

Well, at least it was just a 9 mm and not something useful :kidding:(that ought to wind somebody up)

[jsizemore]

Got to find something to dissolve wasp spit.
The first thing I'd try is to simmer the mold in water and dishwashing soap. Most everybody has both those. Next I'd try soaking in denatured alcohol. If you put in an old jar, you should be able to see any progress and it won't leave any residue. If those don't work, I'd soak it in automatic transmission fluid. The valve bodies in the transmissions clean up pretty easy. I'd be careful about brushing dirt around in an aluminum mold cuz it might scratch it. After the transmission fluid, put it back in the alcohol and soak the transmission fluid out. Good luck.

[Freightman]

I suppose the little vermin serve some purpose, but I haven't figured it out yet.[/QUOTE]
There purpose is to kill the bore worms that eat the peaches and apple trees, they also control spiders, and aphids.

[Scrapper]

Polish it with Simichrome.

[Canuck Bob]

Well, at least it was just a 9 mm and not something useful :kidding:(that ought to wind somebody up)

I have to agree, those useless handguns of any caliber. The only purpose for a handgun is to get you to your rifle!

Now we might get some winding going. :coffeecom

[Canuck Bob]

Not much of a problem this far north, -40 is good for bug control. Their too smart to live here! However the little devils have crippled the instrument system on many airplanes. They love the pitot tubes.

[looseprojectile]

They are the only thing left to pollinate the vegetables and fruit here in the northwest since the honey bees died off.
I make homes for them by drilling hundreds of holes part way through a board and hang them up in a covered place.
The demise of the honey bee is a serious problem and expensive.
The price of a hive of bees has gone through the roof in the last five years.
I hope that you can restore your moulds.
I put tape of some kind over any holes that I don't want them to fill.

Life is good

[Elkins45]

Well, at least it was just a 9 mm and not something useful :kidding:(that ought to wind somebody up)

Actually they are for .357 Sig, which compares to a standard 9mm in diameter only. These need to be really good bullets to stand up to what a necked-down 40 can do to them.

[Multigunner]

Those nasty insects! They're little wasps, about the size of black ant. Like you, my equipment was out in an unheated garage for a long time. They love round holes. Their nests are everywhere in my stuff. I've got a model 96 Krag that must've been out where the vermin could get to it before I bought it, it had a nest in the muzzle. Bought a Stevens barrel/receiver off ebay back when you could get gun parts there, it had a nest in the chamber. I suppose the little vermin serve some purpose, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Mud daubers must love Krags for some reason. I've read of a string of Krag kabooms in the Philpines that had ordnance stumped till they found that a local species of mud dauber was to blame. The industrious little tikes could plug a bore near the muzzle in short order if left unattended.
One insurgent is said to have escaped custody when he saw that the guard's Krag had a nest in its muzzle, when the guard fired his barrel split.