I may have stumbled onto somthing

[PacMan]

I set out yesterday to give a couple of my alm. molds a muchly need cleaning.I give them a good scrubing with acentone and steel wool first of all (not the cavites) and then took them inside and put them in a pan of water with dawn dish soap.Intentions was to heat the water and give the cavites and vent lines a good scrubing with a stiff tooth brush.Set on stove to get hot.
Being older than i prefer i lost track doing somthing else.Directly my wife said that the pot of what ever i had on the stove was about to boil over.Not really thinking much about it i told here to turn it off for me.
After a bit i decided to do the scrub thing and my once shinny mold was a real dark grey color (cavities and all). I thought that wow this is not good.I took the steelwool and cleaner to the outside of the mold and the stain came off but i was worried about the cavites.
Leaving the cavities the dark ugly grey color i fired up the pot heated the mold and was hoping that the stain would come out. Well two hundred bullets later the stain is still there.
Now the good part. This mold had one cavity that was always hard to get to release the bullet without two to three good taps on the handles. Now they both fall out at the same time with one tap 80% of the time.
I have a lee 6 banger that requires a lot of taping/banging to get all of them out so i will try the same thing with it.
Now was the heavy cleaning the cure or the stain caused by boiling in dawn dish soap and water the cure?
More time is needed to tell.
Am i advocating you try this.Of course not.But if you have a mold that you have trouble with and want to try,it may help.
Dwight

[44man]

By golly, you might have hit on something alright! :bigsmyl2: That sure would be worth a try with a stubborn mold.
No telling what part of the boiling did the work.

[qajaq59]

It sounds like you somehow cooked the detergent right onto the metal. I had a really old, and not well cared for, mold that was real stubborn for dropping bullets. I cold blued it out of desperation and darn if it didn't work. Maybe you did the same thing except with the soap. LOL

[Bert2368]

What kind of pan or pot did you do the boiling in, stainless, Aluminum, (Teflon lined or not?) glass or enamel?

[lwknight]

That Dawn dish soap is about as versatile as WD-40 and pockets on a shirt.

[44man]

That Dawn dish soap is about as versatile as WD-40 and pockets on a shirt.
Do you know just how great it is to not have to carry ANYTHING in pockets anymore or wear a watch? FREEDOM!
Since I retired I hate the feeling of some coins in my pocket! I make an exception to a handkerchief. Gee, that spelling looks funny.

[PacMan]

Bret i used a stainless pan. I have not had the time yet to work with this any more but maybe this weekend.
I am courious if this is a lasting thing or short lived like kroil and have to retreat.
Time will tell i think.
Dwight

[NuJudge]

Aluminum is a very reactive metal. The reason it does not rust away very quickly is that it quickly forms an Aluminum Oxide layer, one that is tightly adhering, and limits the ability of more Oxygen atoms to get at the Aluminum metal.

Un-Oxidized aluminum is bright. Aluminum that has formed the Aluminum Oxide is a bit dull. From your description of it getting more dull, you may just have oxidized the surface a bit more. I'd have to section the mold, polish and etch the cross section, then take photomicrographs to be sure. This would destroy your mold.

If you do it to another mold and it works, tell us.

CDD

[44man]

Pure aluminum forms the fastest layer. It is a wonderful metal and there are many alloys. I am still using aircraft aluminum for my molds because I got a huge chunk when I worked for UAL. It is TOUGH but can't withstand salt, unlike marine aluminum.
I was always confused about American Airlines polishing the protective coating off their planes so they shined. They didn't paint much because aircraft paint is very heavy and adds hundreds of pounds to a plane.
I don't think my molds would turn by boiling but the soft stuff Lee uses sure would.

[BABore]

I used to boil all my personal molds in Dawn or dishwasher detergent. Had some come out almost black in color. It is a reaction with the chemicals and kind of anodizes the aluminum. Shiny molds (new) will cast well if you get them hot enough. Well oxidized molds are very forgiving. 44Man is correct in that aluminum will rapidly form an oxide layer. That is if there's no oil or other protectorant on it. This quick forming oxide layer is a detriment to good gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) of aluminum. It is typically removed with a clean, stainless brush. Aluminum oxide melts at 3 times the temperature of aluminum.

[mdi]

Aluminum is a very reactive metal. The reason it does not rust away very quickly is that it quickly forms an Aluminum Oxide layer, one that is tightly adhering, and limits the ability of more Oxygen atoms to get at the Aluminum metal.

Un-Oxidized aluminum is bright. Aluminum that has formed the Aluminum Oxide is a bit dull. From your description of it getting more dull, you may just have oxidized the surface a bit more. I'd have to section the mold, polish and etch the cross section, then take photomicrographs to be sure. This would destroy your mold.

If you do it to another mold and it works, tell us.

CDD

With your knowledge of aluminum perhaps you could answer a question? If this very thin layer of aluminum oxide makes the mold non-stick, how would anodizing do on an aluminum bullet mold?

Sorry if this is a hijack...