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Thanks for sharing this. I think it is worth a try.
One of the neat things about the polyolester oils is their extremely low evaporation rate. They also leave very, very little residue when they DO evaporate, yet have an extremely high film strength for the viscosity.
Something I will caution against is buying the ester oil brand that contains "Ice 32" as an additive. I've determined that Ice 32 must be some sort of high-powered surfacant and will allow one drop of ester oil to instantly thin and coat an entire mould, inside and out, in about .002 seconds. That must be how it works to make the refrigerant more effective at heat absorption: By ensuring the oil/refrigerant mix thoroughly wets the inside surfaces of the heat transfer elements in the air conditioning system. Stick with the straight, ISO 100 or 150 ester oil such as Btroj pictured and you will not be disappointed.
PS for those not yet familiar with the technique, instructions for proper and effective mould lubrication are discussed in a sticky thread in the mould maintenance/design forum.
Gear
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I have been using this stuff for about the past 6 months since Gear told me about it.
It is absolutely the best stuff I have ever put on a mold bar none.
All the 2cycle oils (and similar products) that I have used in the past have occasionally migrated to the edge of the cavities, at which point they immediately started causing poor base fill out and wrinkles. This stuff migrates even faster, but does not seem to have any ill effect on the boolit bases unless I really biff it and get a lot of it in the cavities somehow. It just rides on top of the mold and does it's job.
It appears to leave almost no brown residue on the mold also, which is simply amazing. It's almost like it just ignores the heat of the mold and doesn't out gas or something.
I love the feel of the mold with this lube in place as well you get to feel the "snick" when you slide the sprue plate over (Just a personal enjoyment that means exactly zip).
I got mine right up the street at Advanced Auto for less than $15 IIRC.
I have passed this to several other members and they all agree that they are sold and won't go back.
Thanks for researching this Brad! Good information, learned from a lot of hard work.
OK I guess I don't no how to use Google, how the heck do I find this stuff ?
I have no auto parts stores near me.
Does it creep enough to get up under the sprue plate pivot point and prevent galling?
Thanks for the info guys. It will be my next purchase tomorrow.
Fortunately or unfortunately I have a good amount of Redline 2 cycle ester based oil, and enough to last a long while. It works real good. I would go with the 100% Ester if I buy some new mold oil.
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I confess, I didn't know anything about the ICE additive being undesirable till Gear just mentioned it. This is the stuff I'm using now, and even with the ICE sufactant, it's better than anything I've used up to this point. Wait......you mean if I get the stuff in the OP it get's better?!?!?!?!
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I had tried just that very stuff, Tim, along with a variety of pure base-stock PAOs and PAGs, and was impressed with most of it but not with how it wicked everywhere I didn't want it on a hot mould. Brad tried the Carquest stuff (since I'd talked him into buying some sort of AC ester oil for lube experiments :evil:) and reported it was fantastic on moulds. I went back and tried some pure POE 150 base I had on hand and found he was right, it really did the trick. No more two-stroke oil for me, and no more dark varnish on my beautiful custom moulds.
Gear
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If anyone is interested in understanding why this stuff is so good here is some good reading.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...72#Post1252272
Sadly Gear turned me onto this site too.
My wife laughs about the fact I spend so much time online talking to strangers about lubrication......
http://www.carquest.com/webapp/wcs/s...+premium+ester
The link above is for Car quest, but it shows a bunch of oils that are super ester. Can someone point me to the correct one to get. I can order it from a store lewiston Maine
Sorry I don't know about all these things so help is appreciated.
Sam
http://www.carquest.com/webapp/wcs/s...411_?acesApp=0
This one should do. The part number should get you what you want. 8 ounces will last you quite a while.
Thank's but that link just takes me to the opening page for car quest and tewlls me nothing. Did I miss it ? Never mind I got it, part #CQE7
http://www.carquest.com/webapp/wcs/s...411_?acesApp=0
That looks like the stuff. You will not be disappointed.
In addition to this lube, should a noobie still use the smoke method to lube the cavities or is there a specific lube to use within each cavity? Does the ester oil go between the sprue plate and the top of the mold and does it help to shear the sprue easier? I have 2 Lee 6 cavity molds but have not used them yet.
First off, don't smoke a mould. It isn't needed.
Ok, where and how to lube the mould.
Get the mould hot first. Use a hot plate, dip in the melt, or whatever, just get the mould hot.
Get a Q-tip and dip the very end in the oil. The swab only needs to be barely damp, soaking wet is going to be bad. With the sprue plate and mould open apply a tiny bit to the alignment pins and the holes they mate with. Be careful to not get any on the faces of the mould, getting it there increases the chance of having it creep into the mould cavities. Close the mould but leave the sprue plate open. Press the damp end of the q-tip to the area where the pivot screw is but on the side away from the cavities. The point of this is to get some under the plate where or pivots but reduce the chance of getting it in the cavities. Now lightly wipe the swab across the top outside edges of the block, keep it away from the cavities. I also like to apply a bit to the underside of the sprue plate along the outer edges.
Close the mould and get casting.
This will not make cutting the sprue easier as the effort required is far more related to lead hardness and how solidified the sprue is than it does with friction.
I reapply anytime the sprue plate seems to be getting a bit draggy. A quick swipe of the already damp swab overt he top of the mould does it. If the mould gets difficult to open or close reapply to the alignment pins and sockets.
I find that the swab can last a few casting sessions before more oil needs to be applied, it requires that small an amount.
If you can easily see a lube film on the mould you used way too much. This can be wiped away with a dry swab, just keep it out of the cavities.
Should some get in the cavities it will evaporate a way with some casting. This oil leaves almost no residue so a cleaning of the mould isn't really required.
On a 6 cavity Lee I also like to apply some to the areas where the plate contacts the screw near the pivot point on the handle. Pretty much anywhere that two mould surfaces slide along each other can be lubed. Keep it off the inner mould faces and out of the cavities and you should be fine.
Don't forget the lightly oil the handle screws with the same stuff, it makes removing them far easier.
Question, I went into town this morning & went to all four auto parts stores. Two of the stores only had ester with ICE 32 and yellow UV die. The other two stores had ester without ICE 32 but still had the UV die. I bought 2 bottles, one from each store that didn't have the ICE, one for me and one for winelover (john).
Will the die leave a residue?
Rick
Mine has the dye, no residue. Those UV dies work at such low concentrations that they aren't relevant for our use. I bet there is about a drop of dye per 4 to 8 ounces of oil, if that much.
Let me know how you like this stuff.
Have Tim teach you?
You should take a UV light to your molds to see how much dye is on them. Trust me, I work in the HVAC field for a living and it has a habit of getting all over everything. While I doubt the dye would be harmful. I have no desire to have it all over my tools and work area. My dye injection tools are segregated to their own box and they're in a box inside a box inside a box. The dye really gets everywhere.
I don't have a UV lamp but that would be interesting.
Maybe ignorance is bliss?
Hmmm, it just so happens I have a powerful benchtop UV light source (I think it was used to cure UV epoxy) it'll burn the hair off a dogs.... Nevermind.
I may grab a bottle of the UV ****e and see what it looks like under the UV.
Hey! I should be able to see if there is a crack in the mold eh? LOL!
You will need some spectrum-blocking glasses to see the dye as it is intended. With the right wavelength gear, it will light up like the 4th of July. Dragon ain't joking, that UV dye (concentrated in oil for leak diagnostics) will get all over absolutely everything. The dose put in the AC oil is probably about 1/32 to 1/64 the strength of what we use for injection, so it's less obvious.
I had a flourescene angiogram one time, they shot me up with about an ounce of that stuff and took pictures of my retinas to check for leaks. I joked with the doc that medical science apparently wasn't too far ahead of automotive diagnostic technology. The urinal I used when I left the opthamologist's office is probably still flourescent yellow.
Gear
Tim,
Is your light white in color? I believe you have to have a black or blue light to see the dye.
The glasses make it glow like a beacon. You can see dye w/out them if the room is dark. The color will be dull instead of fluorescent. The color is either orange of along the lines of High Visibility Yellow/Green. The Yellow/Green is a lot easier to see.
I realize the concentration is a lot less then a tube full of a few ounces of the dye. But even when it's mixed w/ the oil it gets all over everything. Just giving a friendly warning so to speak, LOL.
I best stay out of the dance clubs after casting?
The light has a blue look to it, but I have been cautioned to never look at it without the right glasses on,or it will burn my eyeballs.
The light I have is a blue/purple in color. Mine came w/ the same warning. So what was the first thing I did. I looked at the light and then realized that was a really dumb thing to do ;)
It's hypnotic........isn't it?.....
I was actually hoping (if I found the right dye) that I could use the light to check actions for stress fractures etc. I just haven't gotten off my bum and figured out what the right dye is yet.
Tim, would this oil work? Apply to action, rinse well with solvent, look for cracks?
To think all this because some guy with a Texas size hat tells me to go buy something......
BTW, Rick, If you would like, I can show you how to cast boolits with that nice "lube pressure relief divot" on the bottoms of them. LOL!
I'm still trying to get a clean cut on the sprue plate. I'm almost to the point where I'm going to say heck with it, and throw in 2% tin, but I remain stalwart in my resolve!
:kidding: