Mold treatment AFTER casting?

[Dan Cash]

A mould going into storage gets oiled with Ed's Red or plain Automatic Transmission Fluid. I immerse the oiled mould in mineral spirits or paint thinner, slosh it around well and plow it dry with compressed air when ready to use again. Heat the mould on edge of melting pot while lead melts and good bullets from the start.
For me, the mineral spirit works better as a degreaser than acetone. All acetone is probably equal. Beware the use of brake cleaner as it can release some EVIL gas when heated.

[monadnock#5]

When done casting, I wet my molds thoroughly with WD-40. Brass, aluminum and steel (they all have steel components) all get the same treatment, mold handles as well. The next time around I wash them with a toothbrush, warm water and Dawn dishwashing detergent. Then I wash them all over again just to be sure. Prewarm on a hotplate is mandatory at this point to evaporate the moisture. This is done while the pot comes up to temp.

If after all this my boolits come out wrinkled, I would suspect that my melt was undertemp before I considered oil in the cavities.

[Smoke4320]

WD 40 will work .if you are in hi humidity area may need to retreat every few months. Or spray and put in zip lock freezer bag.. Never had one rust this way
ATF will work better
Birchwood cash also makes a spray called barracade very good for open storage

[Ickisrulz]

Eezox, sealed ammo can and silica gel desiccant.

[3jimbo3]

Heck no. Good quality steel moulds rock. All you have to do is oil them after you finish, then clean them before you start casting. I live near Rockhampton, Queensland, Down Under. This place during summer IS humidity. When I finish with the mould, I will oil it. If I am going to use it again soon (week or less), then I hit it with some cheap WD40 and put it into a Tupperwear container. If I have finished with the mould for longer, then it gets coated in Lanogard (spray-on lanolin grease), then into the same container. When it is time to cast, I hit the mould with some good de-greaser, let it soak in that before a good scrubbing with dishwashing soap and hot water. I then put the mould into a mould oven (a hot plate with a tin steel cover) to dry out.

Sounds good to me, I will give this a try. I have never heard of the "Lanogard" here where I live but I will definitely try to find something similar to use. As far as a degreaser, I like to use " purple power " for this. Spray it on uncut and wash it off. Works great for applications like this. Thanks for the info.

[williamwaco]

Hm, I used Aceton to clean the mold from oil, three times Aceton and scrubbed it, but became still wrinkeld boolits, then did the Aceton-thingy again when it was still hot / good warm, but it didn´t get better.

With break cleaner I hadn´t this issues in the past, but Aceton should even be better in my opinion, not?

Is there a "good" and "bad" aceton?

It is a very good degreaser. But not better than break cleaner. In fact it is one of the ingredients in break cleaner. Check the ingredients on your can.

That said it is, in my experience, no better than a good dish washing detergent. ( I use Dawn - and a brush and have very good results. 409 is good too.)

I expect your problem is caused by a cold mold.

If the sprue puddle hardens in less than three seconds, the mold is too cold.

[Old Scribe]

All my moulds are aluminum and after cooling I inspect them, clean if needed and put them in the box they came in. Rust has never been a problem .

[jayjay1]

If after all this my boolits come out wrinkled, I would suspect that my melt was undertemp before I considered oil in the cavities.

Well, I´m new to aluminium molds.

Can it be, that when using those molds, against iron or brass, you have to speed things up, or go hotter as with the others?

[Ed_Shot]

Several of my Lyman molds spent 30 years coated with Lyman case lube and wrapped in cotton T-shirt material in a wooden box in an outdoor shed along with my Lyman press, dies, scale and 450 during an Army carrier and after till I had time and place to take up the hobby again. Not a spec of rust. Now when my iron molds cool after casting I spray them with penetrating oil and wrap them in cotton T-shirt material for storage. When I get ready to cast I clean iron molds by spraying with W-mart non-chlorinated brake cleaner and heat them on a hot plate. Usually get good boolits on the first cast.

I don't do anything to aluminum molds except wrap them cloth for protection in storage.

[monadnock#5]

Well, I´m new to aluminium molds.

Can it be, that when using those molds, against iron or brass, you have to speed things up, or go hotter as with the others?

I bought a PID recently from kyle623. IIRC, best results were obtained at 615°F. So: 1) make sure that your melt is at full temperature before casting the first boolit; and 2) cast fast at startup. A hotplate set at 400°F+/- to prewarm your moulds helps A LOT to drastically reduce the time before you get keepers.
Don't get me wrong, you don't need a PID or a hotplate to make good boolits, but they reduce the guesswork and frustration by a huge margin. Without them, go fast and don't take the time to see what you've got until the pot is empty . This will work for all mold makes and materials.

[QIDPlb]

VCI paper should be enough.

[.22-10-45]

Some of my moulds might not see the light of day for years..I use Mold Saver..a lanolin-based industrial aresol designed for preserving injection moulds and dies. When mould temp. is just barely warm..I give them a light coat..comes right off with hot soapy water. Most Industrial tool houses carry it.

[OptimusPanda]

All my molds are aluminum so about all I do after they cool is maybe wipe down the steel parts with an oiled patch. The aluminum is already oxidized on its surface and shouldn't corrode.