May be too good to be true ? ? ?

Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
I've had a 2 cav., Lyman 358242, 125 gr. RN for some time.
I've tried to cast with it quite a bit.
I've cleaned it a dozen times, and tried ever trick I know to get it to cast good bullets. I've lowered the temp, I've increased the temp. I have changed alloy, etc, etc. No luck.
It has always been a recalcitrant mould.

I read recently of a product that the fellow said that he used in every mould that he owns.
I've never been a fan of the heavy grey / black spray mould release that MidWay sells. Other than a VERY light film of carbon from a butane cigarette lighter , I've never been a fan of putting anything inside mould cavities.

In the article that I read , the fellow said he would shake the can & spray a small amount in a jar lid. Then use a " Q - Tip " and coat the interior of the warm mould cavity with the product. It dries super quick , it is near clear when applied and leaves a bit of a cloudy look to the mould cavity after it dries.

After treating the mould ------------------

WOW ! ! !
This mould has never worked this well ! !
A near zero rejection rate now.
The bullets are all filled out near perfect.
The bullets jump out of the mould cavities.

Is it the best thing since sliced bread, probably not.........................
Am I glad that I paid $6.00 for my can , YES ! !

By the way, prior to the application of the product in my mould , my bullets were miking .3585, when I used the product and cast about 100 or so, they were still miking .3585".

https://imgur.com/9bih2qz

[Imgur](
https://imgur.com/uYv1MqB
)

https://imgur.com/8rBLVvh

https://imgur.com/NdQmoJo

https://imgur.com/ILERBig
 
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462

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Ben,
Kind'a reminds me of the Great Kroil Controversy.
I have an older Lyman 358311 that was very reluctant to release its bullets. Applied a light coat of Kroil . . . problem solved.
Michael
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
The interior of the mould after casting 150 bullets had a very faint milky appearance.
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
I think using the product with only one mould today even causes me to remain a bit skeptical. Statistically, that is just too small of a sample to begin jumping to a lot of conclusions.

I have over 200 moulds that in time may be a " good test bed " for this product.

Today, it is more than a bit early to make any absolute statements about the product. However, my early impressions are positive.

Ben
 
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Ian

Ian

Notorious member
I bought a can of that stuff to try on sprue plates, but didn't like it much there, it's just dry, gritty graphite and for sprue plate lube one could do better with a lumber pencil. I never thought of using it on the cavities, sounds like a good idea. If it wears off, it looks like you have a lifetime supply there for cheap enough. I wonder if it builds enough to reduce the diameter any?
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
it says excellent for mold release right on the can...
not too sure if this is exactly what they meant [shrug] but if it works.
 
Ben

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
fiver :

As I've noted, it worked 101% for 1 day with 1 mould.
What can be ascertained from this ? ? Not certain ? ?
Seems a bit odd to me that seemingly none of us here knew anything about it ?

I have a few other moulds in my mould cabinet that I'm wanting to try this product in. More time, more data, more aluminum, iron, and brass moulds to test and evaluate the product in , ............then , more conclusions can be drawn.

Ben
 
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pokute

pokute

Active Member
It's levigated alumina. it's an abrasive, but extremely fine. There's probably more abrasive things already in your bullet alloy.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
I knew about it, bought a can last year to try as sprue plate lube (had to order through NAPA via work since nobody around here stocked any). I figured having hBN and colloidal graphite in it that it might work, but it makes a gritty mess under sprue plates and galls Lee aluminum moulds even worse than nothing at all, so I chalked it up as a failure and put it on the "special chemicals" shelf at work for the guys to use if they need it. Pretty sure it's still sitting there.
 
pokute

pokute

Active Member
The MSDS only lists alumina. And that it's clear with white particles. Definitely no graphite.
 
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Rally

Rally

NC Minnesota
Might work to "Leement" a mould with. Ian didn't like it with an aluminum mould and Ben liked it with a steel mould. Wonder what it would do with a brass mould? LOL
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
any time a mold is giving Ben trouble it needs 'something'
I bet we all have those couple of molds we do stuff to that we don't to other molds to get them to work.

I have an old Walt NEI mold I smoke one side of one cavity so I can shake the bullets out.
it come to me faintly smoked and barely used and it didn't take me long to figure out why.
I have a 4 cav Lyman I hit with Krown oil real lightly every 50 or so throws it's been lapped for diameter and blued all it takes is a quick ssst,,,ssst and back to casting with it.
I have a couple of others I turn over and tap the hinge bolt to get the bullets to fall easier.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
It's all magic and fairy dust and unicorn poop. This isn't science, it's alchemy combined with witchcraft and magic smoke. If it works, use it. If it doesn't, save it because it'll work for something else!
 
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