Mold care

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Bought a Lyman shotgun slug mold a month ago.....casts great, but now I plan on putting it away for a while. I have only had aluminum molds prior to this, so my question is:

What is the best way to treat this steel mold for long term storage? Should I oil it, or put some kind of preservative on it? What about the inside were it was cut for the bullet?

Thanks in advance..............

[Adam Helmer]

Mr. 16 gauge,

I have 40 or 50 iron moulds and none have rusted, yet. I put all the mould blocks in a big coffee can. I sprayed the moulds with Rust Prevent for 5 or 6 seconds, place the plastic lid on top and NO RUST!

I degrease the blocks with Coleman Fuel just before I cast. After casting, I put the blocks back in the can, give it a whiff of RP and put the lid back on the can.

Adam

[Rapier]

I use the spary mould release which is actually a teflon product for the inside. Then I leave the last bullet cast in place.

The important thing is to make sure you use something in the cavity to prevent rust forming in the cavity as it is hard to get out. As Adam pointed out, an oil works OK as long as you have a good degreaser like brake cleaner or starting fluid (ether) to remove the oil before you start casting again.

I do not use aluminum moulds myself and have several moulds on a couple of shelves.
Ed

[res45]

I just brush my mould blocks with a light coat of U.S.P. Mineral oil before storage,before use just set you block with handles attached on a hot plate to heat up and the oil burns off and leaves no residue or trace. You may get a little white smoke if anything as it dissipates. The tip was given to me by C.E. Harris