School me on brass mold prep/use

I just got a 4 cavity brass from MP for 45 ACP on the H&G #68 design. Haven't used it yet but I have to say it is the nicest mold I have ever seen. Fit and finish is amazing.

It is a straight mold with no pins.

Do these things actually have to be heat cycled?

I have read a cotton cloth with a very very small amount of synthetic 2 cycle chainsaw oil is the ticket for wiping off the bottom of the sprue plate and the top of the mold (leaving boolits in it) stops lead from sticking. Also very sparingly to lube the alignment pins.

I cut a fair amount of firewood and have synthetic chainsaw oil around.

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MP molds website has a tips and techniques section with some very helpful information. Personally, I heat cycle them 3-4 times, and scrub with hot water and dawn. I oil the same as you, but I don’t use synthetic oil. I don’t know if it makes a difference.

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Originally Posted by Wheelguns 1961

MP molds website has a tips and techniques section with some very helpful information. Personally, I heat cycle them 3-4 times, and scrub with hot water and dawn. I oil the same as you, but I don’t use synthetic oil. I don’t know if it makes a difference.

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Ditto! Brass molds are heavy, but man do they cast nice boolets! I do use the synthetic oil that came with my NOE molds and a cotton swab. hc18flyer

I wipe mine with my gun rag when the bullets begin to stick in the mold. The rag has oil on it and that seems to be my fix.

They are so pretty when they first come out the wrapping that you almost do not want to start casting...but once you have them dialled in after about 3-4 heat cycles, man do they cast the most beautiful bullets and so easy, it is almost too good to be true. But they are heavy, I normally only cast for 1 hour, then I have to let go.
Be sure to use the supplied mold lube on the underside of the sprue plate, and also on the alignment pins, a little goes a long way.
Enjoy your MP brass mold, they are the best of the best......but be warned, this mold will not be your last one!

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Originally Posted by hermans

They are so pretty when they first come out the wrapping that you almost do not want to start casting...but once you have them dialled in after about 3-4 heat cycles, man do they cast the most beautiful bullets and so easy, it is almost too good to be true. But they are heavy, I normally only cast for 1 hour, then I have to let go.
Be sure to use the supplied mold lube on the underside of the sprue plate, and also on the alignment pins, a little goes a long way.
Enjoy your MP brass mold, they are the best of the best......but be warned, this mold will not be your last one!

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I don't know what happened but my mold did not come with any oil, but like I said, I have a LOT of 2 cycle oil.

My cheapo 20# Lee bottom pour pot has a mold guide that is fairly flimsy, I might just have to make something more robust.

The last couple that I got, didn’t come with lube either. Maybe he stopped doing it. I put a little bit of 2 stroke oil in the cap, and use a Q tip to apply. Don’t over oil it.

Maybe lube is an extra cost option now, like at N.O.E.

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Originally Posted by Apple Man

I don't know what happened but my mold did not come with any oil, but like I said, I have a LOT of 2 cycle oil.

My cheapo 20# Lee bottom pour pot has a mold guide that is fairly flimsy, I might just have to make something more robust.

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Maybe Miha stopped to add the very small bottle of lube with his molds......but as you say, any synthetic 2 stroke oil works as well.

I use a mix of mineral spirits 25% and 75% 2 cycle oil for the mold.

My dad made me a bearing roller for my Lee pot. It's useful for when we pour fishing weights and tooooo many bullets ��

I've heat cycled and not heat cycled new molds. It certainly doesn't hurt anything, but I can't say I've seen any difference that enables me to say that it helps. I spray them off with carb and choke cleaner to strip any factory oil, warm it up on a hot plate, and start casting. It's pretty normal for a new mold to take 10-30 pours to settle in to temperature, casting cadence, etc..., regardless of what's done to it ahead of time.

For sprue plate lube, I'm using up the last of Veral Smith's beeswax/moly sticks, and will then likely start using up the little bottles that I bought with my new NOE molds earlier on. I have zero notion of what the stuff is or how it compares to your chainsaw oil, but my practice is to get a dab on the bottom of the sprue plate and smear it around (mostly wiping it off) with the thumb of my knit Kevlar "Ove Glove". A little bit on each of the alignment pins and you're ready to play. If you overdo it, you'll have to wait for a little bit of burn off as you cast wrinkly bullets.

I heat cycle my MP molds 3-4 times to get oxidation built up. The two times I didn't I got tinning on the mold...learned my leason. 2 cycle synthetic oil works fine.