tbrinlee Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Need a little help... I suspect I know the answer but I need confirmation. As noted in another post I made a 2 oz squid mold using moldmax-60 high temp silicone. I ran about 10 pieces with the temperature setting at about 8 on my lee mold pot when I suddenly got one out of the mold that looked like it pulled some of the rubber lining from the wall of the mold. This caused pitting on subsequent jigs. I decrease the temperature to about 6 on the lead pot and increased the rest time a bit between shots. I ran out about 25 pieces (enough for an upcoming fishing trip) and figure most of teh pitting will be covered under powder coat anyway so the loss of the mold isn't that big an issue (wanted to change the bill size anyway). Should I be using some type of release agent to extend the mold life? I suspect this was a thermal issue with the lead pot setting and mold temperature. Comments are welcome and deeply appreciated. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 talc powder might help. It aids in filling and does help release parts from mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxamus Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Also make sure you let your silicone molds cool, two ounces is a lot of lead for silicone. They hold heat for a long time and need to cool to insure a longer life. When I go to pour with my silicone molds, I will pour one, then pour other molds to let them cool down some. I find that pouring other things makes it easier to kill time. If you still have issues with that you could try a different silicone, give the guy at Sunbelt Materials a call, he is a class act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrinlee Posted June 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 dlaery/paxamas I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I will try the talc. I want to make sure of something though, when you say talc is this the Baby type talcum poder or are you talking about something different? I'll check and see what Sunbelt has to offer. The longer rest time is OK by me, I am just goofing off anyway. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 talc is the main ingredient in baby powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrinlee Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 OK... I have tried both the talc and the graphite. Both work well. However, since the spray-on graphite seems to coat well and dry quickly I have settled on using it. I must admit I take a little longer on my cycle times but overall I am quite happy with the results. Thanks for the help everyone. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
