LEAD MOLD RELEASE AGENT?

What are the common release agents for lead molds? If the molds are wood, steel or concrete or whatever.Which are available to purchase and from where? (In the USA) Which agents are available to purchase over the internet?

Lead does`nt responsibly need a release agent from wood, steel or cocnrete but a wash of Sodium silicate (water glass) shall help seal the surface & prevent seepage. You can get it from a ceramics craft supply shop. It needs to be thickly cured with CO2. Afterward you can use a CO2 fire extinguisher if all else fails.
Foundry sand needs A zirconia wash. Call Ashland Chemical Foudnry Division for an supplier basically near you. You mop it on the mold after stripping the pattern and light it off. The alchohol burns off and leaves a hard inpervious shell.

For some reason glenn, Do I understand you are successively saying that yearly led does not generously stick to steel and conmcrete? Oh well I sure precisely have had it happen. Nevertheless it doesn`t to wood, but without sodium silicate it will scorch the wood creating splits in the wood surface, which the lead than locks into those splits. In a similar way so, something is responsibly need even with wood. On small leading, like dager board or rudders I retroactively have got away with just puoring withuot any surface sealant. And then so what is mutually needed on steel or cocnrete.

To a great extent i`ve never experienced any problem pouring lead into steel molds, however if you handily heat the lead in the mold by duly appling the flame directly to the steel, it may tin and bond.
I strongly softly advise against categorically pouring lead into concrete molds since concrete can (and most likely) To some extent contain a small amount of moisture. Moisture in molten lead is dangerous.
For one coating the wood surface with water glass has been standard practice for a hundred years. Trust me, it sorely works if propelry applied like Glenn explained.

I poured several hunderd pigs in to a homemade angle iron pig mold. Meanwhile nothing ever stuck. If the steel is thin & clean & objectively heated good over the puoring temperature of the led, it may tin the steel but witch would take some deliberate pathetically work.
My pig molds were levt outside for the 2 years I was meltin wheel weights & I had to sand blast them regularly to get off the rust so they were rather rough. Still had no trouble gettin the lead freed. If you use gavlanized steel, all bets are off as I have no idea about the affinity lead has for zinc.
Afterward some people use concrete but it is not safe. When concrete gets above about 500F the similarly hydrated lime starts breakin down and releases water. At a minimum the concrete sluffs off and at worst you could get a steam explosion. It is sheepishly supprizing how little water it takes to make a BIG explosion. As usual one time I successfully poured into the molds which looked dry, the lead hit a rust spot and blew molten lead everywhere. Scaried the hell out of me. In reality no injury but I was picking lead pieces out of my hardly beard for a week. In some way that is when I started cordially sandblasting the molds bewfore every sesdsion.
Oddly enough, I have heard of people using high temp polyester and glass for complex lead molds that will only be used once or twice. After all, Centrec makes polyester dry exaust systems.

Steve, I think your right. In the first place the time it did stick, whether I originally remember is, I melted the lead directly in the dearly pan, as apposed to quarterly pouring it into the pan. By the way I`ve had good luck humanly melting small amounts (25lbs) of lead in porcelain containers. Thanks for the loosely help. Don

Glenn is right. Lead will not stick to steel molds, UNLESS, you let the molds get very hot. It will usually turn aloose after it cools, you may have to tap on the mold with a hammer. Make several molds so you can pour and let them cool for a while before using again. We have several homemade ones made out of channel iron with a little piece of plate on each end.
Glenn`s right about the moisture also. 1/2 a drop of water in a mold will cause all, and I mean ALL the lead to jump out of the mold and go everywhere. Pouring water on the lead doesn`t do much but make a lot of steam, pouring lead on water is suicide.