# Anyone ever used Castaldo Quick-Sil?



## Matt Vogt (Jan 2, 2008)

I am wanting to cast white metal details, if I can find an easy enough method. I just ordered some Castaldo Quick-Sil. It _appears _to be easy enough, but I was someone had some experience (hopefully the good kind







) with it.

If you know/have used an easy method, please feel free to interject.

Thanks,
Matt


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## hawkeye2 (Jan 6, 2008)

I went to the Castaldo site and it looks like there might be a learning curve though they do offer a lot of help. You don't have much time to work with the material. Never used rubber molds for casting metal but I have made plastic masters and used furnace cement and wood for small production (a few hundred) runs of metal parts. I have about 50 years experience melting & casting with lead alloys, mostly bullets, if I can offer any help there let me know.


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## Grimm (Oct 5, 2009)

I use it for all my stuff and like it a lot. The only problems I have had with it is that it weeps baby oil after the mold has sat for a while, but it doesn't appear to harm the mold any. I just wipe it off before using the mold again. And the other is that you must make sure that you have a sturdy mold box or form as Quick-sil works best under pressure. At first I was using a wooden form that I nailed together, but the form sides came apart a little when I clamped the mold and the quick-sil slipped off the master in spots because of the loss of pressure. When I used the mold then to cast with I had some bad spots on the castings. Now I have wrapped wire around the form sides so they don't move any more. It does stick to the wood form some, so a metal form might be the best material to use. It's easy to mix and I haven't had any problems having enough time to fill the forms before it starts to set up. I use reqular modeling clay to make the two part molds and it works fine. It's very tough and flexible, works good on shallow undercuts. I use unsented talkum powder to dust the molds with and can gravity cast with pewter no problem. I also use regular liquid dish soap as a mold release when doing the two part molds so the new quick-sil doesn't stick to the already cured side. Hope this helps,

Jason


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## hawkeye2 (Jan 6, 2008)

Jason did you use Castalado molds to do the journal boxes for your Tom Thumb? I assume they are some kind of white metal, do you know what temperature you are pouring at? How many castings do you think you might get out of 1 mold before it is burned out?

Doug


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## Grimm (Oct 5, 2009)

Hi Doug,

Yep, I cast the journals out of a no-lead pewter in a Quick-Sil mold.







That's a good question, I'm not sure how many castings you can get from a single mold because I only have used mine for just a few castings. The temp is difficult too because I use a hot plate to melt the metal. I do know that the metal melts at 460F, so I'm probably poring at 480F to 500F. Quick-Sil is supposed to be able to handle up to 800F and I haven't had any of my molds get brittle or crack at all. They are all just as flexible as they were when I first made them. That doesn't mean, in a couple of years down the road, they won't have problems though.







I hope that answers your questions? 


Jason


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## hawkeye2 (Jan 6, 2008)

Jason, it certanly does, thank you very much. Oh, by the way I'm enjoying your posts on building the Cooper loco.


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## Matt Vogt (Jan 2, 2008)

Fantastic info, thanks to both of you. 
Jason's experience agrees with everything from there website, although the sit is limited. I did not realize that you could use clay for two part molds, so that is great news! 
Doug, I believe I read that the molds should last through hundreds of pours. I remember being amazed at the number, which was a lot higher than anything I intend to reach, so I didn't pay too much attention. 
Incidentally, journal boxes will be my first casting, so I will have to look up your Tom Thumb, Jason. 

Thanks so much, 
Matt


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## Grimm (Oct 5, 2009)

Doug - Thanks, I'm having tons of fun with it. I just hope that it will actually work when I'm finished.









Matt - Great! I'm glad that it helped.  Here is the link to the Cooper's Tom Thumb build that I'm doing, or trying to do.









http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx

Jason


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