If your mold release is TOO thin....

21 years ago

So,on my last pour,I tried to be cute.You know,how thin a coat can I get?Sprayed it on (Cresset Crete-lease,has worked very well,easy cleanup),then,mindful of pinholes,wiped them down,until I could see a bare sheen.

Won't do that again!

It took me over two hours of mold cleanup,with muriatic acid,to get the damn things back to normal.A mess and a lesson:There is such a thing as too little release.I'll still wipe them down,but gently does it.Keep in mind,this is my first screwup in,oh,150 pours using this agent(tried Pam and silicone sprays before that).But,I sincerely hope that ain't gonna happen again!!

Cheers from the Sunny Sunshine Coast

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Comments (6)

billie_ann
21 years ago
Rick, What kind of mold are you talking about, history molds kind of thing, plastic bowl? Billie
rickharmer
Original Author
21 years ago
Nope,faces.I'm using plastic molds at present,will be switching to urethane as soon as I make'm.
The Cresset product is rated for plastic and until the other day,no problem.This time,I wiped too hard and end up with a mess!Live and learn.
Cheers from here
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the_roaming_gnome
21 years ago
hey- im new to this forum although i have been molding concrete for a while now. i dont know if anyone else has ever brought this up or not. but-i use diesel fuel as a mold release. commercial mold releasers arent available in my town (pop 1300) and when i was getting ready to mold my first project i was complaining about this fact when my stepdad (who is a heavy construction operator) told me about diesel. every concrete construction project that you see was done with diesel fuel as a mold release. its cheap and very available. I cant say for sure if it is compatible with a urethane mold but it works great with wood, plastic, and metal molds.
Running_Dog
20 years ago
Resurrecting this thread to ask if anyone else has tried using diesel fuel as a release agent?
davidmcdn
20 years ago
Diesel works great on plywood and 2x4 but it stinks like hell.
It could be tricky on plastic because of it's viscosity.

I accidentally bought a quart of raspberry scented lamp oil for my wax only burners.
I'm going to try it as a release agent. If nothing else it smells great.
Blooming_Stone
20 years ago
Nope. I use Crete Lease on my metal molds. It works great. I clean the metal with crete-lease and a brass curly scrubby, then brush it on lightly.
My big flower pot shapes are still a challenge. The outside of the plastic (therefore, outside of my inner form) is slightly rough, and a pain to unmold. I try to go out 3 hours after a pour and twist the inner mold out. Otherwise, I'm down to pots of boiling water, a plastic mallet, and usually I call out the Enforcer (aka DH).

Mercedes