Cleaning Castings

Recently, I've been taking my second casting class, and have these forms that are very pod-like. Especially in the sense of having crevices and holes that investment is very hard to get out of. I brought these castings home, and followed Beth Cyr's suggestion of using vinegar to get rid of the investment. I soaked them overnight in a mixture of rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar (we don't have plain at the moment).

After the soaking, I carefully took a toothbrush to them (over the vinegar container) and brushed as much of the investment off as possible. However, I came across a problem. How could I get the investment out of those holes?! I looked around the kitchen and saw one of our water bottle brushes! It fit perfectly into the crevices and I was able to get the investment out wonderfully.


If you are in need of such a tool, I suggest heading to your local store's baby/baby food section and looking for a bottle brush. Some stores sell bottle brushes for water bottles and they come with a smaller one for the lid. Good luck!