So I ran out of lube...
Well, that was embarrassing. Ran out of case lube. What to use, what to use?
Tried wire pulling lube. Water based. Does great for straight walled cases, but kind of meets its match with bottlenecked.
Tried spray silicon oil. No go.
What worked? 10W40 motor oil. Slick as can be. As I tumble all my cases after sizing, isn't an issue, all the oil came off fine. Makes sense I suppose, what it does in an engine (provide a film between two high pressure pieces of metal) is just what it is doing in the reloading press.
In fact, it worked SO well, it makes me wonder why I play around with other stuff. Only the Lee paste lube and Imperial sizing die wax have worked as well, and both are a pain to apply, whereas the motor oil... well I still used the lube pad, but being thinner it went on a lot easier.
What else have you used with success? The only other stuff I've tried is Udderly Smooth hand cream which worked great, but was a pain to remove after sizing.
Tried wire pulling lube. Water based. Does great for straight walled cases, but kind of meets its match with bottlenecked.
Tried spray silicon oil. No go.
What worked? 10W40 motor oil. Slick as can be. As I tumble all my cases after sizing, isn't an issue, all the oil came off fine. Makes sense I suppose, what it does in an engine (provide a film between two high pressure pieces of metal) is just what it is doing in the reloading press.
In fact, it worked SO well, it makes me wonder why I play around with other stuff. Only the Lee paste lube and Imperial sizing die wax have worked as well, and both are a pain to apply, whereas the motor oil... well I still used the lube pad, but being thinner it went on a lot easier.
What else have you used with success? The only other stuff I've tried is Udderly Smooth hand cream which worked great, but was a pain to remove after sizing.
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I would be to worried about contamination to use motor oil. 0 -
Well, we shall see what happens when I take those cases out and fire them in a few weeks... 0 -
Use 100% synthetic, 5W-30 or 5W-20 if you can find it. Synthetic's will not burn and will not harm the brass. I know of several reloaders that use it in a spray bottle for rifle cases. Just wipe of the cases when done.
I like the wax since it's less of a mess, but I would guess the pad process would be better then the spray when using the oils.
Only issue I can see is if you left oil inside the case. Never used it myself, but it's not that uncommon.0 -
80-90 gear oil. It is a high pressure lube. Wipes off easily with an old towel. 0 -
Lee sent me a freebee tube of their sizing lube and it works great
albeit slow. I'd prefer a spray or dunk and bulk wash.
I've got a massive unused tube of wire pulling goop that's supposed to work.
For testing purposes leave out the neck sizing and decapping rod assy in case you pull a rim off and need to drive a stuck case out.
The .225 is a real test for case lube. Rims come off easily.
A jar of molybdenum disulphide is great to have on hand to add to any lube for heavy duty (& very dirty) lube requirements.0 -
5$ for 4oz bottle of pure liquid Lanolin
2$ for 32oz of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
In an 8oz spray bottle mix about 2 tbs of Lanolin to 8oz of Isopropyl Alcohol.
and you will have factory case lube.[;)]
Forgot to add 4oz of lanolin is enough for about 2 gallons of lube.0 -
Old fashion petroleum jelly. I have used it for years. Don't even use a lube pad, in fact don't own one. I just get a paper towel and fold it over couple of times and brush on some PJ. And roll the cases on it. About 8 at a time. After sizing I just wipe they off with another paper towel. I do lube the inside of the necks, about every other one, with Lee paste on a cue tip. Cheap and effective. Been using the same bottle of PJ for years. 0 -
Ok guys, time for everyone to have a good laugh. It really does work and doesnt appear to harm the brass even after several years.
I use the nonstick cooking spray. I do wipe the cases off after resizing.0
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