[flynlr]

after a month away from my bench . I went back today to get cranking again.
and to my surprise. i discovered a very light coating of rust on my Dies that were in the original boxes, my shell holders my cause gauges ,my shell plates and even a bit on the 2 presses I own. now all this stuff is less then 8 months old and I used it a lot until a month ago never seeing corrosion, so I must have missed something in the care and feeding of these items. :(
anyway,. I need 2 things,.
best way to remove the light corrosion., it doesnt rub off.,
and 2. how to protect these items from future damage.
.
when these items where used often I never had a problem. on the other hand the ac unit in that room has been running non stop for the last 60 days
so that may be a factor. before that I did not have an ac unit in that room.

Help!.

[Stinger]

Unless the rust is INSIDE the dies, I wouldn't worry too much about removing it. To me, neutralizing it is more important, easier, and probably more fruitful. I don't suspect you are prone to monsoon rains in Utah (don't know, don't live there) and it is probably pretty dry. The rust most likely came from the ph in your skin/sweat.

I'd wipe them down with a good oil, maybe use Hoppes with fine steel wool to cut the rust if I felt the need, and put them away. Periodically it would be a good idea for you to clean these metal parts to prevent rust in the future.

Basically, it's no big deal.

[Sunray]

Your air conditioner must be putting a lot of moisture in the air. Shut it off or move your press.
Buy a bag of crushed walnut shells from a pet supply place and put the small parts into your tumbler for an hour or so. Pitch the shells when the parts are cleaned. Use 0000 steel wool and a bit of oil on the larger parts. Then oil everything. Remember to take the oil out of the dies before you use them.

[flynlr]

so regular gun oil is fine for this?.I am wary of wd40 due to primer killing.

and for another fine example of reloading fun I present this.

took a sleeve of primers out to start hand priming some 223 brass and as soon as I opened the sleeve it slipped out of my hand and 100 primers went airborne around behind and inside my couch ! 1 hour later I have recovered all but 1. I love this stuff!

[davinci]

just scrub off the surface rust and hit it with a coat of 30 weight oil or any other rust preventative, you'll be fine.

Remember, dies are like a truck.... if you use it/them enough that they start to look worn than you're using them properly. Keep your gun looking like a sports car and your ammo looking like an 80's chevy half ton.

[Ol` Joe]

I oil my dies every time I put them away with any oil I happen to grab first. I had the same problem once and would rather wipe my die before useing then try to remove possibly damaging rust.

Your air conditioner must be putting a lot of moisture in the air. Shut it off or move your press

Sunray A/C removes moisture. Dry air feels cooler then damp and removing dampness helps the air feel cooler.

[Walkalong]

Sunray A/C removes moisture
You beat me to it Ol' Joe. :)

I can't keep anything outside in the shed because of the humidity here in LA (Lower Alabama) It does fine inside with climate control though.

[strat81]

I like Breakfree CLP for my dies. There's no reason why Remoil or WD-40 wouldn't work either. A light coat is all you need, gently wipe off the excess.

[The Bushmaster]

Bummmer...I hate this when it happens...

[The Bushmaster]

flynlr...Don't you have a gun wiping rag that you have applied a bit of gun oil to?? Clean those dies and remove the rust and occasionally wipe the dies with the same gun rag. I use old T-shirt cut to size (about 12" X 12") that I have applied a ample amount of oil to, that I use to wipe down my firearms when ever I handle them. I use the same gun rag (T-shirt+oil saturated) to wipe down my dies every once in a while...:)

[HankB]

You can get VPI - Vapor Phase Inhibitor - chips from MidwayUSA. These are cardboard chips about 1" square that are impregnated with a chemical that slowly evaporates and prevents rust. I've found that these are just the ticket for preventing rust of steel parts enclosed in small boxes (like die boxes) which are stored under less than ideal conditions.

Gun manufacturers often ship guns in VPI-treated paper.

Which reminds me . . . it's probably past due for me to replace mine; they don't last forever.