Lee Case Lube - Opinions?

In my experience the Lee was ok but left a lot of residue behind, so I felt like it needed to be tumbled again after sizing. I barely made a dent on the tube I had while using it. Unless you're a very high volume reloader it'll be quite a while before you get to using the 2nd tube.

I never stuck a case using it, which I guess is the main concern with this stuff...

I think it is the best lube out there. It is water soluble. Thee is no need to use it full strength. You can dilute it 1 part to 10 parts denatured alcohol and use it in a spray bottle. You have to really shake and mix it up as it separates.

No need to remove it from the brass.

I liked it because ive never stuck a case and it smells just like static electricity! I had never thought of diluting it down and spraying it on. I always just took an old sock holey sock, squeezed out a line of lube and rolled the cases down to get a thin even coat.

I don't really care for it. I'm new to reloading though. I've had a few stuck cases with it. I bought some Hornady oneshot spray lube and have not had a stuck case since. I may try the spray bottle treatment though with the lee stuff.

I moved from the Lee lube to Hornady OneShot. Less mess.

I mix a dab of Lee with 3 oz of rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Then spray 50 cases at a time. When the alcohol dries (2 min) cases are ready to go and completely covered.

I do retumble after resizing to get all residue off, but it is still the fastest way to resize cases and never stick a case treated this way.

It works, but it will be a long, long time before you go to tube 2.
Jim

The LEE lube was OK, it was what I was using till the puppy managed to get a hold of the tube and chew holes in it causing it to dry out.

I then ordered Hornady oneshot spray lube and it was great, once I ran out of it I was going to order some more but the price had went up a bunch and I heard they changed the formula and it did not work as good as the older version (not sure if they did change it or not, just what I heard and at the higher price did not want to take a chance).

I went looking for a better solution and found home made lubes info online, I now use Lanolin oil mixed 1 to 15 with alcohol as a spray lube, it works like Hornady oneshot spray lube.


Michael Grace

tcanthonyii said:

I don't really care for it. I'm new to reloading though. I've had a few stuck cases with it. I bought some Hornady oneshot spray lube and have not had a stuck case since.

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That's strange, it's usually the other way around. One Shot is most often mentioned when you hear of a stuck case. Lee Lube is not a bad lube but I use almost nothing but Imperial Sizing Wax because it's easy to use, it's clean and it just plain works! Wow, ten tubes of the stuff? You might want to sell off 7 or 8 of those tubes since you said you got them for a very good price. Like most sizing compounds they will last a long time and it will be a very long time before you even crack open another tube... (like correctly mentioned above) I would be worried the stuff will be around so long the compound with separate or somehow experience degradation over time.

I really prefer Imperial Sizing Wax and I have been using the same 2oz tin for about the last 5 years and there is more than half left. The words "a little goes a long way' were possibly first spoken about that product. It's probably the best $8 I've spent on reloading accessories.

I had a tube of it that I opened in the mid 1970's and "found" about 3 years ago when I ran out of what I had been using. It was still OK and used it until the plastic casing cracked and split. Then it dried up so I tossed it and bought more. IIRC it is just a soap compound that Lee designed. I now have a few more on hand as backup and will use it again when I need to or give the odd tube to a new reloader when I help them get started to assure they do lube the cases enough so not to stick any. They will have to buy their own Imperial or supplies to make lanolin/alcohol mix themselves however.

Great lube but will go fast if you use it at full strength. I mixed a 2oz tube in a spray bottle with 13 oz of Isopropyl (actually had to grab the bottle to spell that, always mess it up) alcohol. It separates out pretty quickly so you have to mix it up periodically.

I prefer it over most other lubes. Much over Imperial, the force required to size cases w/ Lee is 30% less than w/ the Imperial.. For volume sizing I mix a teaspoon of Lee lube w/an ounce or so of isopropyl alcohol in a heavy freezer bag and tumble the cases for a minute or two. . You can size them wet or let them dry. A quick wipe w/ a paper towel when done is all thats needed. Sems to brighten the brass as well. Quick easy home brewed lube---Kiwi mink oil.

I also mix it with alcohol and spray it. I've never had a stuck case with it. Costs a lot less than the canned sprays.

A few spritzes on a loading tray of 30-06 brass works great. If you're concerned about residue, a quick wipe with a lightly damp rag takes care of that. No need to tumble, unless you used too much.

I like that it is non-petroleum. Can't contaminate the propellant.

"Probably should have asked before I bought but...is (Lee's lube) good stuff? "

I've tried about all of them and know that no one markets a poor lube. I've seen and read of a lot of poor lubing practices that cause the culprit to blame the lube for his difficulties but .... ?

GB wire pulling lube used to be the exact same thing. Its actually a couple of waxes that are mixed. I like it the best out of all of them I have used. I have never had a stuck case with it, or the GB either.

Duckdog said:

GB wire pulling lube used to be the exact same thing. Its actually a couple of waxes that are mixed. I like it the best out of all of them I have used. I have never had a stuck case with it, or the GB either.

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That's what the Lee Lube is, wire pulling gel. If you go to Lowes or an electrical place you can buy a gal(similar stuff) Alox, of it for the rest of your life and whole neighborhood.

I used Lee for quite a while, and although it was very good in all the aspects of sizing, it destroyed my media very quickly by gunking it up. But it is also water soluble so cleaning it off the cases prior to tumbling is not a big deal.

GS

I used to dilute it with water and make my own spray on lube back in the 80's before everybody and their sister was marketing a spray on lube. I'm still a big fan. Your cases don't have that gross slimy residue that lanolin based lubes leave behind.

I tried cutting with denatured alcohol and spraying it, but I never had much luck that way.

Applied by finger, it worked great for me. I only had to lube every 3rd case, or so.

I moved on to Frankford Arsenal spray lube. One pump for 150-200 223 cases in a plastic bag, and it's good to go. Very little residual coating when you get the amount right. I don't bother cleaning them off, most the time. If I do a large enough batch to bother with, I will sometimes dunk them in denatured alcohol.

I still keep a tube of Lee around in case I want to size only a handful of cases.