What about case lube?

I like Imperial Sizing Wax for match grade or heavy duty tasks like military brass. Spray on for lighter tasks, even pistol brass when I put it in the case feeder. I have always hated using the "maxi-pad" method, way too messy.

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Redding imperial wax. Use it for rifle rounds. Small tin will last a long time but you have to pick up each piece of brass and put it on with your fingertips. A little goes a long ways. For the pistol calibers I reload for, I don't use any lubes. I clean with ss pins and a car wash and wax additive. I think it leaves a slight film of wax that helps with pistol round resizing.

I’ve used Hornady One Shot for years but moved to Imperial especially when I started resizing 50 Beowulf brass.

One Shot works well for spraying a rack of brass for 7.62x39 and .223/5.56 but if you need extra lube for longer straight walled cases like the .50 then Imperial is the ticket.

i like lee and lee mixed with 91% or higher alcohol. the mix gets in the case mouth to, when sprayed at the right angle.

Dillon case lube is all I use anymore, like the convienience of a spray.

One shot.

You didn't mention what case size you are lubing. The Hornady One Shot works very good but does get a little expensive, although that is relative in the scope of things we do. I do agree that the alcohol and lanolin is sticky and don't like it due to the fact that it is somewhat hard to remove. Dry tumble your ammo I know. I have recently heard of a alcohol and coconut oil mix that I want to try and see if it is less sticky.

lanolin and alcohol for batch lubing. If I'm working up a small batch, ladder load, I'll use Hornady Unique.

If you want the easiest, cleanest, not stickiest, get some Hornady One Shot.

I been using the old school case lube and a lube pad since 73. Never changed to the other lubes that people say are better. Several years ago I stopped lubing the outside of the case. Now I lube the inside of the case neck with a inside neck brush with lube on it. After each match I will inside lube the cases and throw them in a coffe can. By the time I lube 100 rounds the lube has worked it way out to the outside of the case. Just enough to make it work better that the old lube pad. De-prime and into the wet pin case cleaner they go.

I use Imperial for neck sizing and Dillon spray lube for all other. I put the cases in a gallon ZipLoc bag, give them a few pumps, shake and roll them around some, dump them out, let them dry and go to work. The Dillon and One Shot need to be shaken well before use and allowed to dry before sizing.

That right there is the answer with the spray on lubes. Well shaken and let it dry enough. I use a home made lube with 1 part lanolin and 12 parts Heat fuel deicer.

I have tried many and my opinion is there is no better case lube for rifle brass than Imperial Sizing Wax.

You wipe a small amount on the case with your finger and easily wipe it off with a rag. There is no sticky residue and it will not harm primers or powder. It doesn't cost much and a 2oz tin seems to last forever. What's not to like?

Imperial is great as is their new neck lube kit. The new RCBS lube is not the old STP like stuff. Does a good job and cleans up easy.

Riccochet said:

lanolin and alcohol for batch lubing. If I'm working up a small batch, ladder load, I'll use Hornady Unique.

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Used the RCBS pad for many years. Now use home brew for pistol/revolver and Unique for rifle. Soooo much cheaper and better. Imperial and Unique are equivalent and last forever.

Rembrandt said:

Dillon case lube is all I use anymore, like the convienience of a spray.

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Working through my last bottle of that, when it is gone it is gone.....that stuff is sticky.

I am going to try what has been suggested here a few times....the wax.

Add another vote for Imperial Sizing wax. Much slicker and cleaner than any other lubes I've tried.

I used to have a method of dumping a bunch of .223 cases into a Ziplock baggie, adding some Imperial and mixing the whole batch together when doing bulk sizing or loading on a progressive. Of course it's been a while and I can't remember exactly what I did to introduce the wax! I think I scooped a finger tip worth out of the tin, smeared it onto the inside of the baggie, then kneaded the contents thoroughly. But don't quote me on that...

I even use a little when loading pistol cases in carbide dies. Lubing a case every 20-25 cases seems to help smooth the operation.

Plus 1 for the lanolin/ heet mix

We did a myth busting thread on effects of residual lube on inside case neck (wet and dry) and bullet setback.

To my surprise, One Shot did not experience any bullet setback (Testing with home-made lanolin stuff for Walkalong still pending) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...affect-on-neck-tension-bullet-setback.834035/

When I finish my can of Bag Balm (Which may be a lifetime supply for me), I am switching to One Shot. (Actually, I already switched )

I still use Bag Balm to keep my hands soft and supple ... for my wife.

I've also used the RCBS case slick spray since I started reloading. Just yesterday, however, after listening to all the hype here and on other forums about "mixing your own," I mixed up a 10:1 mixture of Heet:Lee lube to try. Took only 5 cases resizing FC 223 brass to switch back...much more force needed than with the RCBS case slick. So I don't know about Imperial Sizing wax, but I'm a definite "no" on switching to the lanolin/alcohol mixtures. And I've read enough horror stories about sticking the occasional case with One Shot not to attempt that (even though the MDS shows it's similar to RCBS!??).

brutus51 said:

Been using RCBS case lube for years but I'm finally getting low. Wondering about any of the new stuff that's out there that may be cleaner and less sticky.

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I love hornady oneshot. It's really fast to spray it on and you don't have to wipe it off afterwards. As a bonus it's formulated to not contaminate primers or powder. Good stuff.

fpgt72 said:

Working through my last bottle of that, when it is gone it is gone.....that stuff is sticky.

I am going to try what has been suggested here a few times....the wax.

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They sell it in 1oz and 2oz tins. The 2oz tin is only $2 more than the $7.99 1oz tin so...

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012768051/imperial-case-sizing-wax

I actually bought 2 many years ago because of a sale but I'm still not half way through the first one. My grandchildren might get to use it lol.

Imperial saved my arse on resizing .50 Beowulf. One Shot, and the Lee tube lube wouldn't cut it and I stuck a few cases in the dies. Once I lubed up the big old straight walled case with the Imperial Wax, in and out it went with little effort. Sold me right there.

Only in extremely rare instances do shoulders get lube dents using Imperial.