ALOX & bullet lube questions

[Harve Curry]

I looked up Alox and found this (incorrect for our purposes):
Acronym: . Definition:
ALOX . . . . Aluminum Oxide

So what is it and why is it good for cast bullet lubricant?

I have a small quantity of the old 50% beeswax - 50% Alox formula in sticks.
I've been using SPG for 45-70 and 56-50 smokeless loads but I don't see a difference in accuracy.
I was thinking of using the 50/50 formula to lube felt wads.

 

[Jim Watson]

Alox is not aluminum oxide, it is just a trade name for a line of petroleum based lubricants. The full name of the material used in bullet lube is Alox 2138F, one of many products of the Alox Corporation.

Do not put aluminum oxide on your bullets. It is an abrasive.


Edit to add:

Alox Corporation, P.O. Box 517, Niagara Falls, NY 14303

Ph: (716) 282-1295, Fax: (716) 282-2289

Comments: Alox Corp. main business is in the production of commercial rust preventatives. Alox produces Alox 2138F (solid) and Alox 606-55 (liquid), among other products. Several years ago the NRA experimented with bullet lubricants and determined that a 50/50 mix of Alox 2138F and pure beeswax made an excellent lubricant. This is referred too as made “to the NRA formula”. Some consider it the best high-velocity bullet lubricant available today (good up to 3000 fps). Alox also sells Alox 606-55 that originated as and is still sold as a protective metal surface coating or rust preventative. Alox 606-55 contains 55% Alox 606 (solid) and 45% mineral spirits. Alox 606-55, sold by Lee Precision Inc. and Lyman Product Corp., is a liquid that leaves a soft, varnish-like lubricating film on the bullet after drying.

 

[Harve Curry]

Jim,
Thanks for that. I should have typed in Alox 2138F and not just Alox.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

we do have a material at work called nolox that is basicaly alox with aluminum oxide added. It is used to insure electrical connections between bimetal wires like copper to aluminum. could be where he misuderstanding in the deffinition you read came from

 

[Wiljen]

A couple of Key points.

1.) The Alox corporation is long since defunct, the trade name now belongs to the Lubrizol Corporation.

2.) Alox 2138F isn't made currently - the substitute for it is Alox 350. If using Alox 350 to make NRA lube, the proportions become 50% beeswax, 46.5% Alox 350, and 3.5% Micro-crystalline wax to get the original composition. (Alox 2138F was Alox 350 + 7% Micro-crystalline wax).

3.) The stuff sold as Liquid Alox is not Alox 350, but a solvent cutback of Alox-606 and is not interchangeable in Recipes like NRA lube.

 

[scrat]

your almost out of season to use the NRA alox beeswax stuff. i never really had much luck with that stuff. just threw it away. i was so happy when i did. That NRA stuf melts at very low temperatures. Depending on where you live. Mid april you have to stop using it. As you may put some in your lubrizsizer. Then size and lube a whole bunch of bullets. Put them in a container. Then three days later you go to load some rounds and all the lube is on the bottom of the container. Nothing will be in the ring grooves. I tried so many different lubes. Seems as though i was always going back to lee liquid alox. The only thing that i hated about it was the stickyness. What i found out about liquid alox was this. I would cast bullets, lube them. Next day size them. Then lube them again. 48 hours later i would put them in a container and leave them alone. Do this as much as i could make containers full of them. About a month later they pretty much loose most of the stickyness. So after about 30 days there good to load. Next thing i heard and tried was Talc powder. Yep baby powder. Sprinkle some when i put them in a box or container and shake it up. When im ready to load most of the stickyness goes away. The powder seems to have no effect when shooting. Looking through the barrels. Lee liquid alox does a fine job on preventing leading of the barrel. So im stuck on lee.