Case Lube Input

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G11354

G11354

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Flint, Michigan
Looking for input and experiences regarding various case lubricants.

I've been using 5W-30 conventional motor oil when reloading .223 Rem with no issues of any kind. Originally I started with a tube of "Lee Resizing Lubricant", worked fine but found I prefer oil on a lube pad.
 
It is penny wise and pound foolish to not use a lubricant designed for case resizing.

A container will last a long time as only a little bit is needed for each case. If it does not last very long, you are using too much.

If you like using a case pad, get RCBS Case Lube II.

Imperial Sizing Wax is considered the gold standard but you use your fingers or palm to apply.

Spray lubricants have their advantages but folks tend to not let them dry long enough. Until the carrier, usually alcohol, flashes off they don't lubricate very well. It takes about 5 minutes or so to flash off the carrier.

Many folks use home made lubricants with various success.

Stuck cases in resizing dies are no fun.
 
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I have tried everything under the sun trying to find the perfect case lube. I have settled for a home made spray lube of isopropyl alcohol (Heat gas line antifreeze) and liquid lanolin (health food store) in a 10 parts alcohol to 1 part lanolin in an old Fantastic brand spray bottle. You just have to remember to shake well before use and let it dry for 10-15 minutes after application to work well. It will not bother the propellant and wipes off the outside easily with an old rag. I use a gallon size zip loc freezer bag, add some brass then spray in a couple or three squirts of solution. Close the bag and massage the brass around some, dump out on an old cookie sheet to dry. Near foolproof IMHO.;)
 
...home made spray lube of isopropyl alcohol (Heat gas line antifreeze) and liquid lanolin (health food store) in a 10 parts alcohol to 1 part lanolin in an old Fantastic brand spray bottle.
Click to expand...

Having taken on a contract for resizing thousands of .30-06 and .308 once-fired cases coming off a large commercial range, I had to come up with an economical yet effective case lube. I settled on the above HEET gas line antifreeze and liquid lanolin lube concoction (although I use a 12:1 ratio), and it is as good as anything on the market.

Don
 
cfullgraf said:
Spray lubricants have their advantages but folks tend to not let them dry long enough. Until the carrier, usually alcohol, flashes off they don't lubricate very well. It takes about 5 minutes or so to flash off the carrier.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, the alcohol/Lee wax spray mix actually works a little smoother when the cases are still wet in my experience. I have never stuck a case with it wet or dry, but the dried wax film isn't quite as slick as the solution is. I think part of the difference is that the lanolin needs time to 'creep' but the wax just needs a good hose wetting since it doesn't need to be removed later.

RCBS uses (or at least they used to) hexane as their pump spray lube carrier. Don't know what the advantage is over isopropanol--maybe they found a tanker car full of it on sale.

My favorite improvised lube is the Ideal wire pulling lube from the hardware store. It reminds me a lot of the Lee wax.
 
G11354 said:
Looking for input and experiences regarding various case lubricants.

I've been using 5W-30 conventional motor oil when reloading .223 Rem with no issues of any kind. Originally I started with a tube of "Lee Resizing Lubricant", worked fine but found I prefer oil on a lube pad.
Click to expand...
Using a Hydrocarbon to lubricate cases where you are going to add a smokeless powder is a recipe or disaster. Hydrocarbons can damage smokeless powders.

I use Imperial Sizing Wax and I have never stuck a case. Like said above, it's the gold standard. If you want to use a pad there is nothing wrong with RCBS Case Lube 2, also like mentioned above. Forster High Pressure Case Sizing Lubricant is also a very good choice but it's more expensive than the RCBS lube. (like most Forster products lol)
 
I use Dillion Case Lube but I spray a couple squirts on an RCBS case lube pad, let it sit a while until some of the alcohol evaporates, and roll the cases on the pad. The lube on the pad lasts for many cases. I also use a RCBS nylon neck brush with a little Dillion lube to lube inside rifle case necks. Works well with no issues and I tumble in corn cob media to remove the lube.
 
Dillon lube, squirt twice with brass laying down, let dry for a few seconds and load.

I could save money with something else but I could also make money searching for penny's in a 7-11 parking lot. Once I found what worked best for me I quit waiting time.
 
Time for the weekly case lube post:rolleyes:

Go to Homer Depot buy a quart of wire pulling lube (which is what Lee Lube is) you are set for life.
 
Pam cooking spray sits on my bench. I spray it over a hospital bedpan 1" full of brass for about 4 or 5 seconds and shake it a lot to spread it out. Been doing that for 10 years or so, and have had only a few issues where I used too much and got lube dents. I still have a few of my first .270 loads that still shoot as well as the day I loaded them. Just tumble after loading to remove residual.
 
Personally, I would never expose my brass to a petroleum product such as motor oil. Unless you are able to rinse it thoroughly with something like denatured alcohol, acetone, or brake parts cleaner, which would be extremely expensive and cumbersome, you run a huge risk of contaminating the powder or primer. I would also be concerned about petroleum motor oils' effect on the brass. I would be concerned that it could penetrate the brass, therefore changing the metallurgy, especially if any residual amount is present when the cartridge is fired.

Why not just use actual case lube? I use Dillon Spray on and probably get a couple thousand or more pieces lubed per $8 bottle.

This is exactly why some reloaders are always dealing with stuck cases, lube dents, and mis fires.

GS
 
I use a water soluble wire pulling lubricant and mix it sparingly with 90% isopropyl alcohol in a fine mist spritz bottle. Couple shakes, couple sprays, with the brass in a plastic bag or tray and mix it up. Dries in 10 minutes tops - washes off in running water and will not contaminate powder.

Or at least it never has.

I had problems with oils and such in getting them off the cases without some extra time *but* I don't tumble either so.... A large $10 bottle of wire pulling lube lasts pretty much decades as it takes a teaspoonful or quarter sized glob in a whole bottle of alcohol to make the cases slide and glide slick as you can.

VooDoo
 
I use the HEET (red bottle) and liquid lanolin (health store) mix, I made some up a while back and I forget the ratio. Anyway it works well for me. I spray a spritz or so into a gallon zip lock bag and dump 50 to 100 casings in. Rub things around a bit and go to reloading. Never pay any attention to drying time, I guess its less than a minute. I can smell the alcohol flashing off as soon as I take them out of the bag.


Works for me.
 
I used a pad and the Redding lube, but when I went to Dillon's spray, just a couple of sprays and let it sit about 5 minutes, it became much easier for me.
 
Why do people speed the money for "HEET"?

It is Isopropanol alcohol 99%, as compared to 91% (cheap) rubbing alcohol at Wal Mart or wherever.
 
Why do people speed the money for "HEET"?

It is Isopropanol alcohol 99%, as compared to 91% (cheap) rubbing alcohol at Wal Mart or wherever.
Click to expand...

Because for the most part, 99% Isopropanol is unattainimum, and HEET works better than the 91% Isopropanol that is available.

Don
 
I don't get why anyone goes to the trouble to mix up anything, when you can spend less than $10 for your choice of lubes that are made for resizing. It's pretty easy to find one that suits your reloading processes.

(Of course the exception may be those guys doing something in commercial quantities.)
 
RainDodger said:
I don't get why anyone goes to the trouble to mix up anything, when you can spend less than $10 for your choice of lubes that are made for resizing. It's pretty easy to find one that suits your reloading processes.

(Of course the exception may be those guys doing something in commercial quantities.)
Click to expand...
I mix the wax spray because IMO it is better that the lanolin-based lubes. It dries hard and doesn't leave you with greasy brass.
 
It is not a good idea to use petroleum OIL of any kind as a case lube. Petroleum Oil can contaminate powder and it doesn't take much to neutralize the powder causing a squib. Been there done that when young and foolish and trying to cut corners when just starting out. Resulted in the one squib I have had in 40 years of reloading.

If you have lots of .223 to reload you can use a home made mix in a spray bottle and spray down the cases that fill a plastic bucket. For not much money you can buy spray lube formulated as case lube by several sources for smaller batches, I've used Dillons and Frankfort Arsenal Spray Lube from Midway.

For larger rifle cases and lower volume I prefer Imperial Sizing Die Wax above all others.
 
USSR said:
Because for the most part, 99% Isopropanol is unattainimum, and HEET works better than the 91% Isopropanol that is available.

Don
Click to expand...

The only advantage to mixing with any alcohol is it dries a little faster. The product is actually water soluble and dissolves better in plain water. The slight difference in % is no real issue. Heck buy a qt of Denatured alcohol and mix some water in it.

The Lee lube is pretty much Johnson drawing stamping lube. Copied from another place.

So, Lee Resizing Lubricant = Johnson Wax Industrial Chemicals Jon-Draw 700
Drawing/Stamping Lubricant. Whee haw.

So what is this neat stuff? Is it lanolin? No. Is it rendered 'chuck
fat? Nope. Is it something produced by a windmill in the pretty tulip
fields of the Netherlands? Nope. A cheese product? Nope. It is:

Wax - 10 to 15%
Mixed fatty esters - 2 to 4%
Amine/Fatty Acid soap (sounds tasty!) - 1 to 3%
Surfactants - 1 to 3%
Alkali Borates (yumm!) - under 1%
Formaldehyde (blech!) - under 0.1%
Water - the balance
 
RainDodger said:
I don't get why anyone goes to the trouble to mix up anything, when you can spend less than $10 for your choice of lubes that are made for resizing. It's pretty easy to find one that suits your reloading processes.
Click to expand...

It's no more trouble than finding powder, bullets, and all the tiny persnickety things we do to find and load the *very* best stuff for our various guns/calibers. Personally I have tried the commercial stuff available and prefer my "home brew" water soluble lube.

No offense to those who buy their lube off the shelf. I can mix mine to get the flash off and lubricating properties I prefer and it works for me. :) The whole reloading/rolling yer own ammunition thing is built around tweaking and using what works best for each individual...preferred powder, bullet weight, shape, jacket, primers, case prep, etc. The finicky dun't stop there...it goes all the way to custom lubes for cases and cast bullets.

VooDoo
 
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