Cheaper Case Lube

[Anderson Arms]

Hello,

I thought i would take a moment to share my findings about cheaper case lube. After buying several cases of Dillon Case lube at over $7.00 per bottle i got sick of the rediculous prices. After reading the bottle and seeing that the ingredients are simply Isopropyl Alcohol and Lanolin. I had to see if i could reproduce the product. I purchased several types and purities of alcohol from 70%-99% and 2 types of lanolin (solid and liquid). After many tries I now have in my opinion the same product, but with a total cost of under $3.00 per bottle.

You must use the 99% Isopropyl Alcohol with Solid Pure Lanolin. I found it best to heat up a large pot of boiling water (about 1/3 full). Take a smaller but taller pot and place it in the boiling water. Mix the Lanolin and Alcohol to a ratio of 10 parts Alcohal to 1 part Lanolin inside the smaller pot. Stir until the Lanolin is completely in liquid form and completely mixed with the alcohol. I used a old tea pitcher to poor the mix into the spray bottles i saved from the Dillon lube after it cooled a bit.

Note: The above is what worked for me. Do not purchase a large amount of this stuff without trying it first. Also the 70% alcohal did not work properly because the water content prevented proper mixing.

Here are the links for the solid lanolin and 99% alcohol.
http://www.herbs-wholesale.com/LanolinPure-26006.html (Lanolin)

http://www.amazon.com/Isopropyl-alcohol-plastic-bottle-case/dp/B001DKU7SG/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_3 (Alcohol)

I hope this helps someone!

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

thanks for the tip, I'll bet this stuff will wash off easily too.

 

[atblis]

Yeah

The anhydrous lanolin and alcohol thing is well known. 16 parts Alcohol to 1 part Lanolin. I bet if a group of people were to get together and buy in bulk, the cost could be brought down considerably.

http://www.thesage.com/catalog/FixedOil.html#Lanolin
http://www.texasnaturalsupply.com/Search.aspx?Keyword=lanolin

A common use for the pure lanolin is for breast feeding mothers. Nipple cream!

 

[Offfhand]

Lanolin does NOT wash off easily, that's why it's a great lubricant.

 

[jcwit]

Lanolin does NOT wash off easily, that's why it's a great lubricant.

Right on. Thats why its one of the main ingrediants in many rustproofing compounds. Do a google search on it, its used in Canada in the auto rustproofing business. Many marine uses as well.

 

[Ol` Joe]

Hmm, I used the same bottle of RCBS lube for years when I started, and have loaded thousands of rifle rounds with the same tin of Imperial wax and have over 1/2 the tin left. I don`t see much savings for the hassle.
Now if I loaded 50K rds/yr but then lube costs would be a moot point.

 

[zxcvbob]

I use Kiwi "Mink Oil" shoe dressing. It's very similar to Imperial sizing wax; I don't know if it's the same thing or not, but it works.

If you want a spray-on lube and can't find lanolin, try using castor oil (the laxative.) It is a high-film-strength lubricant, and it's soluble in alcohol so you should be able to thin it with denatured alcohol and spray it on. I'm not sure what the dilution ratio should be, thin it just enough so you can spray it (it's a lot cheaper than lanolin.) You can also use castor oil undiluted on a lube pad.

 

[JimKirk]

What you don't use for case lube(castor)... drink the rest...it cures leprosy!

Don't believe me... how many folks do you know with leprosy?

Jimmy K

 

[rfwobbly]

Lanolin does NOT wash off easily, that's why it's a great lubricant.

Lanolin does NOT wash off easily, that's why sheep wear it!

 

[marvtexn]

When you can load MANY thousands of rounds with one container of Imperial, why look any further?

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I've been useing a spray can lube effective but pricey. sure speeds things up as careful application lubes the necks.

 

[rcmodel]

How dang much case lube do you use that there could be any cost savings worth messing with making your own??

rc

 

[R.W.Dale]

I've resorted to using cheap cooking spray and I gotta say it works just as good as any other specific case lube I've yet tried


Just use it sparingly as a little bit goes a long ways

 

[Walkalong]

RCBS Case Lube II, and Imperial Sizing Die Wax are so cheap when you figure how long they last, I never tried to save money in that area of reloading, and I am frugal by nature.

 

[Steve C]

I found this site with all kinds of home made substitutes: http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm

 

[Clarence]

I've used Imperial sizing wax with great results on bottle-necked cartridges for 25 years. I can't imagine any reason to change. It lasts forever and its cheap. For straight-walled cases carbide dies are all that's necessary.

 

[Slamfire]

I hope this helps someone!

I found it interesting, might try it someday. I could at least mix the lanolin with beeswax and come up with a bullet lube.

I use Kiwi "Mink Oil" shoe dressing. It's very similar to Imperial sizing wax; I don't know if it's the same thing or not, but it works.

I tried Mink Oil, easily sized 308 brass. The stuff does not come off easily.

I suspect that people who "wipe" off their lube, are not really wiping off all of the lube.

I find it funny to think that all of these folks are actually firing lubricated cartridges.

 

[tom357mag]

How do you get this mixture off of the cases , tumble , rinse with acetone ?

 

[gazzmann]

I recently tried a dry spray lube called " Jig-A-Loo" this stuff works great no messy residue, and cases slide in like carbide dies. Also use it on the press linkage, die threads, etc.
Bought one can to try at a local hardware store and it seems they can't get it back in stock. Next time I'm going to buy a case. It's great for just about anything around the shop, house car, or motorcycle.
$3.49 a can can't beat it.

 

[ForneyRider]

I like the cooking spray idea.

Garlic flavored, of course, for vampire bullets.

I wonder if Imperial Sizing wax is really Chapstix.

 

[interlock]

Lanolin does NOT wash off easily, that's why sheep wear it!

yeah! i like that.

i use this mixture.