Coconut oil for case sizing?

JmacD said:
Leave it on your brass and it smells like coconut cream pie when you fire your weapon. No I’m just being ridiculous. That stuff rancid is awful
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One of my favorites in Costa Rica was this local dish that was basically a whole gutted river fish stuffed with spices and fried in coconut oil. If you ate it straight from the oil with rice and smashed black beans it was delicious but you would burn your fingers and tongue. If you let it get cold it was greasy fishy nastiness. Coconut oil is good for you, too.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
One of my favorites in Costa Rica was this local dish that was basically a whole gutted river fish stuffed with spices and fried in coconut oil. If you ate it straight from the oil with rice and smashed black beans it was delicious but you would burn your fingers and tongue. If you let it get cold it was greasy fishy nastiness. Coconut oil is good for you, too.
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That sounds good… it’s not bad in oatmeal. With coconut sugar and almond milk. Three in one oil… or imperial… or unique. None of them taste good hahaha
 
Thomasss said:
I don't understand why you want to play with a home made concoction when there are a lot better products available at very reasonable prices. Coconut oil will go rancid over time. If you use too much, it can get sticky and gummy. And then, if you full size what are u to lube the inside of the case neck?
I've also been using Hornady Unique for over 8 years. I don't get dents anymore. It works great. I paid $6.95 for it at Cabela's and only God know when I will use it all up after loading 1,000s of 30.60, .270 Win and .303 British cases and it's only half empty. By the way does anyone remember the movie "PT 109." Trapped on a island in enemy territory, they lubed their pistols with Coconut oil to get the sand out of them and they weren't sure if their guns would even fire.
As for wiping cases, I use paper towel. 1/3 sheet will do 50, .30 cal. rifle cases.
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Hornady Unique is great stuff. I've had a small tub of it for over 4 years. I reload 8 different rifle calibers, usually at least 100 at a time. I'm 62 years old and it takes so little Unique per case I believe the tub will be around after I'm gone. I toss my cases in the dry tumbler with walnut media for about 30 minutes after sizing.
 
Centella said:
Hi there!
New reloader question here. Has anyone used coconut oil for lubing cases when resizing? I read somewhere that it really works well, but I thought I'd ask around before giving it a try. If you have used it, what would be the best way to apply it?

Related question, what is the best way to remove the oil from the cases after sizing? I'm assuming you don't wanna leave that on the cases when loading your revolvers or pistols. Will just wiping off with a rag be enough?

Thanks!
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Cocanut oil will go rancid, it will also clump the powder over time. If you want to make a concoction: Lanolin and 99% alcohol. For rifle/bottleneck 1:10. I also lube my pistol brass, 1:20 for that.

For cleaning off the case lube.......throw the finished rounds in your tumbler for 15 minutes. I add a tiny bit of nufinish as well.
 
Centella said:
Yeah, I just have the coconut oil already in my kitchen. Ordering lube from amazon or other store will take days of delivery time. I was hoping to go to the range tomorrow to try some loads...
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Run down to Wally World and get some Mink Oil boot dresding. Faster than Amazon

I use RCBS Case Lube II and a lube pad for many rifle cases. Redding Imperial Sizing wax is another good case lubricant for rifles. with both products, little goes a long way. If you use too much lubricant you will get dents in the shoulder. Not the end of the world if the dents are small. They eill shoot out the next time the case is fired.

Mink oil boot dressing is a good “non-fiream-related” product that works like Imperial Sizng Wax.

For hand gun cases, even though I use carbide dies, I spitz a little lanoilin/alcohol mix on them. Resizing goes much smoother and with less effort especially with larger diameter cases. Dillon Case Lube is lanolin/alcohol mix although it is easy to make.

To remove the lubricant I dry tumble my cases in vibrating tumbler with ground walnut shells. There are gun related commercial products available but I usually use walnut lizzard litter available ar many big box pet stores.

Of course you can wipe the lubricant off with a towel
 
If you've got dies with carbide inserts , lube isn't necessary. For 357 mag, I doubt I'd lube a case - no worry if you do though.

Do yourself a big favor , don't get in a rush. It's all good to be excited and saving money is my top priority when loading . I'm also very happy to use things that aren't the norm, atf for clp and a wad of chore boy instead of store bought caliber specific brushes - you get the idea. I wouldn't bother with the coconut stuff , it's a good idea if the zombies were coming and you actually needed it, seems not to be the situation .

I use the little tub of unique case lube , it's made by hornady or another company anyone would recognize, can't remember . I lube rifle cases. Sometimes virgin brass can be harder to size if unlubed - must be way oversized or something.

Good luck
 
Reloading is as much a fun hobby as anything and if one enjoys "expanding" on their experiences and knowledge, it isn't being frugal/cheap. I learned a lot more about my guns by casting my own bullets and a lot about brass preperation from experimenting with various tools from my toolbox and "non reloading" applications. As for coconut oil, I've not heard of any "going rancid" but I only keep what I have in the frig. Lots of food products are used for case lube (a lot of reloaders use PAM, olive oil, and black powder shooters often use lard)...
 
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I've used it to lubricate lots of things in a pinch :evil:..including rifle cases. I found it to work fairly well, similar to Unique for the OPs purpose. I would be concerned with it going rancid over time and it is mildly acidic so clean your dies.

Also the only oil I will use for frying any sort of potatoes.
 
Goneshoot'n said:
Won’t coconut oil go rancid over time? Might be kind of gross if you let your dies sit too long unless you clean them
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It depends on whether it’s pure or homogenized with some other oil to keep it liquid at room temps. Most of the coconut oils I see on store shelves these days are pretty close to pure but ten years ago it was the opposite; only the higher end restaurant supply stores carried pure coconut oil. It also depends on what kind of oil is used to homogenize the coconut oil. Typically I see things with higher smoke points like Canola. Canola is not a natural food product and does go rancid so I think about all its good for might be as case lube.

Edit: doh! I just noticed I skipped a word - Canola does NOT go rancid. Sorry.
 
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Cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Proper case lubes are cheap and widely available, and carry no risk of oxidation spoilage - why futz with any alternative which carries risks?

Making biodiesel off and on for a decade, and dealing with fatty acids (plant an animal derived oils) for all of the last 20yrs, there’s not a chance in hell I would use coconut oil for case lube.
 
Over the years I have used lots of stuff that wasn't meant for reloading. Coconut oil will work but there are many better things.

A trip to the store will give you many choices. If I didn't use the Lanolin/Alcohol mix I would probably buy a can of STP Oil Treatment and apply it with a case lube pad. A can will last a lifetime. Mink oil will work too. I remove case lube with Brake Cleaner but alcohol will also work. Or you can tumble them.
 
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South Prairie Jim said:
What’s wrong with using the Hornday sizing wax ?
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Nuttin', but the satisfaction of making, creating or using a "non reloading" item is enormous. My home made stuff equals store bought. I can afford to walk into a sporting goods store, plop down my credit card and go home with some "Reloading" product, or I can research and put together the same quality product and enjoy the testing, and satisfaction, pride of doing it myself. The same with reloading. Why go through all the trouble and expense when all you need to do is hand the clerk your credit card and go home with a box or two of ammo?

What I don't understand is all the criticism about those that choose a non reloading or different product. It's my money, my time, my handloads and my guns. If I wanna use KY jelly, neutral shoe polish, coconut oil or bear grease for case lube, so what?

P.S.; Think of the things would not be used for reloading today. Metal preserver for bullet lube. Beer cans for gas checks. Powder paint for coating bullets. Name some more...
 
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mdi said:
Nuttin', but the satisfaction of making, creating or using a "non reloading" item is enormous. My home made stuff equals store bought. I can afford to walk into a sporting goods store, plop down my credit card and go home with some "Reloading" product, or I can research and put together the same quality product and enjoy the testing, and satisfaction, pride of doing it myself. The same with reloading. Why go through all the trouble and expense when all you need to do is hand the clerk your credit card and go home with a box or two of ammo?

What I don't understand is all the criticism about those that choose a non reloading or different product. It's my money, my time, my handloads and my guns. If I wanna use KY jelly, neutral shoe polish, coconut oil or bear grease for case lube, so what?

P.S.; Think of the things would not be used for reloading today. Metal preserver for bullet lube. Beer cans for gas checks. Powder paint for coating bullets. Name some more...
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Agreed. I try to take the stance that, if I know something it “seems like” the OP might be missing or hasn’t considered, let them know. In this case, coconut oil is high in fatty acids which could discolor brass if left on too long. It’s also important to understand that there are three distinctly different cooking products out there called “coconut oil”: pure/raw, refined and blended. Pure/raw will be higher in fatty acids; refined would be the best for this use case scenario; blended might be good or bad, depending on which other oil is used.
 
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mdi said:
My home made stuff equals store bought.
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When this is true. Great.

Lubing cases with inferior products - entirely inferior CLASSES of products even - such as coconut oil, does not satisfy the above assertion, such the assertion doesn’t support the use of coconut oil options.

If a guy wants to build their own space rocket, detractors are not wrong to be derisive if their plan includes a fuselage made of cardboard and duct tape.

Coconut oil is inferior to appropriate products, whether commercially manufactured or home-made.
 
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