Diluting Lee Lube???

[yakkingallover]

I have heard of people mixing Lee sizing lube with rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, I was just wondering what ratios everyone is mixing this too. I just don't want it to be too thin and stick any cases in my dies. If I was gonna use a whole 2 ounce tube how much alcohol would I use??

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I prefer to float my Alox bottle in a sink full of hot water. That liquifies it nicely.

 

[MMCSRET]

2 different items: sizing lube versus bullet lube. I have read that the dilution ratio for the sizing lube was 3 alcohol to 1 lube, but I have never tried it. I do not like sprays. just my idiosyncrasy.

 

[Soybomb]

I've used 4-1 with the sizing lube and 90% rubbing alcohol and it worked wonderfully. I suspect you could dilute it even more.

 

[janobles14]

i do 10:1 and havent ever had a problem

 

[kennedy]

I use 4 parts water, but don`t spray, just dump cases and lube in baggy and mix.

 

[scrat]

+1 on what kennedy says. the baggy works really good.

 

[Samgotit]

Using the bag: are you guys doing this in lieu of lubing the inside of the neck as well, and do you tumble afterward?

 

[scrat]

I dont worry about tumbling. I use hornady one shot. spray it in the bag and then shake it up really good. Same time i will spray a few burst in the die before i start. That way i know i will have some lube on the inside. After i size then i put them in an old t shirt and shake them up really good. Gets most of the lube out. Never really cared about the rest. After that i start checking the trim length and everything else. So it really dosent matter on if its a little wet on the outside. Usually by then its not wet or sticky at all. I do try to avoid tumbling after i have already tumbled and sized. Other wise it just gets more powdery stuff in the inside and stuck pieces in the pockets.

 

[PaulTX]

The Lee manual says to use a 10:1 mixture of alcohol to lube. I use 70% alcohol because the 90% wants to evaporate too fast. Of course my 10:1 is just an estimate and I usually end up with more lube than necessary. I use this lube for pistol brass only even with carbide dies as it makes the process easier. I don't use it for bottlenecked rifle as it is too wet and will cause hydraulic dents.

Paul

 

[aerod1]

Does the lube, when it gets inside the case, not contaminate the powder? As you can guess, I am new to this game of reloading.

 

[PaulTX]

The lee case lube doesn't hurt the powder. But I do give the cases a final clean/polish before reloading them.

Paul

 

[BAD_KARMA]

one tube lube to one 16 oz bottle alcohol.

 

[Soybomb]

The Lee manual says to use a 10:1 mixture of alcohol to lube. I use 70% alcohol because the 90% wants to evaporate too fast. Of course my 10:1 is just an estimate and I usually end up with more lube than necessary. I use this lube for pistol brass only even with carbide dies as it makes the process easier. I don't use it for bottlenecked rifle as it is too wet and will cause hydraulic dents.

I'm the new guy here, but doesn't that mean you need it to evaporate faster? I thought it was supposed to dry and not be wet.

 

[BAD_KARMA]

http://www.tacticoolproducts.com/caselube

 

[PaulTX]

Well, the alcohol is a diluent and I think of it as the carrier of the lube. When I size the cases they are somewhat wet with the lube/alcohol. I grab a small hand full of cases, spray the lube/alcohol on the cases (while in my left hand), and feed the brass one at a time with my fingers (up from the palm) to the shellholder and operate the press right handed (took a little practice). It works for me and I go pretty fast. I pull the resized/deprimed brass off the shellholder and toss it into a bin. While in the bin, the brass dries and just the lube is left. When I get a tumbler load, I do a final clean and polish.

I like the Lee lube and alcohol mix because it works and is pretty cheap to use. Lately I've taken to using a nitrile glove on my left hand but I've done 1,000's bare handed. I put the lube/alcohol in a 4-5 ounce spray bottle.

Paul