Protecting my dies

[Rule3]

" The reason I bring this up is because I'm not happy with using oil on my dies."

Steel that's not painted, plated, greased or oiled will rust. Oil your dies just as you oil your guns. It's both quick and simple to spray clean them before use with cheap carborator or brake cleaner.

WD-40 is great for what it's made to do and that is to lift water off wet steel so it can be wiped or evaporated dry without the surface rusting. It is NOT meant to be a long-term rust protector nor is it much of a lubricant. I spray guns down with WD-40 if it rains while I'm out but I follow up with a through cleaning and proper oiling when I get home.

WD-40 will leave a hard brown residue when it evaporates, only a few weeks at most. That thin 'varnish' actually impedes mechanical movement so it should NOT be used as a gun oil, especially on triggers. Nor on small motors such as those used in tumblers.

Look up what WD 40 was invented for. Yes it lifts off water but it was in fact developed for long term Rust prevention of our ICB missiles sitting in silos all over the country.

Water Displacement Formula #40 experiment.

 

[Action_Can_Do]

TonyM
I've been keeping my dies in the kitchen for about 2 years now (the amount of time I've been reloading). This is the first time I've found rust on them but I'm not surprised. My kitchen just seems to hold onto humidity. Once, when I was making meatballs on the stove, I looked over at my safe and saw that it was sweating. I since decided that whenever something is cooking on the stove, the back door gets opened to let the steam out.

BDS
That's a neat tip! I'll have to try it.

 

[jinxer3006]

I really like the silicone impregnated gun cloths for protecting my dies and other reloading equipment. Work great on the guns too!

 

[MrOldLude]

Look up what WD 40 was invented for. Yes it lifts off water but it was in fact developed for long term Rust prevention of our ICB missiles sitting in silos all over the country.

Water Displacement Formula #40 experiment.

It might have been invented to prevent rust, but it does a lousy job of it. WD40 is a decent penetrating solvent, but little else. It's pretty weak at long-term lubrication and inhibiting corrosion.

 

[Rule3]

Here for what it's worth. At least it's a test and not anecdotal.

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

 

[zxcvbob]

VCI paper.

 

[ranger335v]

"1. I'm lazy. I don't like having to work oil through all of the threads on the dies, so I'd prefer something faster like a spray"

So use a spray oil.

 

[Chas.]

Where are you storing them? If your reloading bench is in the garage and your dies are rusting, store the dies inside your house and bring the ones you need out when you are reloading.

To go a step further, store them in a refrigerator or freezer. They're both natural de-humidifiers.

 

[ranger335v]

"Look up what WD 40 was invented for. Yes it lifts off water but it was in fact developed for long term Rust prevention of our ICB missiles sitting in silos all over the country."

It was, as it's name suggests, the maker's 40th effort to obtain good Water Displacement qualities. Any specific uses by any purchasing organization was incidental to it's original purpose. A light oil will lube, protect and penatrate to some degree for short periods and the WD formula's carrier is a light, volatile oil.

I've never heard anyone who knows what they are talking about suggest US govie purchasing agents having a clue about anything's effectiveness. And that was well understood in the Air Force when I wore the blue suit, it was often a struggle to obtain what we - and our equipment - needed instead of what some logistics dufus felt was cheep but good enough; they were always half right.

 

[Fatelvis]

I leave my dies in the Dillon 550 dieheads, and put them in a big ammo can (I think like a 20mm one) with a plug-in rechargable silica dehumidifier. Has kept them rust free in my humid basement for about 8 years. I check the color indicator on the silica pack, and plug it in for a few hours when it is saturated. Money well spent!