Should I lube before sizing these?

[shoebox1.1]

And I had a learning curve of after lubing and sizing ( which went great) it was hard to get the lube off. I soaked the bullets in acetone for probably 45 mins then in soapy water for several hours. It got them clean but dulled the finish big time. They don’t look good anymore. Should shoot fine. I have a new clean batch getting coated tonight. After coated they are getting mic’d and if it’s .431 I’m leaving them alone.

 

[AJC1]

And I had a learning curve of after lubing and sizing ( which went great) it was hard to get the lube off. I soaked the bullets in acetone for probably 45 mins then in soapy water for several hours. It got them clean but dulled the finish big time. They don’t look good anymore. Should shoot fine. I have a new clean batch getting coated tonight. After coated they are getting mic’d and if it’s .431 I’m leaving them alone.

The sizer is now seasoned so I'd just run them...

 

[WeekendReloader]

And I had a learning curve of after lubing and sizing ( which went great) it was hard to get the lube off. I soaked the bullets in acetone for probably 45 mins then in soapy water for several hours. It got them clean but dulled the finish big time. They don’t look good anymore. Should shoot fine. I have a new clean batch getting coated tonight. After coated they are getting mic’d and if it’s .431 I’m leaving them alone.

Next time you use the Alox, just load them as-is. You can then decide if you want to wipe the noses with a rag to pretty them up.

 

[41 Mag]

Next time you use the Alox, just load them as-is. You can then decide if you want to wipe the noses with a rag to pretty them up.

/\ /\ This..

I use a version of Alox called 45-45-10 on my Lee 452-300 bullets in my 454 hunting loads. After loading, I sit with the box in my lap listening to jams and wipe them off before putting them in the storage box. None of that on the noses matters to the barrel but it will get dust and such stuck to it.

 

[shoebox1.1]

So I coated my 3rd batch the Elvis ammo method of heating the rounds at 150 for 4 mins prior to shake and bake. Dump into basket, shake off excess then bake for 20 mins at 400. It worked pretty well! Cooled them then into the sizer. Very tough to size bone dry. For me they have to have something on em. So I did something wild… read and followed the directions in the alox package! In the bowl with a small amount of straight alox. Turned out perfect! Will size tonight.

 

[AJC1]

So I coated my 3rd batch the Elvis ammo method of heating the rounds at 150 for 4 mins prior to shake and bake. Dump into basket, shake off excess then bake for 20 mins at 400. It worked pretty well! Cooled them then into the sizer. Very tough to size bone dry. For me they have to have something on em. So I did something wild… read and followed the directions in the alox package! In the bowl with a small amount of straight alox. Turned out perfect! Will size tonight.

If your not quenching them, your actually softening the bullet. Air cooled bullets take several weeks or months to harden up.

 

[shoebox1.1]

Oh wow I didn’t know that. They’ll get a dunk from here on out! Thx

 

[WeekendReloader]

Oh wow I didn’t know that. They’ll get a dunk from here on out! Thx

Yeah, lead is funny like that.
I usually knock the hot bullets out of the mold into a bucket of water when casting. Then, when I powder coat them, I drop them off the hot tray into a bucket of water. This helps to retain some of the hardness so that you can load some to shoot right away if needed.

From what I have read online, the lead gradually hardens over a few weeks until it equalizes. The length of time varies depending on the alloy of different metals it contains. Therefore, I usually cast and powder coat a big mess of bullets in the spring for my use throughout the year. They typically end up sitting a month or so before I get around to loading them.