Washing off case lube?

There was an article by John Barsness who wondered about the lube on a case thing. If I remember, his concern was that normal "lubes" have a limit to the pressure that they withstand - and that a modern 60,000 psi load will be well beyond the capacity of most lubes to continue to "lubricate". But maybe that is different with a 30,000 psi loading? Is one of those "loose" things rolling around in memory that I had never read anything else, either for or against that notion that he had. It might have been his article that described the British proofing process - I do not recall particulars of what lubricant was used on the cases for proof testing.
 
I started reloading with a Lee Loader, then graduated to a Lyman Spar-T. I used an RCBS pad and that sticky lube. As soon as I discovered LEE case lube, I abandoned the pad, and have used LEE ever since. I simply put it on with my fingers, resize, then wipe it off with a blue shop towel. I may or may not put them in my old Thumbler's Tumbler or Frankford vibrator. I do take care to be sure ALL the lube is gone.
 
I use royal case and die lube which is quite thin so it dries relatively clean. And here's where I stir the pot and the keyboard warriors explode. If my cases are still sticky I just toss them in the tumbler for 15 min with some old media and it cleans em right up.
 
Burton Urnie said:
I have read that some types of lube , if left on the case.may case greater pressure on the bolt face.
I use Lee lube in a bag with a small amount of 99% alcohol (buy it at a farm supply, 4liters, inexpensive) to thin it and speed dry time. I perfer it once its dried, it seems less messy.
Then I either wipe clean with a cotton cloth or wash with hot water, dawn soap, a little vinegar and 1/2 tsp salt in a 4 liter jug. Shake it a few times dump out to dry after 30 mins of soaking.
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FYI that makes a mild solution of Hydrochloric acid.

Personally I use use Liquid lanolin and 99% isopropyl acholic.
 
Two words - lacquer thinner. Completely dissolves any of the lubes almost instantly. A quick swish of the lubed cases in a tub with some lacquer thinner, drain the thinner back in the can for re-use and spread the cases on an old towel. The thinner evaporates in a minute or two and the cases are ready to prime and load. Just do it in a well ventilated area away from any open flame.

Acetone also works well but it is more volatile so you lose more to evaporation.

Tumbling the cases also works but it quickly contaminates the media with lube so it becomes ineffective fairly quickly.
 
Ganderite said:
I don't like to put dirty brass in a sizer. can causes scratches. So I tumble for a half hour to clean it up.

Then I lube and size and then tumble for a few hours to make it shiny.
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I do something similar

first I use a universal decapper to remove the spent primer, then into the tumbler for a few hours, then sorting, clean the primer pocket, size, trim, and back into the tumbler for another couple of hours.

at this point it gets put in the boxes till I'm ready to reload it.


I'm starting to think I need to get into wet tumbling with stainless pins
 
I like to tumble the brass before I run them through the dies. Use RCBS lube and pad and wipe the cases off with a cotton rag, clean the primer pockets, check and trim for length and give them all another tumble. Inspect each case after the final tumble and clean the primer hole.
 
woodchopper said:
I do something similar

first I use a universal decapper to remove the spent primer, then into the tumbler for a few hours, then sorting, clean the primer pocket, size, trim, and back into the tumbler for another couple of hours.

at this point it gets put in the boxes till I'm ready to reload it.


I'm starting to think I need to get into wet tumbling with stainless pins
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I do the same, but I have to wait in between for the cases to dry. It keeps my dies pretty clean.

I'll never go back to Dry Tumbling.
 
ted_dent said:
Two words - lacquer thinner. Completely dissolves any of the lubes almost instantly. A quick swish of the lubed cases in a tub with some lacquer thinner, drain the thinner back in the can for re-use and spread the cases on an old towel. The thinner evaporates in a minute or two and the cases are ready to prime and load. Just do it in a well ventilated area away from any open flame.

Acetone also works well but it is more volatile so you lose more to evaporation.

Tumbling the cases also works but it quickly contaminates the media with lube so it becomes ineffective fairly quickly.
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I use Dillon spray lube. Place cases in zip lock bag as per Ganderite's suggestion. After sizing, I put them in a tumbler for 10 minutes. This removes all lubricant inside and out. I was concerned about contaminating the media as well as I process several hundred cases at a time (.223 and .308 mostly). So, I have a separate tumbler for removing the lube only. Nothing else. The media lasts a long time since it is not polishing or cleaning but efficiently removes the lube. May not be the solution for everyone but I got tired of wiping down several hundred cases at a time, not with best results either.
 
One other thought - if you spray or brush lube into the case neck to make sizing smoother as you draw out the neck size button, and if you aren't cleaning the inside of the case neck after lubricating and sizing, you will contribute to two things: lube potentially degrading powder or primer, and lube causing inconsistent neck tension. Neither would be good for consistency, accuracy, or reliability. That's why I prefer to clean the insides too.
 
I've used Acetone now for over 30 years. After washing I let the acetone evaporate leaving the sludge at the bottom of the plastic margerine container. Then a few days later just throw it away.
 
Without reading through 4 pages, I use Imperial Sizing Wax, "sparingly" like it says right on the can. Wipe off with a rag, quick and simple.
 
Rifle brass , I deprime them first, wet tumble for 3 hrs( you can leave them for days in the solution and it won’t change color).
Once they’re dry, I resize with lanolin/isopropyl mixture then wet tumble for 1/2 hr.
 
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