An alternative for Imperial Sizing Die Wax

M

milanmartin

New member
Rating - 100%
21   0   0
Location
Vancouver - British columbia
I know there are many personal preferences around case resizing lubrication agents, so I'm not trying to advocate for one or another here.
Rather, I'm sharing a personal find that might help out reloaders that are having difficulty finding Imperial Sizing Die Wax.

Baby sections of the usual pharmacy chains (Shoppers, Rexall, etc.) will carry 100% lanolin by Lansinoh, that comes in a 40gr tube.
It is lanolin in its natural waxy state, but dissolves quickly on the fingers and is very easily applied to the brass by hand.

Here's the manufacturer's link: https://www.lansinoh.com/products/hpa-lanolin
If you happen to be at Walmart, they also carry the product: http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/lansinoh-lanolin/6000113588816

I resized (+ reloaded and fired) several hundreds of cases with this and it works great.

It is negligibly more expensive than Imperial Sizing Die Wax per unit of weight, which is not strange considering that it's a human grade product.
 
Yep, my experience as well - point well taken.

This find came about (as they often do) in a pinch :)
I was going to prep some brass and was out of lube, so I strolled down the street to the closest pharmacy to get some liquid lanolin - this was the only thing they had.

I actually made and experiment to dilute it 1:10 with 99% alcohol, for my spray bottle.

Warmed up (melted) the waxy lanolin in a glass jar and also warmed up the alcohol in the second jar. They mixed nice and clear, but as soon the temperature dropped to room temperature the lanolin hardened.
Nevertheless, the solution is usable from the spray bottle as the size of lanolin droplets is now miniscule.

Apart from spraying it on, I lube by hand every 10th or so case which leaves enough on the die.
 
I couldn't find any lanolin here locally, only seen it available on Amazon, I bought some RCBS lube that does the job and should last me a long time.
 
milanmartin said:
Yep, my experience as well - point well taken.

This find came about (as they often do) in a pinch :)
I was going to prep some brass and was out of lube, so I strolled down the street to the closest pharmacy to get some liquid lanolin - this was the only thing they had.

I actually made and experiment to dilute it 1:10 with 99% alcohol, for my spray bottle.

Warmed up (melted) the waxy lanolin in a glass jar and also warmed up the alcohol in the second jar. They mixed nice and clear, but as soon the temperature dropped to room temperature the lanolin hardened.
Nevertheless, the solution is usable from the spray bottle as the size of lanolin droplets is now miniscule.

Apart from spraying it on, I lube by hand every 10th or so case which leaves enough on the die.
Click to expand...

Get the liquid version and the worst that happens is you may have to give the bootle a shake from time to time 1 to 12 mix is best I find
 
I ordered a 8 OZ. bottle of liquid lanolin from Ebay ($25 delivered) what I don't use in my lifetime I'll pass on to my grandchildren. Mix 12 to 1 with 99% alcohol PS the druggists keep the 99% behind the counter you have to ask for it.
 
Princess Auto has a lanolin-based anti-corrosion spray that I use. Use about half as much as you think is the bare minimum. It's sticky, so I only use it if I'll be tumbling the brass afterwards. Otherwise I use the Imperial Wax or the Lee spray that dries.
 
I bought a 7oz tub of Now brand lanolin from Amazon. It's a little more cost effective than the small tubes.

Neutral shoe polish or mink oil can also be used in the same way as Imperial wax. For that matter, so can just about any grease.

One "out of the box" product I have tried is Permatex Engine Assembly Lube. I originally bought it to lubricate some ratchets and I thought I would try it as sizing lube after my spray bottle of lanolin/alcohol mix got spilled. A couple drops in a large freezer bag about half full of brass and shaken to distribute works well.

There are lots of different things that can be used for sizing lube.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom