thinking of making my own lube ,reason being I find the the stuff you get is real greasy and hard to remove off the brass what kind of lube that you guys make will work well for me, I have some lanolin here from the drug store .what else will I need??????? ,thanks hound2013
lube for brass
- Thread starter hound2013
- Start date
The thing is that the lube which is easy to remove won't do a good job of lubricating the brass during the pressures needed for sizing. Maybe just keep on using what you have and find something to dampen a rag with that cuts through the lube and wipes it away?
Save the time/misery of making your own. Buy a spray bottle of Dillon case lube - put the brass to be lubed in a big (2qt ) ziplock bag - give the lube bottle about 3 squirts into the bag - seal it up - tumbled it around to make sure all cases have a very light coating - dump the works onto a tray to dry off and sized your cases EFFORTLESSLY with little to NO CLEANING of excess/sticky/yucky greasy lube....
To use the search feature!!!!!!!!
Lanolin mixed with 99% isopropyl alcohol. 1:10 or more ratio. Same stuff as the Dillion case lube.
I use Lee's case lubed mixed the same way but more like 1:20 parts.
Mineral spirits removes any residue of the lee lube, not sure about the lanolin.
Lanolin mixed with 99% isopropyl alcohol. 1:10 or more ratio. Same stuff as the Dillion case lube.
I use Lee's case lubed mixed the same way but more like 1:20 parts.
Mineral spirits removes any residue of the lee lube, not sure about the lanolin.
- Location
- Over the rainbow
If you have liquid lanolin then you need 99% isopropyl alcohol. Not 80% or 90%.. 99%, because the stuff that isn't alcohol is water.
You can get it at a drug store, but sometimes it's a bit hard to find and you may need to ask around. There's an antifreeze called Iso-HEET that many people also use, if you can find it in your area.
Do a search online for 'DIY lube lanolin' and you'll find some instructions on making it. Usually people say a 12:1 mixture of alcohol to lanolin is about right.
I like this stuff because it's cheap and easy to make in bulk, but personally I think it's nowhere near as good as the Hornady one-shot aerosol can. That stuff sprays on and wipes off easily; the lanolin mix seems to want to hang around a lot longer and is much more resistant to cleaning. I wet tumble though, so it works for me.
You can get it at a drug store, but sometimes it's a bit hard to find and you may need to ask around. There's an antifreeze called Iso-HEET that many people also use, if you can find it in your area.
Do a search online for 'DIY lube lanolin' and you'll find some instructions on making it. Usually people say a 12:1 mixture of alcohol to lanolin is about right.
I like this stuff because it's cheap and easy to make in bulk, but personally I think it's nowhere near as good as the Hornady one-shot aerosol can. That stuff sprays on and wipes off easily; the lanolin mix seems to want to hang around a lot longer and is much more resistant to cleaning. I wet tumble though, so it works for me.
Why not just use either spray on lube or Lee. I use Lee exclusively. Put it on with my fingers, size, wipe it off with a blue shop towel. You can lube a bunch, as the Lee stuff works dry as well. A tiny bit goes a long way. Too straightforward for some. 
- Location
- The Orion Arm
I've used the Dillon lube since day 1.
When I'm done reloading, I just spread the rounds out on some newspaper and give them 1-2 quick passes with chlorine free brake cleaner. Dissolves the lube easily. Count to 10 and pick them up.
When I'm done reloading, I just spread the rounds out on some newspaper and give them 1-2 quick passes with chlorine free brake cleaner. Dissolves the lube easily. Count to 10 and pick them up.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
I've tried and used a good variety of products over the years, and in my opinion, the two best are;
- #1, Imperial Sizing Die Wax by Imperial. 2nd to none!
- #2, Unique Case Lube by Hornady
- #1, Imperial Sizing Die Wax by Imperial. 2nd to none!
- #2, Unique Case Lube by Hornady
- Location
- Federal Riding of Wascana
For pistol brass I use no lube, never had to cuz of tungsten carbide dies but, all my rifle brass gets a lite touch of regular 3 in 1 lite all purpose oil. Gets washed off in the birchwood Casey liquid case cleaner anyway. Small batches just get wiped off with a rag.
I use Imperial sizing die wax and either wipe it off with 99% alcohol ( 4 pack for 4 bucks at Costco) or throw them back into the tumbler. I've used electrical contact cleaner and brake-cleaner for removing lubes, but decided years ago that since there is a safer way its better to use it. The worst thing alcohol can do is dry out your skin a bit, or make your nails brittle.
- Location
- West Quebec
Is this for pistol or rifle or both?
Snakehunter
CGN Regular
- Location
- Kenora, Ontario
I use Dillon spray lube on my regular rifle brass, but for resizing I discovered it just isn't up to the task. For taking my .308 brass down to 7mm-08 I find the Lee case lube does an excellent job. If I was worried about removing lube I would tumble with corn cob. It will remove any residue
- Location
- Over the rainbow
Well, making the lube takes about 10 minutes and lasts ages.
I specifically stopped using the Hornady aerosol product because (a) I reload in a small space so I wind up doing a lot of things in the kitchen and (b) it contains n-hexane, which is moderately nasty stuff.
However, I definitely think that the Hornady stuff is better than the home-made lube.
Lanolin or Castor oil, you can grab both at most health stores, cut it with alcohol, gas line antifreeze or methyl hydrate. I usually mix it up 1 OZ per liter of mix. Saturate a microfiber cloth with the solution, let the mix evaporate and then you have a cloth to wipe the rounds with or toss it in a bag with the brass and shake it around. Use gloves to eliminate any of the mix from coming into contact with your skin. This will give you a minute amount of oil on the casings and be good for your skin (once the mix evaporates).
I'm going to agree 100%. You're basic fundamentals of marksmanship won't improved being bent over your loading bench all day making lube...
see what I did there??? Bent over your bench... making lube... Damn it I'm hilarious...
cdn1canhunt
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- southwestern ontario
I use unique case lube, comes in a small tub wipe on with my fingers just a little bit goes a long way.. Resize then back into the tumbler.
