Removing Lube after Completing Reloading Suggestions?

The OP stated he was having difficulty wiping the brass off because of arthritis, which pretty much rules out using his hands. Dry tumble the loaded rounds for a short time. Princess Auto sells a 20 lb. bag of crushed walnut cheap. I would think that bag would last a long, long time. I wipe the Lee lube off right after sizing. I put it on sparingly with my fingers. So far, I am still able to use my hands and fingers, but the day will come.
 
I use the lee lube. After sizing, I spin the brass in a dry rag while chucked in the drill, prior to using the lee case length gauge/trimmer. I hardly ever tumble brass.
 
I typically use Lee lube and throw it in the tumbler after sizing. You definitely don't need separate media for this. The only thing that builds up is soot that comes out with dryer sheets. Then I reactivate with more Frankford brass polish. I'm still using the corn cob that came with the damn tumbler years ago doing this but lately it's needed cleaning more often so I bought a jug of Hornady corn cob. It still cleans just as good and will bring out a bright shine over night even on tarnished and stained range pick up. And if you're worried about corn cob or walnut wearing your brass out... you're spending too much time thinking about what ifs lol. For some stuff I use Redding die wax and dry neck lube. Awesome combo but the corn cob doesn't like removing it as easy as Lee lube. So I use brakleen on a shop towel. But I normally use it for smaller batches like 50 or less. And to answer the OP, I do tumble after loading sometimes too. It does no harm.
 
Are you using a progressive turret press?
I clean the lube off my dillon progressive press loaded pistol rounds in a big sweatshirt with the arms and neck sewn shut. I just roll them around and back and forth in that sweatshirt for 5 minutes and box them ready for shooting. You could probably use a pillow case in a pinch. Lay it with the rounds inside and rub them around and roll them back and forth. I don't like vibrating loaded pistol rounds because it was shown to break the powder up a little depending on how long you did it for.
 
For reloading rifle cartridges on a single stage press I use Imperial sizing wax. So little is used that it's barely perceptible afterwards. After the first half dozen cases there will be a bit of lube in the die and you often only need to lube every third or fourth case after that. When done I may give them a wipe if there is leftover lube but usually you don't need to do much.

Using other lubes I used to tumble them for a bit

Pistol on progressive presses I just use carbide dies and no lube.
 
cooey43 said:
After 40 years of using all the messy lube stuff I now ( for 10 years) use the Best of All, "Imperial Sizing WAX", from Redding Reloading Equipment.
The thinnest of a coating is all that is needed. No messy lube to remove & it wipes off in a snap. I touch ( not a swipe) the wax with my finger tip
& that is all that is needed per rifle case. Just try it. Use the smallest amount for a good job.
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:agree: I do the same, a little goes a long way.
 
I appreciate all of the ideas and the discussions. I have been using ripped up used dryer sheets in my vibratory tumbler for years and am a big fan of it.

My "internet research" would indicate that tumbling the live rounds for an hour or less should not damage the powder or cause me other grief. I've read that vibrating rimfire ammo is bad due to the chance of dislodging the priming compound from the rim resulting in misfires. Again, this is centerfire pistol not hunting (rifle) rounds so if tumbling is safe that is what I am planning on doing.

I do own a can of Hornady One-Shot lube. Could try using that instead of the Lee lube (and then just not wipe down the cases). Or even roll around in a pillowcase/old clothes. All good ideas.

Thank you all.
 
I would try it without lube. I never lube my 44 40 cases or my 25 20 cases, I just have ordinary steel dies, I get great case life and no problems although they are both bottle necked cases. It’s so nice not to deal with lube.
 
wasa said:
I appreciate all of the ideas and the discussions. I have been using ripped up used dryer sheets in my vibratory tumbler for years and am a big fan of it.

My "internet research" would indicate that tumbling the live rounds for an hour or less should not damage the powder or cause me other grief. I've read that vibrating rimfire ammo is bad due to the chance of dislodging the priming compound from the rim resulting in misfires. Again, this is centerfire pistol not hunting (rifle) rounds so if tumbling is safe that is what I am planning on doing.

I do own a can of Hornady One-Shot lube. Could try using that instead of the Lee lube (and then just not wipe down the cases). Or even roll around in a pillowcase/old clothes. All good ideas.

Thank you all.
Click to expand...

Be careful with the one shot.
I recently had two stuck cases,using it a d they were sprayed more than recommended.
 
The only pistol round I lube is 7.62X25. I load them on a Dillon 550 and the lube removal issue was one I had to work out as well. I have most of the common lubes out there, Hornady One Shot, Dillon Lanolin, Lee, RCBS pad, and even made my own home made one with raw lanolin from CanadaAmmo.

For me, the solution to doing larger lots of pistol ammo was to use the water soluble Lee Case lube.

Aafter loading, dump them into a slightly dampened towel on the floor. I use a few drops of dish soap into a 500 ml sprayer bottle of water. I then flip half the towel on top of the rounds and roll the whole bunch against the ground with my hands. It takes a few min to do 300 rounds this way.

Finally, they dry in a few min once removed from the towel. I put them right into the case I'm going to store them in and wait 5-10 min before I cover with the lid.

For the cleanup it's just toss the towel in the laundry as the lee lube doesn't make a real mess of the towel.
 
B.,
I thought the warning was don’t spray brass in a loading block because it’s very important to lube the web area of the case. Higher pressures are generated in the resizing die which can cause stuck cases, in the web area because the brass is thicker.
 
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