I have always used the RCBS case lube pad for my rifle reloads. Is this "good enough" , or are there better alternatives?

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Kevin in Oregon

I tossed my RCBS lube and pad after trying Imperial case lube. No more stuck or dented cases. Wipes off with a clean rag. RCBS lube was always a mess.

For many, many years, STP has been my case lube. You can cut it some with mineral spirits if you wish. One can should last nearly a lifetime.

A friend showed me the Imperial Case Lube just today, hence my question. He also made the "messy" comment about the RCBS lube. I haven't noticed a mess with it after 40 years or so of using it. Guess I will have to make a comparison.

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Kevin in Oregon

Have used most of the case lubes on the market at one time or another, certainly the Imperial case lube is outstanding!

I recently tried some Royal Case and Die lube in the aerosol can.....seems to be the slickest and most slippery of anything I have used thus far. Anyone else have the same as my observations ?

Randy

I used to use RCBS lube & pad when I first started. Then I found Hornady One Shot, and that's pretty much all I use. I've messed around with some homemade lubes, but that gets messy. HOS is too easy. A can goes a long way.

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What could possibly go wrong?

Whatever is handy. I'm using some sort of of Hornady lube presently. Imperial may have an advantage over the others, but I'm not sure I've seen it. I've used plain Vaseline. In the mid-'60s, my first case lube, used for sizing .30-06 brass, was Vicks VapoRub. Not very classy, but it worked fine.

I spread lube lightly on a folded shop rag and roll rifle brass, about ten at a time, over the rag.

I like Hornady One Shot too & use it on every cartridge I reload for.

I spread the cases out flat & evenly in an old 5qt oil change pan then give them a generous spraying.

Next I stir the cases around real good to spread out the lube & then repeat the process one more time for good measure.

On the occasions I feel I need extra lube for stubborn cases I use Hornady's Unique Case Lube.

.

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Waiting for the break of day

RCBS #2 formula and Hornady One Shot are both water soluble. (they wash off in water) so I lube and size and de-cap, then wet tumble with Lemon Ajax, Lem-a-shine, and 3.5 quarts of hot as I can stand it water. 5 pounds of stainless-steel pins and 2 pounds of brass. All goes inside a Thumbler's #2 Tumbler. I don't know the minimum time but 3 hours and old crusty Black Powder stained 45-70 cases came out looking like new, inside, outside and most importantly the primer pockets too!

Ivan

I have been very happy with the Hornady spray.

Whatever method you use is just fine as long as you don't stick a case .
The older , STP Oil Treatment type lubes applied with a lube-pad got the job done and will still get the job done when you have a tough re-forming job to do .

There are some cleaner lubes out there .
Lee Case Lube is a water soluable metal forming lubricant that is used in the sheet metal fabrication , door panels , airplane wings ... etc.
being water soluable , it isn't messy , wipes off easily and doesn't contaminate anything it touches .
I mix Lee Case Lube with alcohol , as much as will dissolve , and use a small spray bottle to apply ... spray , roll around , spray ... let dry in 2 minutes and the cases are all lubed . the Lee Lube is dry any remnants wipes off easily ... not messy in the least ... And the stuff is very economical .
Save expensive Ren-Wax for the tough jobs ... the Lee Case Lube works great for all handgun and all but the largest rifle re-sizing jobs ... I had some 303 British that must have been fired in a machine gun chamber ...
I had to break out the Lube Pad and STP Oil Treatment to get them re-sized without sticking a case ...they were a Bear to get re-sized !
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

For the extremely difficult ones I break out the automotive rear end lube. Very smelly but effective, it's rare for me to resort to it. Rear end lube is the lube that is used at the location in a vehicle that encounters the potential highest metal to metal contact pressure.

I haven't used my RCBS pad in 40+ years. It was a pita. I simply squeeze a bit of Lee's case lube on my thumb and with my index finger I wipe the cases. For some hard to neck size rifle cases I also lube the inside of the neck with a q-tip. After resizing it's all pretty dry and it takes little effort to wipe them off.

One Shot is pretty pricy. A tin of Imperial wax goes a long way.

The toughest case I have is loading for my 45-90. RCBS Case Slick spray has always worked for me. Lay down newspaper and line up 10 cases at a time. One quick spray sweeping across the row. Roll them over and reapply. Never had a stuck case using this product.

Sure I pay money for it, but anyone priced 45-90 cases lately? Assume that if any company knows how to formulate case lubricant it would be RCBS.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Another vote for Hornaday One Shot.

I have been using LEE lube for years (it is wire pulling lube) water based. You can use it straight or dilute some in iso alcohol in a small spray bottle, shake it up and spray it on. I spritz every caliber.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I've been using Bag Balm for over 10 years. It's a balm they
use on the teats of cows when they become sore.
It's also good for your hands. I just rub some between my
hands and roll the brass between them and then size.
Have never stuck a case and a can will last you a lifetime.

But it makes your rounds go Moooo instead of Bang.

Plus 1 for the Hornady "One Shot." AND, I found out a couple of days ago that it makes an excellent reloading press lubricant.

I've been doing similar. It all cleans off in the case tumbler anyhow.

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it just needs more voltage

I think Bag Balm contains lanolin, which is itself a good sizing lube. Bag Balm was always my mother's miracle cure-all for about anything - scrapes, cuts, scratches, poison ivy, insect bites, sunburn, rashes, you name it.

One Shot or the Dillon spray with lanolin

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Time wounds all heels

Hornaday's One Shot works very well and lasts a long time. It has never affected powder or primers and I use iyt exclusively on large rifle cartridges.

Yes, it does contain lanolin... Very good for the hands.

I worked for a large city department of water and power, When working on a "trouble truck" I stumbled upon a 5 gal pail of Lee case lube (aka wire pulling lube). I took some home, about a half cup full and tried it. Worked good and used the wire pulling lube for several years until I discovered Mink Oil Boot Dressing Cream.

Raised cows all my life, very familiar with the Bag Balm. Never would have thot of using it for case lube. Have a can of it now, use it quite often on my hands. Also used the mink oil boot dressing, for boots. Imagine it being used for case lube.

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Kevin in Oregon

Imperial Case Sizing Wax is excellent. If you are luck you might stumble across Imperial Case Forming Lube, it is discontinued but fantastic!

Frankford Arsenal's spray and Hornady UNIQUE (for 338 Lapua Magnum & 300 WIN MAG) have both worked excellently for me...

But I just gotta' try the Bag Balm!

Cheers!

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Sit Reloader Sentiret

I don't like the waxes. Too hard to remove. (And I don't like leaving it on.) Gimme RCBS water soluble lube any day.
A drop goes on my fingertips every 5th or 6th case as I'm sizing. It's called "The Sticky Fingers Method".

I have used STP since the 1980's. After several hundred cases, I might need to buy my second STP quart soon. I only lube rifle cases.

I have been using RCBS Case Lube Pad for 40+ years too. When I was a new reloader I put too much lube on the pad so it was "messy". A small amount is all you need and no problems since I learned my lesson and I used it on twenty or thirty different calibers.

+1. It is good stuff.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I think I am still using the same can of STP I bought sometime in the late 1960s. I think it was a pint can, not a quart. I thinned the STP a little with mineral spirits., applied on an ink stamp pad.

Another Imperial case sizing wax. Even the occasional little on fingers takes a lot of effort out of resizing pistol brass with a carbide die.

Imperial Sizing Wax is the best commercial lube available on the market IMO.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Once you've tried Imperial you won't go back to whatever else you were using.

On rifle I use Imperial. I use one of the spray lubes on pistol cases...even with carbide dies. Just makes things smoother even with the Dillon presses. When loading 223 on the Dillon...I also use spray lubes after the ordinary rifle case prep. My 223 prep includes steel pin cleaning followed with 20 mins in a tumbler w/corncob media with auto polish added. Spray with any spray lube and even my 223 dies are carbide.. Smooth makes for better loads on progressives. Have to add

BTW when done loading any rifle cases I tumble a bunch at a time in the big Dillon tumbler with plain lizzard bedding walnut shells. No lube left. 10 minutes will do

I agree completely. It also wipes off with a shop rag and can aid in cleaning the outside of the case.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I use ICSW for all of my reforming needs. 300 Savage from 308
is a snap. Used it for weirder reformings in the past.

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I'm with her

Forster case sizing lube or Imperial for the outside, motor mica for the rifle
necks