To Lube or not to Lube

[Magload]

Ok I went and ordered a can of Oneshot. Think I will just spray the cases while they are in the 550s case bin. That way they all will get a little and I don't need to count every 5th one. That would be hard as it takes both hands to run a 550 so I would loose track of what finger I was on. Sorry guys I just had my big toenail pulled out and I might just be a little not right.

 

[muddocktor]

The only time I've seen lubing pistol cases with a carbide die be needed is if you wet clean them prior to sizing and decapping 9 MM. I actually had a couple of cases pull out of the shell plate on my Dillon in that scenario. But if I give them a preliminary cleaning with dry media in a vibratory tumbler I have no problems and is what I do nowadays. If I do any wet cleaning, I do it after resizing and decapping. Wet cleaning will pull any and all grease or oil out of the inside and outside of the cases and makes them want to stick and hang up even in carbide dies. Like was stated above, the residual dust from vibratory cleaning will act as a lube and I have no problems resizing dry cleaned cases.

 

[Rule3]

I even shortened the pull handle...I'm such a rebel.

Makes it like driving a nice short gear box sports car!

 

[federali]

Naturally, reloading dies for bottleneck rifle rounds are not carbide and I always found full length sizing a bit of a pain. As I was experimenting with different methods of preparing 9mm and .45 ACP for reloading, I took my 7mm-08 brass, soaked them in Lemishine and hot water, tumbled them, then lubed them as I had always done. It was a complete revelation: the brass entered the non-carbide dies so easily that I thought I was doing something wrong.

I use carbide pistol dies. After washing and tumbling my brass, sizing is so easy that I don't see a need to add lube to the process.

 

[Rule3]

Ah the nay sayers. Yes, it is easy with carbide dies.No you don't need it.
But it is easier with a little spritz. If you have not tried it you will never know.

A little lube is usually a good thing

 

[aurora40]

I lube, especially nickel plated cases.
I have found that the nickel can gall onto the carbide and start scratching the cases.
If needed, I run a tight patch with some JB or lead cloth using a drill into the carbide ring(s) to get the fouling off.

I have to say, this is very timely. I'll give a little background to my situation...

I stainless tumble cases. I like how clean they get, but they are tight to resize because they are squeaky clean. Similarly, they tend to tarnish a bit over time because they have nothing protecting them. But I don't want to add hassle to the routine, like another tumbling in wax-impregnated media or something. Anyway, I had some automotive wax-as-you-dry stuff and figured I'd spray that on the sides (Meguiar's NXT if you are interested). I then rolled them around a lot in a towel and left them to dry.

They didn't seem overly slick when I went to resize them, but whatever. I started with nickel .38 Special cases. The first two were kinda normalish, the third took more effort. I thought maybe it was just oversized or something. By the fourth case, it was super hard to resize. It came out of the die covered in linear/vertical scratches. The die itself clearly has some stuff stuck on it. I tried a .375 bore brush with brake cleaner to no avail. I was thinking of trying steel wool next.

What is "JB"? A lead remover cloth sounds great, except I don't have one. I could pick one up though and give that a try. It's a Lee die so it's not like there is a ton of money tied up in it, but it would be nice to fix it.

Needless to say I'll be re-tumbling the cases before continuing with them... I think the idea isn't terrible, maybe a carnauba-based wax product would work better than a polymer one.

 

[Rule3]

A lead removal cloth is just a cloth impregnated with a polish like Flitz or Mothers Mag Wheel polish. Both of which are cheaper and do a better job of clean lead or stainless steel guns.

As to the type of lube for cases, it is not regular carnuba wax. It is more of a silicone, The LEE lube is Wire Pulling lube which can be purchased in large quantities at Homers or Lowes.

It is water soluble.

A spritz of Pledge Multi Surface would work better than true car wax,

 

[Nemo288]

JB non-embedding bore compound is a very fine abrasive in an oil base.

j-b-non-embedding-bore-cleaning-compound

===
Nemo

 

[aurora40]

JB non-embedding bore compound is a very fine abrasive in an oil base.

j-b-non-embedding-bore-cleaning-compound

===
Nemo

Thanks! I ended up stumbling onto this FAQ from Redding:
Scratched Cases: Causes and Cures - Redding Reloading Equipment: reloading equipment for rifles, handguns, pistols, revolvers and SAECO bullet casting equipment

I didn't have 800 grit, but have some 2000 grit wet/dry. I cut a square piece, put it on a .375 jag and wet it with mineral spirits, and spun it back and forth by hand. The lines in the carbine ring are gone, and running a case through yields an unscratched case.

However, it's great to have more than one way to do this, and if I ever need bore paste for anything, it's great to know it has some secondary uses as well.

 

[Nemo288]

Toothpaste has been used in a pinch
(As a bore paste and die polish).

===
Nemo

 

[federali]

Another Wrinkle

I just remembered one of my uncle's friends who used to reload and shoot 8mm-06. He said he only used Spry cooking grease as lube and he never had a problem full-length sizing his brass. I think Spry is still on the shelves and is probably identical to Crisco.

 

[arjay]

I've used wd-40 and 3in one oil in a pinch-whatever works [emoji1]

 

[dmar]

I don't usually bother with lube on straight-walled pistol cases. However, it does make 9mm sizing a little easier. It is not "necessary," but does make it a little smoother. I just spray a little One Shot on the cases that I lay flat on an old cookie sheet baking tray and roll them around a little.

Also, for all calibers, I add a shot of NuFinish liquid car wax to the corn cob media when I tumble my brass. Gets them nice and clean and shiny, and helps to keep the dust down. I'm not sure if it helps any in terms of lube when sizing the cases, but it may...?

 

[DWalt]

"...soaked them in Lemishine"

Lemishine is the high-priced form of Citric Acid. I buy it off eBay in 15# lots very cheaply. I use it for brass cleaning, and also the kitchen dishwasher (which is what Lemishine is sold for). As a case lube, a lubricant with high film strength is needed. I have always used STP oil additive. A can of it will last you a lifetine. A thick solution of Ivory bar soap in water works. So does Lanolin. And as I hve recently discovered, so does Johnson's Paste Wax. A pound of that will set you back about $7.00 and should last you a lifetime. Great for use on guns also. Forget the "Ren Wax." JPW is just as good and much cheaper.

 

[rwsmith]

When I got that 'hard' batch....

When I got that 'hard' batch of .357 Starline that we discussed here on another thread, I sprayed all of the cases good and it made the resizing job doable. Then I had to contend with the primer pockets. Wow.

 

[old 1911 fan]

I lube them all! I switched to spray on dry when it came out. I find if I make 20 .375 H&H Mags. 100 .38 specials are a breeze! When they came out with carbide dies, that was great!

old 1911 fan

 

[sw282]

l dont lube strait wall cases sized with carbide dies. However, l tumble polish all cases before sizing..lt is much easier to size a clean case while keeping my dies dirt free too.

 

[yeti]

Carbide sizing dies and a wee bit of Hornady One Shot.
Smooths out operation nicely. Perhaps not necessary, but helpful.

 

[leathermech]

Nope. I've never found a 38 case that gave me any attitude. I'll rub 44 mag cases on the lube pad, but I don't squish gazillions of those like I do 38.

Everyone has a different goal in mind.

Semper Fi, Guns!

 

[andyo5]

The only straight walled pistol cases that I find need lubing are 45 Colt. I never lube .357, .38, or 45 ACP cases.
I don't spray lube onto the cases. I spray it onto a foam pad and roll each case over the pad just before I resize it. A little goes a long way.