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View Full Version : What is a good case lube for wet processing?


stilly
09-26-2013, 8:46 AM
SO, I ran all of my 50 AE through the thumler and got nothing cleaned off them, and then I switched over to RICE and it cleaned them all right up.

I do not want to switch over to rice to clean up all of my .223 that I have decided to process now.

BTW, for whomever asked, it looks like you can fit in at least 628 pieces of .223 brass into a thumler with only a couple of lbs of pins and minimal water, although I was not thinking and dumped in the pins instead of just using CA so I decided to keep going with it...

I think I will put in about 13 lbs of cases next time with about half gallon or less of water and some CA and see how that does.

NOW though, I want to start resizing some of my .223 but I do not want to use this case lube that I have if it is gonna be tacky and not come off when I wet process it. SO, is there a good case lube that comes off in water?

Imperial sizing wax might not from the title, but any information is appreciated here. How good is this imperial sizing wax? I heard hardly any needed, but since it is a wax is it okay to leave on or need it be removed?

I do not want to keep collecting bottles of case lube. I have seen things like, shaving down a bar of ivory soap and mixing with water in the microwave and letting sit for a day till it gels up and then use it like the wax and it lasts and lasts, but I want to take a better shot at this without going overboard.
If I have to use rice I guess I can; just didn't want to unless I had to...

I plan to get through about 6k of .223 shells. I want to start resizing and trimming and load a few up.

CK_32
09-26-2013, 8:50 AM
My squeeze bottle if RCBS lube that came with my starter kit seems to come off fairly easy. I tumble, lube, resize then throw it all in a towel and role all the brass together and it's pretty clean of lube. Give that a try.

stilly
09-26-2013, 8:59 AM
I have a pump spray bottle of RCBS but it is tacky. Is yours tacky too?

OH. Looks like gasoline or mineral spirits can also clean off the tacky lube... :\

I dunno if I want to add that to my lineup though.

Also, is yours called RCBS CASE LUBE 2 ??

I was reading about that.

CK_32
09-26-2013, 9:29 AM
Yea mine is the CL2.

I don't know if its the same as the spray. I don't think so cause I have to give it a good squeeze to get some lube out. It's pretty thick. It seems pretty slimy and slick to me. I'm sure if I played with it it would get a little tacky tho.

I've never used any other lube I just threw it out there cause the CL2 seems to lube and clean well. I've been happy with it. Like I said throw them in a towel role them around and the lubes usually off.

Willwork4ammo
09-26-2013, 9:29 AM
Imperial Sizing Wax comes off fine in a wet tumble. It's my goto lube until I get the chance to try some homemade stuff.

krwada
09-26-2013, 10:03 AM
Imperial sizing wax is incredibly good stuff. You only need a very tiny bit. I have never tried taking it off by dissolving in water however. It may come off in wet tumbling with a detergent solution.

I just wipe the stuff off with a rag.

tiller
09-26-2013, 3:57 PM
Rcbs case lube 2...


Mix one bottle of that with half of the bottle of water. So one once of water

Put in a spray bottle... Best lube ever

stilly
09-26-2013, 4:34 PM
where is a good place to get sizing wax? I see various places from 9.00 to 35.00

I wanna try the CL 2 and some wax and see which works better for me.

FLIGHT762
09-26-2013, 4:46 PM
Read this thread: http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-reloading/137032-eureka-great-tip-stainless-tumbling-users.html
The guy uses Ivory dish washing liquid soap. He reports it works great. Read the entire thread on how he does it for wet processing brass.

armyguy209
09-26-2013, 8:15 PM
We are setup pretty simliarly Stilly. I was the one asking about how many cases people are running in their Thumler. As far as lube goes, I use the Dillon spray lube and love it. It comes right off in my Thumler and doesnt leave any residue behind to wash off. Not only that, it is easy peasy to apply. I throw all of mine in a rectangle shaped tupperware with lid about 200 at a time, spray a few sprays, put the lid on and shake away. Then I let them sit for about 15 mins and dump them into my casefeeder. As I am processing those, the other 200 are getting their 15 min dry time. Bigger container and you can do more at a time.

stilly
09-26-2013, 9:30 PM
We are setup pretty simliarly Stilly. I was the one asking about how many cases people are running in their Thumler. As far as lube goes, I use the Dillon spray lube and love it. It comes right off in my Thumler and doesnt leave any residue behind to wash off. Not only that, it is easy peasy to apply. I throw all of mine in a rectangle shaped tupperware with lid about 200 at a time, spray a few sprays, put the lid on and shake away. Then I let them sit for about 15 mins and dump them into my casefeeder. As I am processing those, the other 200 are getting their 15 min dry time. Bigger container and you can do more at a time.

WOW. I am SO freaking GLAD that you asked that.

Today I processed two loads and did some counting. With my thumler I was able to get pretty close to 10 lbs or about 756 shells of .223 in it, but then it looks like this:

http://www.stillyvision.com/files/cg/756.jpg


I was like, DAMN who was asking about counts in the thumler?
Someone is always asking it seems in case they want to go that route or another.

BUT, with 10 lbs of shells, then I only used a CA bath and really, CA is nice, but the shells barely had room to agitate because 10 lbs puts you almost up to the very top of the barrel so I think shells should be cut to no more than 8 lbs with about 4-5 lbs of pins and about 80OZ of water if you go the CA method. The less room you have in there the more you need pins.

I need to cut it back a tad more, I REALLY do like how about 6.5-7.5lbs of shells and 4-5lbs of pins + 80+ OZ of water comes out.

So a bottle of RCBS CL2, can of ISW and a bottle of Dillon I need to add to my list of more **** I need to put on the shelves... Or I could stop *****ing and go get some gasoline since the dog won't let me mow the back yard anymore...

krwada
09-26-2013, 10:11 PM
where is a good place to get sizing wax? I see various places from 9.00 to 35.00

I wanna try the CL 2 and some wax and see which works better for me.

MidwayUSA has Imperial sizing wax (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/519525/imperial-case-sizing-wax-2-oz). It is in stock and will cost around $8.19 NOT including shipping and handling. I highly recommend you order more stuff... this will allow you to spread the S&H costs over more stuff.

stilly
09-26-2013, 10:13 PM
Oh yeah. I am gonna do so much damage to my CC when I get employed again. The END is NIGH, I can feel it. LTFO.

I am gonna bid on brass, get some handloaders. Hmmm. I wonder if I can trade some brass for some handloaders...

krwada
09-26-2013, 10:19 PM
Oh yeah. I am gonna do so much damage to my CC when I get employed again. The END is NIGH, I can feel it. LTFO.

I am gonna bid on brass, get some handloaders. Hmmm. I wonder if I can trade some brass for some handloaders...

You order small ... you get clobbered by S&H charges. You order large, you get clobbered by your wife. Either way, you get clobbered

That is ... until you get started with the reloading and shooting. Then ... all is forgotten and you remember very quickly why you are doing this in the 1st place!

Heh!

BLR81
09-26-2013, 10:47 PM
Used walnut shells in Lyman tumbler before I got my stainless steel tumbler. Now after I clean the cases in the rock tumbler I use Hornady case lube in the pump bottle prior to sizing. Then I throw the cases into the walnut tumbler with some NuFinish to get the lube off. Takes less than an hour, with only the slightest bit of walnut dust.

The walnut stays clean because the cases are already washed. The cases come out polished with no sticky residue from the case lube.

Bumslie
09-26-2013, 10:57 PM
I put 100-150 pieces of 5.56 brass in a ziplock bag, take a dab of imperial and smear it in my left palm. Kneed the brass and voila, it's all lubed. Goes trough the sizer, then into a towel to wipe the lube off. I don't bother tumbling it again...

stilly
09-26-2013, 11:55 PM
I plan to have a large pile of bullets at some point and the thought of having to wipe them EACH clean bothers me...

Also, did I say handloaders? LoL. I meant hand PRIMERS... damn autocorrect...

Clever
09-27-2013, 12:54 AM
Only One I have ever used and will vouch for it's quality and simplicity is Dillon. Just follow directions.

Bumslie
09-27-2013, 5:56 AM
I plan to have a large pile of bullets at some point and the thought of having to wipe them EACH clean bothers me...

Also, did I say handloaders? LoL. I meant hand PRIMERS... damn autocorrect...

It takes 10 seconds to wipe the entire batch off in a towel... How much easier do you want it?

stilly
09-27-2013, 7:27 AM
It takes 10 seconds to wipe the entire batch off in a towel... How much easier do you want it?

My arse is already puckered at having to do these extra steps. I am NOT thrilled to see a freaking pile of brass sitting in a 5 gallon bucket knowing that I have all of that work to do. Today I am gonna be yanking out some of the brass that is already cleaned. I have already checked and hopefully swaged enough of them. I guess I just hate having any extras to do at this point. I want to have a batch tumbling while I am resizing another batch. Who knows. I have not done rifle before and I don't wanna mess anything up so I am taking baby steps. What other excuses can I throw out? I work so fast that I am afraid that my shop towels might burn. I dunno.

So now I gotta: tumble brass an extra time or two already. Not thrilled about that. Actually, I only swaged the stuff the other night, but not all of it needed swaging. I had a LOT of LC brass, but only about 10% needed swaging. I mean, my primer pocket cleaner thingy had no issues with most of it.

Bumslie
09-27-2013, 8:39 AM
You sure reloading is the right hobby for you? ;) :p

jetman624
09-27-2013, 12:39 PM
Maybe it is just the way I process my brass, but I find that whatever lube I have used to resize is 80% gone by the time I get the bullet loaded in the brass-- just from handling the brass between my steps. A quick wipe with a rag takes care of the rest.

I like the imperial sizing wax myself. Tried the Dillon Case Lube and was not a fan. Will definitely be sticking with the wax.

Clever
09-27-2013, 1:21 PM
Maybe it is just the way I process my brass, but I find that whatever lube I have used to resize is 80% gone by the time I get the bullet loaded in the brass-- just from handling the brass between my steps. A quick wipe with a rag takes care of the rest.

I like the imperial sizing wax myself. Tried the Dillon Case Lube and was not a fan. Will definitely be sticking with the wax.

Really? Jet. I spray 200 pieces which I spread on a plastic sheet, give them a shake and spray again. I wait 10 to 15 minutes as the alcohol smell stars to fade away I shake them one last time. They come out with a fine oily film that sizes beautifully.. Too bad it's not to your liking, as it's a great product for quantity processing.

jetman624
09-27-2013, 1:58 PM
I was doing the "lay them out, spray and roll them around" method. There were always a few that didn't get lube and would stick. Maybe I have a bad batch of the stuff :confused:. I can definitely see how it would be the preferred method if you are processing large batches and could get the stuff to work right.

I use a single stage, so one hand in the wax and another on the brass works fine for me.

Clever
09-27-2013, 7:30 PM
I also use a single stage and Redding sizing wax. It's only for my accuracy loads set up for my 338 Lapua Magnum Only

stilly
09-27-2013, 7:52 PM
You sure reloading is the right hobby for you? ;) :p

Well, it WAS posting links to pg-13 (if that) pics in Off Topic, but sheeeeeit...
Now I gotta look for a job or reload. I guess I can throw firecrackers at the dogs... (yes that is a joke, please no ban...)

:stuart:

Here is the reality, I had a BAD experience with some One shot and then some RCBS CL and although the RCBS CL worked great, I can only IMAGINE how picking out the rice from my .223 will be afterwards.

PERHAPS I should bust out the walnut media along with the super secret cleaning media that I have and tumble 700+ shells at a time in the thumler to see how well it does.

I want my shells to be nice and I want to do a good job, but I have to do it quickly because I hate looking at that pile. And no I aint selling it.

I guess I am just looking for something to keep me occupied until employment finds me but I want to be progressing, not taking lateral steps and just spinning wheels, or doing things that will make me have to add more crap to my inventory. (yeah too late...)

ar15barrels
09-28-2013, 2:48 AM
Dry tumbling in walnut will take off all the non-water-soluable lubes as well as leaving a nice dry powder inside the case necks that acts as a lube when you are expanding the case necks and seating bullets.

stilly
09-29-2013, 9:54 AM
Well, I have been doing some thinking AND I think that I have come to the conclusion that I will use my case lube up and see what works well, I got some stuff on the way, but I will just plow through various lubes that I have, AND since I have a huge bucket of crushed walnut ALONG with some super secret cleaning media that you add to it that I got off a guy at fleabay, I will throw in about 500 cases at a time into my thumler and let it roll and see how good a job it does. WORST CASE I end up switching back to rice, but I think this stuff can work well, I just am lazy at times and do not care to deal with the mess left in the thumler after running dry media in it. It smells funny and has a weird shine to it... :\ Plus seeing gray rice is kinda nasty to look at...