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Posted: 7/22/2010 6:50:17 AM EDT
| I have a can of that Lyman spray lube stuff but I can't seem to get the hang of it. I had some cases get stuck from underlubing and some had lube shooting out from over lubing. Is there a trick to the spray lube? I've "heard" chapstick works also along with Pam and some other cooking oil/greases any suggestions, tips? |
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the make your own lube works wonders.
Mix lanolin with 99% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle. I forget the ratio off the top of my head, but it helps if you warm the lanolin up before mixing. Then just spray it on and let it sit for a couple minutes and it works great |
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10 to 1 ... alcohol to lanolin
you can even go as high as 12 to 1 99% alcohol is the key to getting the best mix. If you get the Wal-Mart 93% there will be too much water in the mix and it will have to be shaken every time. At 99% the lanolin never settles to the bottom and stays mixed - plus it's super cheap. One 32 ounce bottle of alcohol and lanolin will last you about 50,000 rounds+ for less than $10 Sarg |
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Lanolin is an oil extracted from sheep wool. It's in a lot of beauty products because it's a great moisturizer. There are two types; liquid lanolin and solid lanolin. You can use either. As far as the ratios - I normally use weight because it's the easiest to measure. For example - a 4 ounce bottle of liquid lanolin and a 48 ounce bottle of 99% Alcohol from Walgreens mixed into a spray bottle. You can get a really nice strong spray bottle for heavier liquids at Tractor Supply for about $2 or less. Once you have the lanolin and the alcohol; get a big pot of hot water - set the bottles of lanolin and alcohol in the water so that the contents will heat up. Once they are fairly warm and runny; pour them into the spray bottle and give them a good shake to get them to mix together. After this you shouldn't notice the lanolin ever settling on the bottom of the bottle, but the color should be about the shade of piss yellow. Take a gallon zip lock bag and start putting brass into the bag. For every one handfull of brass - spray one pump of the lube into the bag - then shake for a few seconds and dump them into a box to dry. If you put them under a fan; it will only take about 5-10 minutes to dry. Then you can pour them into your case feeder or start sizing one at a time ... in and out slick as snot.
Sarg Here is a link you can get the Lanolin from at a good price - Solid Lanolin It is the solid lanolin when you heat it up - it becomes runny like honey and (IMO) is more lubricating than the liquid lanolin. You can get the alcohol at some Walgreens, CVS, or other medical specialized companies. |
| My personal recipe for the DIY case lube is 3 tablespoons (about 1.5oz) of liquid lanolin (found at Whole Foods) to 12 oz of Iso-Heet (Isopropyl alcohol fuel line deicer in the red bottle). Shake it up in a general purpose sprayer, 1-2 sprays into a gallon ziplock bag will coat about 200 .223 cases. Stuff's slicker than pig snot. |
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Go to MidwayUSA.com, order Imperial case lube and get Imperial case neck dry lube. Problems will magically disappear! Imperial Sizing Wax is the way to go. A single tin will last you several thousand rounds. Easy to apply and wipes off your fingers easily. |
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I have all types of lube(Lee paste, Hornady spray & Unique wax, Imperial wax, Lyman spray, RCBS case lube-2(which is Lanolin), RCBS Case Slick spray, Dillon DLC spray, and Lanolin+99% IPA home made 1:12 ratio) and of them all I prefer the home made Lanolin lube the best with Dillon second and RCBS Case Slick third in the order of easiest to use.
I get my Lanolin at a local health food store and the 99% IPA can be ordered form any pharmacy at no extra charge. 
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| Go to the health food store first since I doubt any of those pharmacy's will have the Lanolin(none of mine do) and the best pharmacy to find 99% IPA would be a compounding pharmacy if you have one around that makes their own med's, I picked up the two bottles of anhydrous(means no water) IPA for $2.65 each and the Lanolin was about $8.00 a 4oz bottle but one of each will last you a looooong time. |
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For large batches of rifle brass, two to three short squirts of Dillon lube in a plastic container –– then shake it up –– should do it. No brainer.
Imperial sizing wax is an even better way to go for controlled reloading or just a few pieces. Just get it on your fingers and rub the brass just a tad before resizing, don't glob it on. This stuff lasts forever and cleans up by just wiping it off with a rag, even quicker with a little Balistol or mineral spirits on the rag. Some tumbling will do the trick also. When I first started reloading, lubing was intimidating to me as well. I would get dented shoulders (too much cheap lube) or I got a neck or two stuck, a real PITA. Hint, the better the sizing die, the easier it is to do most all loading chores. Redding and Dillon dies seem to never get stuck no matter what I do. |
| I had trouble with Lyman on my first attempt too. I used too much (using a loading block) and got a few dented shoulders before wiping the cases a bit. I found that if I fill a gallon zip bag about half full then just a few short sprays in the bag and roll the cases around a while. Let it sit a few minutes and your all set. |
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I've used Lee lube diluted 1:4 with 91% alcohol. Place cases in ziploc, 3-4 squirts of lube mix and pretend it's Shake n' Bake. Then I put lubed cases on an old cookie sheet and let them sit in the sun for 5 minutes or so, or I put them in a warm toaster oven for the same. This allows the alcohol to evaporate and the lube to remain –– a nice, even sheen all over the case.
I also apply a bit of Imperial to the first 4-5 cases I resize, and then about every 5-6th thereafter. Never stuck a case and it's cheap. Just another option, not saying this is superior to other recipes/methods described prior. |
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the make your own lube works wonders. Mix lanolin with 99% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle. I forget the ratio off the top of my head, but it helps if you warm the lanolin up before mixing. Then just spray it on and let it sit for a couple minutes and it works great +1 I just did this with about 1000 LC cases. I had them all in a box, sprayed a couple times, hand mixed, couple more sprays, mixed again and done. Not a single stuck case and each case sized like a hot knife through butter. The lanolin is also good for your hands 
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| Thanks for the replies and tips. Im loading currently .30-06 for now, eventually ill get some .223 dies for my AR but I want to feed my M1 Garand for a while. Now I know about the difference between .223 and 5.56 cases, but im curious, trimming a 5.56 case is done with a .223 trimmer and pilot right? |
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Pam I have used Pam as well but found out that after sitting a while you really need to clean your dies. the stuff dries a bit and gets more solid and kind of brown as well. So I made my own case lube using the liquid lanolin. Here is a link to the thread I posted. Home Made Case lube |
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Thanks for the replies and tips. Im loading currently .30-06 for now, eventually ill get some .223 dies for my AR but I want to feed my M1 Garand for a while. Now I know about the difference between .223 and 5.56 cases, but im curious, trimming a 5.56 case is done with a .223 trimmer and pilot right? Correct. If you have big $$$, get a Giraud for trimming. If you don't, get a Possum Hollow Quick Case Trimmer with power (drill) adapter. |
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Pam I have used Pam as well but found out that after sitting a while you really need to clean your dies. the stuff dries a bit and gets more solid and kind of brown as well. So I made my own case lube using the liquid lanolin. Here is a link to the thread I posted. Home Made Case lube The Whole Foods stores, does it have to be strictly "Whole Foods"? Cause there is a Guthrie Whole Foods in none other than Guthrie, Ok and some other healthy stuff stores. |
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Doesn't matter where the stuff is bought, just make sure the lanolin is anhydrous. Everyone is using 99% isopropyl alcohol, but I bet 91% will work as well and it's easier to find. AeroE is correct on these things, the Lanolin I looked up online and then called around, saves gas for the car. The only real difference is the water content in the alcohol the higher the water content the harder it is for the lanolin to disolve into the alcohol is all. the lower the percentage then probably the more you will have to shake it to make sure it mixes and stays mixed. The 99% I used is staying mixed. I will say that this stuff is way better than pam any day of the week. Some of the LC 08 nato brass is somethimes a tad tough ti size but this lube makes it easy. |
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