Lubrication

JTO

Well-Known Member
The last time I did some reloading, some years ago, I was advised to use Dura-Glit wadding to clean and lubricate the cases. It seemed to work OK.
Seemed so easy and less messy than other lubricants.
The nearest I can find today is some Brasso wadding. Does it do the job?
 
I was always told not to us brasso on cases as it has ammonia and that eats away at the copper in the brass and so can result in failure of the case. I've no idea if this is true but I know they use ammonia in the various bore cleaners to clear copper so there is at least some foundation for it.

In saying that I recently got some Flitz to clean my cases and although it is supposed to be good for that job I'm pretty sure there is ammonia in it, the old nose test gives it away! It gets the cases very clean indeed with a quick spin in my Lee zip trim shell holder.

I found imperial sizing wax works well as lub for full length resizing and I'm just about to start trying neck sizing with a Lee collet die using mica as lub inside the neck. It is all a big experiment!
 
Duraglit as case lube? No, I just use that to shine up really dirty old cases.
A case tumbler with walnut media or ultrasonic cleaner will clean up most cases.
For case lube for resizing I use Hornady One Shot for the outside together with Lee Case Lube and a cotton bud / nylon brush for the inside of the necks. I used to use Lee lube for everything as it's not messy or greasy and easy to use. But Hornady One Shot is even easier as you just lightly spray the cases in the loading tray and it dries quite quickly. Tried RCBS case lube, but never got on with it.

Caorach, I never lube cases for the lee collet necksizing dies. I am sure you don't need to and says so in the paperwork that comes with it. The collet is like a clamp that closes on the final bit of the stroke, not the usual expander button of other dies that really need lube.
best, Craig
 
Perhaps I was forgetting! I had a tube of Lee Case Lube, white stuff in a tube.
It was stolen with the rest of my reloading gear, and I haven't done any since.
 
Yeah, that's the stuff I use. Cheap and a tube lasts a long time. If you're doing loads of cases the One Shot is easier, but the Lee lube works fine for me.

Adamant was saying he uses the Lee Zip Trim device to spin cases and clean with with wire wool or something similar. You might look into that for case cleaning too. I'm thinking of buying one now.
 
Mauser66 said:
Adamant was saying he uses the Lee Zip Trim device to spin cases and clean with with wire wool or something similar. You might look into that for case cleaning too. I'm thinking of buying one now.

Thanks for the previous tip on the Lee collet, i might try it without the mica but will use the mica for inside neck lub when doing full length sizing as it is a pain getting all the lub out of there!

I find the Lee zip trip thing to be excellent, at least that is what I think it is called. The thing I have is basically a chuck for a cordless screwdriver with a shell holder and then there is a trimmer with a fixed length pilot that controls trim length. I didn't believe that it could be any way consistent until i tried it and measured the trimed cases. My calipers can't see any difference in the length of any of them and it is a simple and inexpensive device.

I am only just starting down the road of testing it for cleaning cases and am experimenting with Flitz as a cleaning agent. I've tried 3 cases and was amazed at how good they came up, even the black carbon you get on the necks came off easy with a few spins in the screwdriver. Am going to try cleaning the inside of the necks with the wire wool as well now that you've put that idea in my head. I would caution against using Flitz until I investigate further as I have concerns there is ammonia in there somewhere. As you can tell i'm experimenting.
 
I like really shiny brass ( :oops: ) so I use brass cleaner in the tumbler - a chemist friend calculated I'd have to leave cases in neat ammonia for some considerable time to have any effect on their structural integrity, so I guess a splash of Brasso in 3kg of crushed walnut shell won't hurt.

I also use the Lee Ziptrim for polishing cases when de-burring and chamfering the necks. Fine (00000) wire wool is best.

If I'm neck sizing only, I use Redding Imperial case lube - it's powdered graphite I think, carried on tiny ceramic beads (stains your hands like crazy though) - really easy to use as you just dip the inverted case in up to the shoulder. For full sizing, the Lee case lube is hard to beat, rolled on via an RCBS case mat.

The Redding liquid stuff is oily as hell - not a good choice.

Adam.
 
When I need aspirin, I go to the chemists, when I need dispense advice I ask a Pharmacist, when I want to know something about metals, I ask a metallurgist, a metallurgist I know told me to avoid anything containing ammonia when working with brass. 8)
 
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