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MEVS
04-06-2011, 02:13 PM
Thought I'd share my newbie mistake in the hopes it will save someone esle some aggrivation. After casting up some .44 240 gr LSWCTL boolits and cleaning up my casting materials I applied a layer of LLA/Solvent, 50/50 mix onto the now cold bullets and tossed them onto wax paper to dry. As often happens it was a couple of days until I could get back down to the reloading room (basement/laundry room). I had laid the wax paper on top of the dryer due to lack of space anywhere else. The solvent in the lube had "eaten" through the wax paper and deposited a lovely brown pattern on top of the dryer that looks remarkably like someone layed a bunch of greasy boolits on top of it and allowed the grease to dry. I've never believed the Lee marketing hype until now, that **** is hard to remove! Anyone have any of their own mistakes to share to make me feel better? Anyone have suggestions about how to remove it before the wife makes it down there? Oh, and btw. I'm using aluminum foil now.

44man
04-06-2011, 02:46 PM
My mistake was even trying LLA! [smilie=1:

Heavy lead
04-06-2011, 02:50 PM
Don't much like it either, used with JPW it's passable. What kind of solvent were you using that melted the wax paper?

wiljen
04-06-2011, 02:54 PM
odorless mineral spirits and a lot of scrubbing are about the only thing that takes that stuff up. Good luck with it.

VenomBallistics
04-06-2011, 03:05 PM
Aluminum pots are lousy for large batch melts of lead.
Took a while to get that irregular pool shaped slab of lead chopped down to fit in proper equipment.

Longwood
04-06-2011, 04:19 PM
Aluminum pots are lousy for large batch melts of lead.
Took a while to get that irregular pool shaped slab of lead chopped down to fit in proper equipment.
I have checked and re checked every thrift store for miles around for muffin tins and never did find one. Yesterday I was in the dollar store where I had checked a couple of times before and there they were. I bought five. They are not the strongest ones I have ever seen, but if I tip them over instead of lifting and dumping they will work just fine.

scottiemom
04-06-2011, 04:33 PM
well...I have to admit this made me laugh - but lesson learned! If I may, I would suggest bypassing the aluminum foil and go down to Goodwill or the thrift store and buy an old baking pan or jelly roll pan - you know the kind with a small raised edge around it and use that to lay out your bullets to dry. I have given my hubby several old pans to use and it works great - plus I got to buy new ones, so it was a win-win all around!

JonB_in_Glencoe
04-06-2011, 04:50 PM
odorless mineral spirits and a lot of scrubbing are about the only thing that takes that stuff up. Good luck with it.

I beg to differ...
moisten the area with mineral spirits and add heat, via a heat gun.

I had some boolits that had too much LLA on them, were dried for months.
I spread them on a paper towel, then spritzed them with a little Mineral
spirits and heated them with a heat gun, then rolled them on another
paper towel...seconds later they were ready to be re-lubed with 45-45-10.
easy peasy
Jon

stang68
04-06-2011, 05:23 PM
Old baking pan lined with wax paper, and 45/45/10 for tumble lube lube works great!

MEVS
04-06-2011, 07:16 PM
I forgot to mention that I used the wrong solvent. When I went to mix up my LLA I didn't have any mineral spirits on hand. So instead of getting off my ass and going to buy some I used a little bit of rubbing alcohol I had on hand. It works great and doesn't allow any leading in the barrels. But apparently alcohol melts wax paper. Who knew? Now that I have the formula for 45-45-10 it won't happen again.

Charlie Two Tracks
04-06-2011, 08:24 PM
Grabbed the pan I had melted lube in and it sloshed out of the pan and onto the textured concrete floor in the garage. It will be there for a very long time as a reminder

mooman76
04-06-2011, 08:40 PM
I use butcher paper that is wax or plastic coated and roll up when done and use it again later. I tried heat treating the boolits after applying LLA and got the boolits too hot. The LLA dried really hard and wasn't even anymore, kind of burnt or something like that.

ColColt
04-06-2011, 08:41 PM
WD-40-it works on everything and worth a try. I've cleaned spots from ss sinks to shoe scuffs on tile and removing duct tape with it and it works.

timkelley
04-06-2011, 10:01 PM
Large heavy duty paper plates (Chinette type) work well for letting the ALOX and or JPW set up. After you have soaked it with ALOX and JPW you can turn it over and make a target of it.

ph4570
04-06-2011, 10:24 PM
My mistake was even trying LLA! [smilie=1:

+1 on that!

leftiye
04-06-2011, 10:33 PM
Mule Snot- "Don't much like it either, used with JPW it's passable. What kind of solvent were you using that melted the wax paper?"

So are kidney stones (passable).

williamwaco
04-06-2011, 11:26 PM
I'm with Scottiemom.

I dump mine on an old cookie sheet my kind, generous, and lovely wife decided she did not want anymore. It is about 12 x 18 inches and it will hold a gob of bullets. It is made of fairly heavy steel and has about a quarter inch rim so I can pick it up and move it around. I set them under the bench and put a fan on them for about 12 hours.

After about three batches it is getting pretty nasty. I spray it with some naptha, let it set about a minute or two and wipe it clean with paper towels. It comes off easily.

The idea of cleaning it off bullets so you can re-lube them with a different lube seems like make-work to me. Why would you do that? I have re-lubed LLA bullets on several occasions with Rooster Jacket tumble lube and and with Lyman Alox / beeswax stick lube. I just re-lubed over the LLA. It works fine.

Blammer
04-07-2011, 10:43 AM
turn the dryer on, let it warm up and try to scrap it off. :)

rogn
04-07-2011, 02:33 PM
Use a waterless hand kleaner, of the GOJO type. Let it sit a few minutes and wipe. Itll even take paint off if you let it sit. I use it to clean my hands after a LLA session. Or any other grease, wax, epoxy or other noxious stuff

patsher
04-07-2011, 08:44 PM
When I lube my bullets with 45-45-10, I use the same cookie sheet idea posted above -- but I put a sheet of parchment (baking sheet) on it first. It doesn't melt or fall apart like wax paper does, is very very strong, so strong you can gather up half a cookie sheet full of bullets in the piece of parchment, and carry them wherever you want to go -- it doesn't break! Great stuff. A little hard to find sometimes, and a little spendy, but I will use the same sheet for several months, sometimes -- lasts a long time! It's called "parchment" or a "baking sheet" -- looks like very heavy duty paper, but sort of translucent..

Tazman1602
04-07-2011, 09:14 PM
+1

I also.................I hate the mess that stuff makes.



My mistake was even trying LLA! [smilie=1:

JonB_in_Glencoe
04-07-2011, 10:24 PM
The idea of cleaning it off bullets so you can re-lube them with a different lube seems like make-work to me. Why would you do that? I have re-lubed LLA bullets on several occasions with Rooster Jacket tumble lube and and with Lyman Alox / beeswax stick lube. I just re-lubed over the LLA. It works fine.

williamwaco,
you're probably right, Here is the story.
I got those boolits in a trade before I got into casting (just over a year ago)
they had too much LLA on them...would leave deposits
on my seating die, throwing off my OAL.
So, I just set them aside. Then a few months
ago, I looked at them again and thought, hey, I should
relube those with 45-45-10.

Yeah, I guess it was kind of make-work,
but in the long run, I think is saved time
from not having to clean my seating die
every 20 rounds.
Jon

cajun shooter
04-08-2011, 09:20 AM
I would move up a notch in the strength of the product being used. If your machine is made with a porcelain top then it will work. If it is painted then don't try this. Go to any paint store or even Wally World and purchase a quart can of acetone. Try a small area with a q-tip first if unsure about finish. If that fails to give quick and easy then you may try the king of the solvent world and that is MEK. It stands for Methyl Ethyl Ketone and it will strip the paint from a car to the metal within a matter of seconds. It dries very fast and it is best to work in small areas and not the entire mess at once. If you have a small cut on your hand this stuff will find it. Don't try to wear the rubber gloves they sell in the stores as it will make them go into thin air. Pour a small amount in a styrofoam cup and you will see what I'm talking about. Again this is only if your washer has the correct finish. If it is the painted surface then you will have a new washing machine on your charge card.

olafhardt
04-08-2011, 07:45 PM
Mek. Is sold in small cans with robbers as"plastic pipe cleaner". The smallest can makes short work of cleaning a snubnose 38. No patches no rod. Be sure to get. cleaner.... not cement. Get the clear cleaner. It also comes in colors. It is hard on every wood finish Ionia of. Stinks &catches fire easily.

rogn
04-09-2011, 08:29 AM
As is the case with most things that work well, they are not good for living things. Both MEK and acetone are in that catagory, both apparently can be absorbed thru the skin.:(

mold maker
04-09-2011, 09:22 AM
The same solvent you used to thin the LLA should soften it for removal. Mineral spirits is what you should have used to start with.
Now youi have another reason to make the trip to the store.