Lemon Pledge for lube

[jonp]

I subscribe to a channel on Youtube that a reloader puts up. It is full of good advice on all sorts of topics related to reloading, boolits etc. Today I watched a video of him casting .357 Mag boolits. All pretty standard with heating the pot, molds, using wax and sawdust, doing a test casting and water quench but the thing that got me was when he was setting up his sizing die he spread the boolits out and sprayed them with Pledge as a lube then sized them. It seemed to work just fine.
I can't recall reading a post on this sight with someone doing this. Is this common and what are your thoughts on this?

[btroj]

He was using a Lee push thru? If using a Layman or RCBS it isn't needed as the lubrication is provided by the bullet lube. On a Star I just run a lubed and sized bullet thru every so often to keep things going smooth.
Only time I feel a need to lubricated a bullet for sizing is if I am sizing dry bullets thru a Lee push thru and sizing them down a few thousandths. In those case I use a bit of lanolin or even smear a bit of bullet lube on every 10 th bullet or so.
No reason Pledge wouldnt work. Just not sure it is what I want in my bore when I fire those bullets.

Many of the YouTube videos I have seen are of dubious nature as it pertains to "good" technique. Just be careful what you take away from many of them, t might not be good info. Be cautious.

[WHITETAIL]

If it were me I would use my lube
on a few boolits put on by hand.
For the Lee.:shock:

[Jazzcat]

Many airgunners lube their pellets with Lemon Pledge and never clean their bores. After sizing with Pledge I would still apply a light coat of alox or JPW or 45/45/10. If you think those of us casting boolits are somewhat anal about all aspects of our boolits, check out the guys shooting $3000 precision airguns and the hoops they jump through chasing those "one-hole" groups!

[jonp]

Yes, a lee push thru.

[jonp]

He was using a Lee push thru? If using a Layman or RCBS it isn't needed as the lubrication is provided by the bullet lube. On a Star I just run a lubed and sized bullet thru every so often to keep things going smooth.
Only time I feel a need to lubricated a bullet for sizing is if I am sizing dry bullets thru a Lee push thru and sizing them down a few thousandths. In those case I use a bit of lanolin or even smear a bit of bullet lube on every 10 th bullet or so.
No reason Pledge wouldnt work. Just not sure it is what I want in my bore when I fire those bullets.

Many of the YouTube videos I have seen are of dubious nature as it pertains to "good" technique. Just be careful what you take away from many of them, t might not be good info. Be cautious.
He was not advocating his method or showing the "correct" way to do it. It was just a 7 min video of him going through his process without much comment on his part. Pretty much just showing you how he did it.

[jonp]

Ok, he spread out the boolits, spayed them with pledge then put them through the Lee push thru. he then put them in a plastic can and shook with some Alox. I was wondering if the Pledge would work, was necessary and what it might do to the bore or powder but not sure I see the harm in it. I just never saw someone mention doing this here.

[NVScouter]

i got in a inch one time and used air filter oil for case sizing lube when my One-shot ran out. Ill use that over the couple tubes of the old RCBS sticky snot from the 80s. Substitues are fine but I agree what works in a moderate pressure/low heat barrel for airguns and what works in a high pressure/heat barrel may be two different things.

[btroj]

If you are going to use LLA then follow the proper routine. Cast, apply a light coat, let dry. Once dry you size then reapply a light coat.
Done this way there is no need for any lube when sizing other than the LLA on the bullets already.

Not really right or wrong, just different. Whatever floats your boat.

[mdi]

Yeah, no big deal. For a lube to use a push through, just about anything that will make the bullets "slick" will do. Lee says use alox for pre-sizing lube. Mebbe 'cause they supply it with the die. I often use the same lube as my case lube; Mink oil Boot Dressing. I've read posts of guys using everything from WD40 to STP, and a bunch of casters that don't use anything. Pre-sizing lube serves two purposes; one, to make the sizing easier and two, to prohibit any "galling" or "leading" of the die. You could always jes put them in yer mouf and get them wet wif yer spit to make 'em easier to siz... (just kidding!)

[Nrut]

Thanks for the heads up jonp..

Using pledge would be a lot easier and faster than using dish soap and having to remove it later, esp. if you don't have running water..

I use Lee type PT dies for all sorts of applications but mostly to size bullets down for PP or to apply gas checks just after casting..

[deltaenterprizes]

Pledge has silicone in it and works well as a low velocity lube or pre lube, I used it to pre lube 38 WCs I ran in my Magma auto sizer to reduce the stress caused the larger amount of surface area of the driving bands.

[popper]

Pledge doesn't have water in it, many look-alikes do.

[dmclark523]

Sounds like a TL boolit, from what you are saying. I always apply a light coat of 45/45/10, push through sizing die, and then reapply a coat of 45/45/10. Essentially, lube, size, re-lube, shoot.

Seems like this guy is making things more complicated than they have to be...

[geargnasher]

Seems like this guy is making things more complicated than they have to be...

.....or more simple.

Often, one coat of 45/45/10 after sizing does the trick for lube in the barrel. He saved a lubing/drying cycle by using the Pledge trick to lube his boolits for sizing. If it works, and we don't know for sure that it did or how well, then that fellow might have enriched us. Much of the time I use a highly concentrated Ivory soap and distilled water mix in a spray bottle to coat boolits for the push-through, works wet or dry and I don't bother to clean it off because it doesn't seem to hurt anything. Pledge would be easier and probably better.

Gear

[jonp]

And maybe cheaper. A large can of pledge would last quite a while

[theperfessor]

I like the idea. Have to try that sometime, only on brass. Even with carbide dies I still lube one out of every 4-5 cases when sizing just to reduce the effort needed. Been rolling cases on a sponge with a little case lube on it, might just spray them next time. And the loading room could use a little lemon zest to sweeten the air!