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nagantino
05-03-2008, 03:03 PM
Hi, I have not posted in a while and could not find an answer to my query in a quick search.

Does anyone remove the LLA coating after the bullet has been made? I have begun practicing using about 150 to 200 rounds each Saturday, getting ready for the Practical Pistol competitions. My hands are sticky during practice after reloading and I am worried that in the Summer heat it might be a distraction during competition shooting. Would it matter to the ballistic performance if the wax above the brass were removed say by tumbling? I use a Glock 22 with a cast 185 grn bullet.

DanM
05-03-2008, 03:18 PM
Wipe off excess LLA with a little solvent on a cloth. Tumbling may be overkill. You can put them boolits up in your ammo tray and clean a bunch quickly.

Johnch
05-03-2008, 03:26 PM
I don't remove it
But I know a few that use mineral spirits on a rag to wipe off the nose of the buller

For them at least it is more for looks


My LLA drys harder
Maybe you are applying 1 heavy coat


I put on 2 lite coats with a dry time between
I cut the LLA with low oder Mineral spirits


But I then put the bullets base down on a cookie sheet ( old ones , DO NOT use the better 1/2's good ones )
And put them in the oven for a little while , between warm and 175 degrees on my oven

It seems to cure the LLA to a varnish finish

John

Sprue
05-03-2008, 04:04 PM
No, never. Its never crossed my mind. However, I do clean the lube off my newly sized cases with Lacquer thinner before I stuff 'em..

I use the KISS method - No mess no fuss no hassle

I drip (un-thinned) 12-15 drops or so of LLA per 100 bullets, shake / swirl in a tub for a couple minutes and dump 'em out on a pan to dry. They lay as they fall. I will shake 'em one more time in that 24 hr period (or over night) just to turn them over.

A 4oz bottle goes a long long way.

Ya just haveta figger out what works best for you.:)

But I can't come to a rational conclusion as to why you would. Any other deviation in my mind only consumes more time IMO.

Anyway, tell us what your reason(s) or thoughts are in order for you to bring up this question.

Thanks & Cheers

Now lets go to the range!

HeavyMetal
05-03-2008, 04:25 PM
You have now stumbled across the reason I don't like LLA.

The up side of the stuff is it is real easy to apply.

The down side is if you take any time at all to control either where it is on the boolit or wipe off the excess after loading you are eating time better spent doing something else!

On to the question: yes wipe it off after seating the boolit . NO do not tumble loaded ammunition! I have heard of people who claim to but IMO I think it's an accident waiting to happen. Boolit bangs primer is not the issue( even if it did set off a round it would just go pop as the rounds are not in a barrel to contain the pressure.

MY concern would be changing the powder granules( shaking can't be good for powder) and then (possibley) changing the burn rate and then.....

So your options: buy a lube sizer ( and a heater if you want a hard lube that will never be a problem in the heat) or continue wiping the excess LLA of your loaded rounds!

snuffy
05-03-2008, 05:14 PM
No harm in tumbling loaded ammo. BUT it won't remove the LLA! Been there tried that, didn't work. The tumbler media got stuck to the boolit, looked like something was growing on the boolit! [smilie=1:

Yeah, the mineral spirits will remove the LLA, it'll also shine up the boolit, make the ammo look spectacular.

Trader Vic
05-03-2008, 05:22 PM
I have wiped my bullets off with mineral spirits before because they were a little tacky. Then I started to cut my LLA with the mineral spirits before I applied to bullets, this worked a lot better. But, just slightly tacky. Now I put them in a zip lock baggie with just a touch of powdered mica & give them a shake for a couple on minutes before loading. Mica adheres to the LLA. This works the best for me, easy to handle & a nice smooth dry finish. This helps for cleaning out the seating die, a cotton swab with solvent once in a while & there is no build up or gooey mess inside the die. That build up can make the bullets seat deeper. Works for me, give it a try. NRA PATRON LIFE MEMBER

Sprue
05-03-2008, 09:41 PM
FYI and for what its worth about the comment on tumbling live ammo...

I have never done that myself but I know a couple guys around here that do and have done it for a long time.

One of them being the local commercial guy. He has quite a customer base too, leo's etc. I was surprised to hear him say that he tumbles all his finished/loaded ammo.

Another thing that kinda surprised me was that he said that he also lubes all cases, straight wall, bottle neck, everything.