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dterninko
11-03-2016, 04:48 PM
Hi

aplogize if this is ground already covered. I searched but not sure I am finding exactly what I am looking for. Also not sure if it should be under a different section but here goes

is there an easy way to clean/strip older lubed boolits? I recently acquired 2500+ cast and they have some dirt accumulated and some oxidation. I don't want to melt them down would rather clean them up and the powder coat

is there something i can I can soak them in?

Other ideas? Shoot as is?

this picture is the worst of them

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Yodogsandman
11-03-2016, 06:09 PM
Boil them in water first, the lube will melt and float on the top. Let your pot cool off, the lube will harden again and then skim the lube off the top (I save it for fluxing). Any remaining lube can then be removed with a solvent like mineral spirits or acetone. Put boolits in a metal can with the solvent, cover and agitate the can around. A glass jar works, too. Wipe off the boolits with paper towels when you remove them.

Can't guarantee that the powder coating will stick to the cleaned boolits. I'd just tumble lube them after with Ben's Liquid Lube, 45-45-10 or Lee Liquid Alox.

dterninko
11-03-2016, 06:15 PM
Thank you for the information, I'm going to try a small batch. I also was pointed in the direction of a thread almost identical to what I was asking :oops:

Appreciate all the help on this forum

dterninko
11-04-2016, 08:33 AM
How long do you boil them? I am trying a batch and some lube came off almost instantly, but even after 1/2 hour there is still some stubborn lube. I'm gonna let them go a little longer and then use the acetone

LenH
11-04-2016, 08:41 AM
I have removed lube with paint thinner and dried them on a towel. Then rinsed them in a few ounces of acetone lay them out on a different towel and then powder coated
coated them. I always handle the cleaned bullets with a vinyl glove on just to keep everything as clean as possible.

Good Luck
Len H.

dterninko
11-04-2016, 08:45 AM
Glad to hear you've had success powder coating after removing the lube. I'm going to do another small batch with just the paint thiner/acetone and see how that works out

Kraschenbirn
11-04-2016, 10:42 AM
How long do you boil them? I am trying a batch and some lube came off almost instantly, but even after 1/2 hour there is still some stubborn lube. I'm gonna let them go a little longer and then use the acetone

When I first began to try my hand at powder coat, rather than cast fresh boolits, I recycled from my on-hand stock. My process was:

1) Boil until boolits appear clean.
2) Roll boolits around on an old towel until (reasonably) dry.
3) Rinse boolits in mineral spirits for approx. 5 minutes, agitating occasionally.
4) Repeat step (2) using a dry towel.
5) Rinse boolits in acetone for 2 or 3 minutes to remove any residue from the mineral spirits.
6) Reverse towel from step (5) and repeat step (2).
7) Boolits are now ready to store or begin powder coating.

Have cleaned boolits lubed with 45/45/10, Carnuba Red, and good ol' 50/50 using this method without any adhesion problems.

Bill

dterninko
11-05-2016, 06:35 PM
I tried both boiling and paint thinner. Boiling took some off, but even after boiling for over an hour there was still A LOT of lube. Paint thinner..over 24 hours with shaking every few hours worked better but still traces of lube

I just tried the oven method with a paper towel, it was showing some good promise but then seemed to slow down.. so I took a pair of "ove gloves" grab the bullets and wiped the remaining lube with a paper towel. Worked really well. I'm going to give them a quick rinse in acetone and then try to powder coat. It's starting to look promising.. I almost had given up

Baja_Traveler
11-06-2016, 10:50 AM
I've collected probably several hundred pounds of old cast bullets over the years, I just toss them into the pot and recast into my known molds. Old dried up lube and oxidation isn't worth the time to clean up...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

mdi
11-06-2016, 12:22 PM
I have "delubed" a few bullets for PCing. I set them on paper towels and put them in my toaster oven and melt the lube off (just a couple hundred degrees, not enough to soften the bullets). The lube melts asd is soaked up by the paper towel (nope, no fires!). I used a bit of brake clean to clean them after melting the lube off (sprayed a bit of brake clean into a container of bullets and swirl and dump out on paper towels...

dterninko
11-06-2016, 06:06 PM
Before and After

Here's what I did. Toaster oven at 200 on a paper towel. Grabbed out while still hot and wiped any remaining lube with a paper towel. Quick swirl in a bit of acetone and then dry on paper towel

shake and bake pc as usual


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