Lee Liquid Alox

[snaggdit]

I have been using lee liquid alox for my cast boolits. I have ordered some lube to try pan lubing as well. My question is this. Once I have seated the boolits, can I use a solvent to wipe off the surface of the exposed tapered part of the boolit? I can't see that it would matter, since it doesn't actually touch the rifling as the boolit traverses the barrel. I would just like to remove the tacky finish that is exposed. Thanks for any input :)

[dhain]

I've used mineral spirits to wipe them off before. Not sure how much difference it makes but I like getting the sticky part off.

[snaggdit]

Well good. Seems like i'm not the only one. I used lacquer thinner and it cleans the cases and lube off great. Just didn't know if I am removing a necessary thing or not.

[Dean D.]

Part of the reason I dislike Lee's liquid lube is the clean up afterwards. I prefer my Lyman 45 but do occasionally lube with Lee Liquid when I have to. I dont care for the lube on the nose of the boolit either and wipe it off.

[Rodfac]

I've just started using LLA on a Lyman .44 boolit. I wipe the nose off with alcohol sprayed on a paper shop rag. I bought a cheap sprayer at Wally World for about a buck and it works great. The alcohol wipe makes no difference in group sizes and keeps the inside of my 336 Marlin from gunking up with lube. Rodfac

[Bret4207]

I dust the boolits in Motor Mica after lubing with LLA. Cornstarch will work too. Just cuts the tackiness.

[shooting on a shoestring]

I have found that thinning the LLA before applying, using minieral spirits, then drying in a toaster oven for about 15 minutes, leaves a thin, but dry coating that isn't tacky. LLA is actually a metal preservative, so I have found it great to do the thin coating on my rifle boolits, then size and lube w/Felix lube in a Lyman 45. This gets me great lube in the lube grooves, and the protective coating over the nose to prevent the lead from oxidizing over long storage. I find my interests vary, and sometimes notice I've got loaded rounds on my shelves getting suprisingly old. Some of my pre-LLA boolits show oxidation.

[cabezaverde]

I have found that thinning the LLA before applying, using minieral spirits, then drying in a toaster oven for about 15 minutes, leaves a thin, but dry coating that isn't tacky. LLA is actually a metal preservative, so I have found it great to do the thin coating on my rifle boolits, then size and lube w/Felix lube in a Lyman 45. This gets me great lube in the lube grooves, and the protective coating over the nose to prevent the lead from oxidizing over long storage. I find my interests vary, and sometimes notice I've got loaded rounds on my shelves getting suprisingly old. Some of my pre-LLA boolits show oxidation.

Same with me, I always apply a very thin coat of LLA regardless on whether I plan to size or not in my Lyman.

[Shiloh]

I have found that thinning the LLA before applying, using minieral spirits, then drying in a toaster oven for about 15 minutes, leaves a thin, but dry coating that isn't tacky. LLA is actually a metal preservative, so I have found it great to do the thin coating on my rifle boolits, then size and lube w/Felix lube in a Lyman 45. This gets me great lube in the lube grooves, and the protective coating over the nose to prevent the lead from oxidizing over long storage. I find my interests vary, and sometimes notice I've got loaded rounds on my shelves getting suprisingly old. Some of my pre-LLA boolits show oxidation.

Thinning this stuff is a BIG plus. Cuts the stickiness way down. Another suggestion is to warm up your boolits in the oven or summer sun. Good and warm but not hot. Lube them with the cut liquid alox, and immediately spread on foil or waxed paper to dry. A fan circulating the air helps also. The alox dries to a harder shell, and seems to be somewhat less susceptible to summer humidity of the upper midwest.

Shiloh

[Whitespider]

The one thing I dislike about LLA is that it sticks to the seating stem, building up and progressively seating the boolits deeper in the case. None of the tricks mentioned above will completely eliminate the problem. I wipe the nose with solvent on every boolit, a drop of oil on the seating stem before seating boolits also helps.

[snaggdit]

Thanks for all the input. I have noticed buildup on the bullets due to the seating die as well, especially when using my Pro 1000 to load 100-200 9mm. Some buildup loading 40 S&W, and 45 ACP but 9mm is the worst. Must be the shape of the seating die. I haven't noticed it seating the boolits deeper, though. Just occasional smears on the boolits after seating.