Problem with black lube...

[km101]

I recently purchased another Lyman 450 off Feebay. It arrived full of a black lube that was sticky and almost crumbly. Not knowing the content or even if it was a BP or smokeless lube, I decided not to use it. I pumped out all of it that I could and then cleaned the die are with acetone the best I culd. I hooked up my heater and ran some Carnauba Red through it until everything that was coming out was red. But when I started sizind/lubing there was a black streak in the lube grooves on the front of the bullet. I have lubed over 100 boolits of .44 and .40 cal and the black streak persists. I have cleaned the front area each time the dies have been changed, but still have a small, but persistent black streak on the front area of each bullet as it comes out of the die. Is this still the black lube bleeding out, or is there another cause? And if it is another cause, what is it? And how do I stop it?

Any help appreciated!

[fryboy]

still the black lube ( the black ( both of lyman's black - ideal and moly ) ) is tenacious stuff and your cleaning wasnt throughout , most likely around the sizing die and rest of the recess at the bottom , eh the black actually works ( i prefer the moly to the black black myself ) you can either run it as it comes or empty it again and either boil it or heat it until clean , if the latter use a catch pan etc

[km101]

Yeah, I only cleaned what I could reach. But I pumped enough lube through it to clean it out......I thought. I don't want to boil it because A) It's a real hassle, and B) I would be concerned about internal rust. So I guess I will just continue until it runs out.

Thanks,

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

...I pumped out all of it that I could and then cleaned the die are with acetone the best I culd ...But when I started sizind/lubing there was a black streak in the lube grooves on the front of the bullet. I have lubed over 100 boolits of .44 and .40 cal and the black streak persists.

...Is this still the black lube bleeding out, or is there another cause? And if it is another cause, what is it? And how do I stop it?

Yep, still black lube.
I've been there.
when I've cleaned a lubesizer with the Ideal Black in it, I heated the disassembled sizer with a heatgun. Once it's empty, but still hot I use a small flux brush with Ed's Red (plain mineral spirits should work too) to clean out all the black. But I still got the black streak also...I think Time and many streaky lubed boolits should solve your problem...Good Luck,
Jon

[utk]

It can be somewhat difficult to get all of the old lube out of every nook and cranny.
I put the lubesizer in the oven at approx. 160 deg F for an hour or so (remove the plunger with O-rings first).
Prop it up so that the melted lube can run freely out from the lube and die chambers down on to an old newspaper.

I have tried using a heat gun, but for me the oven method is simpler.

Some people boil the whole lubesizer in a old pot filled with water. (After that, the pot is no longer suitable for cooking food).

[runfiverun]

i'd mix some more of the black lube in with the red lube.
seriously. ain't nothin wrong with it.

[Hardcast416taylor]

That sounds like the old Lyman formula black lube that contained graphite. I once was given a 450 sizer that had been left to sit in a garage for a few years. The black lube had hardened so that there was no movement of any operating levers or handle. The lube was dug out as best I could then stood on end and heat gunned. I still got streaks, as you have gotten, for quite some time.Robert

[km101]

Thanks guys! I am not familiar with the Lyman black lube, and since it was really grainy, I didnt trust it. Good to know that it's not going to be a problem! It just makes my boolits look bunny! Like a garden snake - red and black.

[paul h]

Because I was lazy, and have been casting up plinking bullets, I decided when I ran out of lbt blue and switched to White Label BAC that instead of heating the mold to get all of the old lube out, I'd just put the BAC in and go on lubing.

I've run two sticks of BAC through the 450 sizer, and I still have traces of lbt blue on my bullets. So my experience is using a different lube to flush out an old lube takes awhile.

I've never boiled a sizer but when I switched lubes in the past I'd just take a heat gun and heat up the sizer until all the old lube ran out. It was messy but did the trick.

[DEVERS454]

I had this problem on an older sizer, but, using a propane torch and letting it run out on a hot day got 99% of it.

Ironically enough, I picked up a box (12) of Ideal lube and I am now using that with my 4500 and heater. Works like a charm!

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Many years ago I broke down and bought a heat gun. The kind you use to remove old paint. They get much hotter than hair driers. Some of the best money I ever spent. It will clean a sizer in record time without an open flame. [Never a good idea in a reloading area]. No caster should be without one.

[Forrest r]

I just take my 450 sizer apart (sizing die, handle, pressure plug/cap) and boil everything in plain old hot water. All the crud, junk, debree, old lubes & god only know what else floats to the surface. I just skim it off & then pull the 450 sizer & all my sizing dies out, shake them a little bit to get the excessive water off & then just set them down & let them dry. The metal is still hot from the boiling water & it doesn't take long for all the metal parts to air dry.

I do this every time I change lubes (which isn't very often) or every couple of years just to clean & inspect everything. O-rings are cheap & it's a good time to rebuild the luber/sizers when there clean if there's any doubt about the condition of the seals.

[AlabamaEd]

The Lyman Ideal lube is not bad stuff. I've been using it for over 25 years for all my handgun loads and have been entirely satisfied. I have very little leading.