How long for Lee liquid alox to dry?

[mold maker]

Cut with MS 50/50 and it goes on thin and dries quick. If you can easily see it, your using too much. It should barely leave a little golden color.

[Casting_40S&W]

Dust the bullets with mica or powdered graphite after applying the mule snot. This will get rid of the tackiness.

[Shiloh]

You used way to much. Just a little is all you need. If you have humid weather in the summer, you will have a gummy mess.

Shiloh

[Shiloh]

You used way to much. Just a little is all you need. If you have humid weather in the summer, you will have a gummy mess. Put it on to thick and it never really dries.


Shiloh

[dromia]

Never got liquid alox or xlox to dry, if I wanted them unsticky then I would toss them in cornflour.

It needs to go on very thin I cut it 50/50 with white spirit, the should just be a light golden hue on the boolit.

I mainly use 45/45/10 now from White Lable as that dries nicely, best to heat up the boolits when using it as it helps it flow and dry.

[str8shot426]

I am glad I looked at this thread. My lla treated boolits are always tacky and brown. Going to adjust my tumble lube process now.

[rsrocket1]

Looks like you just made a mess with 500 bullets! That stuff is like cosmoline, it will never dry. It will simply get less messy over the years.

You can use oderless mineral spirits to clean them off and start over again with 45/45/10. Otherwise, you can simply bit the bullet and deal with the mess.

Never do a big batch of anything until you try out a small sample.

[.5mv^2]

Wonder how come your Lee Alox doesn't dry. I Alox mine when still wet from the water bath. They dry hard. I'm scratching my hesd.

[zuke]

I use 45/45/10, tumble them in an old margarine dish then pour onto wax paper sitting in front of a heating duct that has a 90 degree diverter so the hot furnace heat blow's over them the whole time.
Nothing like coming home from work and opening the door to that smell!!

[Hickok]

It is an added step, but I melt some Johnsons paste wax with a hairdryer and then tumble lube the "sticky LLA bullets". Lay them out to dry. Seems to get rid of any stickiness.

[sig2009]

In my experience that **** never dries. Even when cut. I stopped using it!

[N4AUD]

I use two VERY light coats, it dries hard, no mess. My first try I used too much and it didn't dry. Like the old commercial said "A little dab'l do ya."

[jonp]

Well i just used too much. One day and still tackey

[williamwaco]

I have used lots of LLA and Xlox.

I am completely convinced they are exactly the same stuff.

I believe most people use way too much.

I put a blob about the size of two asprin tablets into a one quart zip lock bag with around 300 150 grain handgun bullets.

If your asprin tablets are different, this is a blob about 3/8ths inch across.

I started out cutting it 30% with mineral spirits. I no longer do that. I get better coverage, faster drying, and less tackiness if I use it straight.

On a normal Texas summer day, I can put it on the back porch in the sun and they will be totally dry and completely tackless in a couple of hours.

When the weather is not cooperative, I place them on the floor in my shop and blow a 12 inch rotary fan set on medium across them over night. At this point If I squeeze them HARD between thumb and finger I can feel a very slight stickiness. Not enough to make it stick to a tissue paper but enough to feel.

In no way would powder stick to the base of the bullet.

You can see my test results here:

http://reloadingtips.com/pages/exp_111201a_lla_test.htm

In the photo of three bullets, I want my pistol bullets to look like the one in the middle and my rifle bullets to look like the one on the right.

The above posts are correct about brown bullets. If you apply enough to turn them brown, they will NEVER dry.

[FergusonTO35]

I normally pan lube but I tried dip lubing on my new Lee 356-95 boolits today. I put LLA into a small dish with mineral spirits about 60/40. I mixed it up thoroughly to about the consistency and appearance of chocolate syrup. I dipped the boolits to cover a little above the grooves and then let them dry. Being used to conventional lubes and smearing straight LLA on boolits I was a bit worried that the thin golden coating was too thin but I guess not. What I don't like about tumble lubing is getting lube all over the ogive of the boolit so hopefully this will work well.

[FergusonTO35]

Checked the Boolits after church today and found that the LLA was almost completely dry on them. Has sort of a gummy consistency which is just fine in my experience. Went ahead and loaded up a box of them in 9mm, hope to try 'em out soon.

[Buckshot Bill]

mine seem to have a waxy feel, almost like a candle not necessarily "tacky" just waxy feeling; am I using too much? I used way too much the first time I TL'd they turned out BROWN and stayed tacky forever, thank goodness they've all been shot up. They made a mess of everything.

[Love Life]

3,743 years.

[freebullet]

I've loaded some the next day.

[Aunegl]

3,743 years.

Did the Egyptians use this stuff to lube the stone slabs and build the pyramids? I learn something new everyday.