22LR lube.

[mdi]

I cleaned up a bunch of old 22 lrs a while back and re-lubed them with a "sorta" 45-45-10. I used paste wax and a bit of alox (very little) and thinned the mix with mineral solvent. The ammo was dipped nose first in the thin mix. I think thin is the key. All shot fine and as accurate as new...

[Traffer]

I cleaned up a bunch of old 22 lrs a while back and re-lubed them with a "sorta" 45-45-10. I used paste wax and a bit of alox (very little) and thinned the mix with mineral solvent. The ammo was dipped nose first in the thin mix. I think thin is the key. All shot fine and as accurate as new...

Excuse my ignorance. What are the 45,45,10 ingredients and proportions?

[Mica_Hiebert]

Factory 22 are lubed with straight paraffin wax just a dip in melted wax and let them air dry.

[runfiverun]

it's johnsons paste wax melted down and the solvents cooked off.
then an equal amount of [liquid] alox is added in and 10% mineral spirits to finish it off.
the mineral spirits percentage isn't overly important and more won't hurt anything since it evaporates as the lube dries.

[fryboy]

i'd go either with the 45/45/10 on a warmed boolit and with the lube warmed or something like rooster jacket ( which seems eerily similar to many factory 22's i have sen ) or maybe even ben's liquid lube , the rooster jacket i know dries hard with no tack at all ( havent tried the B.L.L. yet )

[Traffer]

Factory 22 are lubed with straight paraffin wax just a dip in melted wax and let them air dry.

How do you know that?

[leadman]

IIRC the guy that is the chemist at Rooster Labs is Dwayne. He told me that his Rooster Lube which is a liquid is what he sells to most of the ammunition companies. I know some members here have used this to lube their boolits.
I would melt down some of my LBT Blue Soft or Carnuba Red to dip the boolits in after they are lubed.

[Traffer]

back when JD was working on the 45/45 lube I was working on a similar lube that coated like 22 lr lube does.
what I come up with was a mix of 3 parts jpw cooked down and 1 part beeswax. [by liquid volume]
this dries very hard and will coat very thinly when mineral spirits and heat are used in the coating process.
anyway the cook-off of the jpw to make 45/45/10 lube was a direct result of this lube being made and tested.

I have been trying something similar. Roughly equal parts JHP, Beeswax and Calcium Stearate from dehydrated Jergens hand soap) I leave it in a lump and rub it on with my fingers. I will be trying the dipping method with your lube thinned with mineral spirits.

[Chill Wills]

Factory 22 are lubed with straight paraffin wax just a dip in melted wax and let them air dry.

I think if you ask ten different 22lf manufacturers what lube they use and you will get ten different answers; assuming you get any answer at all.
Check out Eley as an example. They have two lubes at least, neither paraffin as I recall. My recaller sometimes ain't so good these days

I do not know what the Best way of re-lubing old dried out Match 22lr ammo is, but I have had great outcomes with simply putting a small blob of soft SPG like lube in a cotton rag and wiping the exposed lead with the rag. Just gently clean off the old and replace a THIN gloss of new..... Leave no extra on it. It does not help - it hurts.

[John Boy]

IIRC the guy that is the chemist at Rooster Labs is Dwayne. He told me that his Rooster Lube which is a liquid is what he sells to most of the ammunition companies.

I tried Rooster Jacket on the bullets for my 22 BP reloads. Using it straight, I've found that when it dries - it flakes off the bullets.
Maybe a 50:50 mix of Rooster Jacket and paraffin with a 1/4 teaspoon of fine graphite

[Traffer]

I think if you ask ten different 22lf manufacturers what lube they use and you will get ten different answers; assuming you get any answer at all.
Check out Eley as an example. They have two lubes at least, neither paraffin as I recall. My recaller sometimes ain't so good these days

I do not know what the Best way of re-lubing old dried out Match 22lr ammo is, but I have had great outcomes with simply putting a small blob of soft SPG like lube in a cotton rag and wiping the exposed lead with the rag. Just gently clean off the old and replace a THIN gloss of new..... Leave no extra on it. It does not help - it hurts.

Please excuse my ignorance, I have only been reloading for less than 6 months. What is "SPG"?

[Chill Wills]

SPG is a commercial bullet lube. Lots of places sell it. Emmerts lube is about the same and is homemade. DGL or others works too. Look at the Midway or other mail-order places.
If you are a cast bullet caster and shooter it is good to try using these or making some - very useful stuff.

[Traffer]

back when JD was working on the 45/45 lube I was working on a similar lube that coated like 22 lr lube does.
what I come up with was a mix of 3 parts jpw cooked down and 1 part beeswax. [by liquid volume]
this dries very hard and will coat very thinly when mineral spirits and heat are used in the coating process.
anyway the cook-off of the jpw to make 45/45/10 lube was a direct result of this lube being made and tested.

I am curious about this recipe and technique. Firstly, when you cook off JPW, aren't you removing the mineral spirits? Then adding mineral spirits later? I just made a similar lube and have been applying it. (haven't fired any of these yet though) The way I am doing it is by carefully rubbing the mix to the bullet with my fingers. I am next going to try warming the mix and dipping the bullet (lead only) and letting it dry. Another mix I want to try is a mix of liquid Alox (don't tell eutectic) and beeswax heated with mineral spirits and dipped. I am drawn to the fact that alox has calcium stearate in it. My experiments show that calcium stearate is extremely slippery. Seems to be excellent for the slide and action lube for my Norinco 213.

[rwadley]

I have heard of people using mink oil or Preparation H (in a tube). I have never lubed 22lr, so I can't give any suggestions based on experience.

[Mica_Hiebert]

How do you know that?

Because I manufacture 22 amunition for a living.

I can tell you all cci rimfire bullets are just straight paraffin wax and I would venture to guess our sister company federal uses the same process.

[Traffer]

Because I manufacture 22 amunition for a living.

I can tell you all cci rimfire bullets are just straight paraffin wax and I would venture to guess our sister company federal uses the same process.

Wow, now I am talking to the right guy here. I just developed a lube that I like. It is basically just powdered soap (calcium stearate I believe) and beeswax melted in mineral spirits. I dip it and let it dry. Seems to be a little harder than factory lubed ammo but I like that.
I may be having more questions for you in the future, concerning the reloading of rim fire ammo.

[Mica_Hiebert]

I have used a lube of castor oil/bees wax with soap flakes cooked down until its a thick solid. works good for magnum pistol loads. a little over kill for 22, straight bees wax or parafin is fine for 22. not sure too much of my knowledge will be too helpfull for the home loader its prety amazing the commercial loading vs what one traditionally thinks of when hand loading ammo.

[randyrat]

The trick to make lube stick is dip while the bullet is still warm to hot (too hot very little will stay on the bullet) into lube. Adding a slight amount of Vaseline to Paraffin will also help it stick and be a bit more flexible, less likely to dry and flake off. You could add a very small amount of Lanolin instead of Vaseline, very small amount. That would be where you have to experiment a bit.