Emptying RCBS Lubricator

[shafer44]

I have an RCBS Lubricator, the older one, and it has the alox/beeswax in it. I have ordered Carnuaba Red and want to use it instead of this sticky stuff from rcbs. Is there an easy way besides sizing bullets until it is gone to get all the alox/beeswax out? I assume, once i have it all out, I will have to put quite a bit of the CR in there at first, since the cavity around the die will be empty then....isn't that right?? Anyway, I thought about heating it with a hair dryer or heat gun and taking the plunger out and letting it melt out the top of the cylinder where you put the sticks. Would this work? Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

[C.F.Plinker]

If you just put the CR in it will take about 300 or 400 boolits until the CR shows up in your sized boolits. This assumes the plunger was down as far as it can go before you put the CR in. You will run a blend of the CR and the alox/bw for several hundred more boolits until it is all CR. The advantage of this is that you don't loose any lube.

You can also remove the plunger disk and the sizing die and apply heat either with a hair dryer or heat gun or by baking it is a low 200* oven or by boiling it out in a large pot. There are more that a few threads about doing this on the forum. It will take about 3/4 of a stick of lube to refill the reservoir in the lube sizer.

[country gent]

If you boil it out it will remove all the lube. Some tips on boiling have a pot big enough to hold the sizer body and pieces parts. Make sure they are covered in water 3-4". Let cool completely and lift lube off of the water before removing parts.

[dragon813gt]

Remove the sizing die and increase pressure to push it out. If it's a harder lube heat it up first. It comes out easily this way.



Boiling is a last resort for me. I only do it when refinishing the sizer. Even after letting the water cool and the lube harden some still ends up on the outside of the sizer. Taking out the plunger and using a heat gun is an easy way to empty the reservoir that doesn't make a big mess.

[Tom W.]

I just used up what was in the sizer and added the CR. As was posted before, it will take a while to get all of the mixed up stuff out.

[John Allen]

I cleaned on out years ago by heating it up. It was a mess old lube came out of everywhere but it was clean. I used a hotplate and a heat gun at a medium heat.

[shafer44]

Some good suggestions. I will try the take the sizing die out first and crank, that does look like it will get the bulk of the lube out. Then I may have to try to heat it with the hair dryer or put it in a pot of water and boil the rest out. I just want to try something different than the sticky alox/beeswax type that gets all over everything.

[Mk42gunner]

The first one I cleaned, I boiled. As mentioned above, lube gets all over everything.

The second one, being an old plumber/ appliance repairman, I heated with a propane torch using a low flame. It worked okay, there was less mess on the outside of the lubrisizer.

Robert

[runfiverun]

beeswax and alox mixed with carnuba red 2-1 is one of the better lubes I have used.
you had to burn one-two shots before shooting for group but it held up over a wide temp window and you could fire long strings of shots with it.
it is far better than either lube alone.

[standles]

Press as much lube out as you can. Then take a heat gun and heat it to get the rest out. Boiling one proved to be to much of a mess when I did it.

[Jeffjmr]

Boiling is effective for getting the lube out but don't use a pot you intend to cook with anytime soon. I found the residue in the pot harder to remove than the lube in the lubrisizer. NOTHING seems to get through that stuff, not acetone, alcohol, Goo Gone, Goof Off, dishwasher detergent, brake cleaner, carburetor cleaner, laundry detergent, Simple Green, Mr. Clean, PineSol, Lysol, scrubbing bubbles, Bon-ami, Borax, prayers, nor rain dancing. At least so I've heard!

Jeff

[Sur-shot]

Would suggest you not use the wife's pot to "cook" you gun stuff in, unless you are already divorced or deaf as a post. That story would last forever around my house. I made the mistake of putting a well used 20ga bore snake in the washing machine after a bird trip to Argentina, about 30 years ago..... wow...
Ed

[EDG]

Find a piece of wire and hang the stripped casting upside down over a trash bucket.
Warm with a heat gun or hair dryer. The stuff will run out. If you live in Texas in the summer you can leave it in the hot sun to drain out.
Take towel or old T shirt that you can discard and wipe the lube off of the casting while it is hot. Wear gloves if you have them.

Examine the interior with a strong light to see if there is any residual garbage. The casting should be really clean except for a film of left over lube.

Do not boil it and do not melt the lube in the house. This process goes fast outside.