I have a couple hundred bullets that are coated with 2/3 beeswax and 1/3 moly lube that are an absolute mess to load. What is the best way to clean the lube off after I have finished loading them?The cases and the bullets still have lube all over them.
Well, use a cleaner lube!Seriously though, try some isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Acetone or naphtha will probably work nicely - adequate ventilation is absolutely necessary if done indoors! Mineral spirits will probably work but these solvents evaporate quickly, much quicker than mineral spirits. Good luck & stay safe!
"We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"
unknown
I purchased these bullets from someone here on the Forum several years ago. I didn't realize how messy they would be. I've since switched over to the new coated bullets instead of this messy lube.
Thanks for the clean up info.
Rag w/ some mineral spirits on it.
I just use a cotton rag and wipe my bullets.
I am in the middle of switching over to all hytech coated boolits.
I still have several thousand regular lubed to deal with.
On another note - make sure you clean your seating stem after every couple thousand.
I was doing a run of 38s and started noticing my depth was getting deeper.
Took out my seating stem and noticed a buildup of lube. Cleaned it off and was back to normal
A little WD-40 sprayed on a rag or paper towel works better for me than mineral spirits does. But I will also try the alcohol. May also try Ed's Red since it works for a lot of things.
Some times it's the pot,
Some times it's the pan,
It might even be the skillet,
But, most of the time, it's the cook.
If I had a few thousand to clean up, I'd tumble them in clean corn cob media for 15 minutes or so...not to exceed 30 minutes. while there is some controversy over tumbling live rounds, it would not stop me from doing so for a short period of time.
If I only had about a hundred or so, I'd start by using a clean cotton rag...if that was unsuccessful, I'd use a rag with a little Ed's Red or MS or WD40 as mentioned above.
It's been a few years since I loaded boolits with a messy lube...Speed Green was the most messy, I'll never use that again. I've been real happy with SL68B, for a soft lube, it sure isn't messy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
Kids and a washcloth...... with a promise of a reward of some sort. Who knows, you may create another handloader.
Tom
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Did I ever mention that I hate to trim brass?
With case lube I lay them on a towel and give them a shot of brake cleaner then roll them back and fourth on an old towel. I'm not sure how this would work with the different bullet lubes but its worth a try.
I use lighter fluid and a rag. Magine that other liquids would be cheaper, But I always have it handy for my zippo.
Yes, lighter fluid is naphtha, excellent solvent!Originally Posted by Bazoo
"We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"
unknown
I use used dryer sheets. My wife has a bad habit using 2 or 3 per a load. I save them for tossing in the tumbler or cleaning excess lube off bullets.
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
~Theodore Roosevelt~
May I ask what problem the messy loaded rounds cause?
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''Assume everything that moves is a human before identifying as otherwise''
If nothing else, they attract grit and dirt that I don't want being sent down my bore or packed in my chamber.
Information not shared. is wasted.
It also helps to use a seater stem designed for pointed bullets rather than flat ones when seating flat pointed bullets. The recess for the point in the seater stem gives a place for excess lube to go and allows for less frequent die clean outs. I use a heat gun to melt out excess wax every 500 rounds or so.
Another thought, with just a couple hundred bullets I would drop them into the melting pot and recycle them. Might be less work than trying to clean them up. I don't like messy lube!
I don't care for sticky ammo either and have had equally good results with lighter fluid, charcoal starter fluid and mineral spirits on an old hand towel. Never tried alcohol because seat-of-the-pants said boolit loob is more soluble in a petroleum based solvent than alcohol. Since I never actually tried it I just might be very wrong.
Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris
Could scar them forever against hand loading too. Don't show them the down side too soon.
Lots. Gunks up auto loaders badly and revolvers moderately, gets all over your hands, transfers to everything you touch, makes lead particles harder to wash off, gets on the inside of ammo storage containers, looks bad. Beyond that, I just don't like it.
Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris
FWIW, tumbling the bullets in Walnut media did little to nothing to clean the gunk off. Denatured alcohol cleaned it off fairly well.
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