Cleaning reloading dies?

[GregLaROCHE]

And where do you get kerosene? When I was a kid my father had a Farmall M tractor that he bought during WW-II that ran on kerosene, and we had a barrel full of it in the yard. But I don't think the gasoline/diesel supplier carries it anymore?

Paint thinner is very close to kerosene. It even cleans greese and oil better. I use paint thinner with 10% motor oil in a spray bottle the same as I would WD-40. It’s a lot cheaper. Next batch I may try ATF in place of motor oil.

I spray my dies with Ballistol after each use and spray them on the inside with brake cleaner and wipe out just before the next use.

[1hole]

To each his own. I have always cleaned new firearms before use to clear out any left-over debris and did it to new dies when I began to reload in '65.

Don't want any residual oil on my dies when beginning a new bench session so I don't "clean" them until immediately before I restart; I just lightly oil my dies and put them away after each use. I spray or wipe something like Auto Transmission Fluid, sometimes mixed with a bit of 2-stroke oil, on them after each loading session because of it's excellent film strength. Steel doesn't care what we use for protection and I doubt there's any meaningful difference in oil types or mixture ratios for protection but I will NOT use WD-40 as a die (or gun) storage protectant because its long term rust resistance doesn't amount to much.

I DO CLEAN my dies before I start a new session. Walmart carborator and brake cleaners are excellent to just spray up inside a die to flush out any crud or old size lube. Then I twist-wipe the insides with a swab on a pencil or dowel with a snug pad of paper towel or potty paper. It's good to remove and properly clean the expander button on bottle neck dies before reuse.

I do not use highly flammable gasoline or lacquer thinner. Kerosene works good but it's a smelly solvent/cleaner. I just keep quart cans of safer (Walmart) "odorless paint thinner" (mineral spirits) and alcohol on my bench's shelves. I use one or the other with old tooth brushes and Que-Tips when I want to disassemble and throughly clean my dies.

After cleaning, I wipe dry and reassemble my dies, being very sure the first couple of cases are well lubed to leave a thin lube film on sizers!

[375supermag]

Hi...
I clean my reloading dies whenever I feel like they need cleaning.
Spray them inside with GunScrubber, wait a few moments till they are dry and then lightly oil them with RemOil wipes.
Seems to work...

[dirtball]

New dies come coated with preservative crud. I clean them with Acetone, it will cut just about any petroleum based coating, also works great on built up case lube. Run a wet piece of cloth or paper towel on a wood dowel into the die, twist a few times and the run a dry cloth and your done. Starting Fluid also works.

Dave

[Oily]

Always disassemble and clean a new or used set of dies before using. Wow I thought this was standard practice in reloading. You do not know what is inside your dies until you clean them. I have had new dies that have had metal cuttings inside the die body! RCBS, Hornady, Redding,Lee. Disassemble and clean well and lubricate with your favorite lube ( I like

[Rcmaveric]

I think this is one of those "Something is better than nothing" kind of cases. Doesn't matter what you do or use as long as you ste tsking care of them, then your grand kids may be using them one day.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[lightman]

I think this is one of those "Something is better than nothing" kind of cases. Doesn't matter what you do or use as long as you ste tsking care of them, then your grand kids may be using them one day.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I think this pretty much nails it! Lots of ways to skin a squirrel. Something beats nothing!

[cwlongshot]

I clean them two ways...

Hose them out over the garbage with brake clean.

Disassemble and drop them in a ultra sonic cleaner with JOY dish detergent.

CW

[alamogunr]

I use Ed's Red or similar home made cleaner. As far as rust preventive, my location in Tennessee is not as likely to rust as coastal regions and more likely than the western desert. Since our older son is a pharmacist, I get those little desiccant capsules/bags from him and put a couple in each die box. Change them out about every 3-6 months or after use.