Does Lube ever go bad?

[Jevyod]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but does it have a point where it no longer works well? I would think not, but just making sure. I have some Carnauba red I got from White Label maybe 10 years ago. I bought a bunch because it was a custom color. I have enough to last a lifetime if it doesn't go bad (I am 35).
As an aside, the stuff works great as a pan lube. I heat the lube and pour in the pan with preheated bullets. When it solidifies, but still slightly warm, I grab the nose with a pair of needle nosed pliers and pop them right out! Very simple, and hardly any extra cost. Here is what the first attempt looked like. (I found out later that I should have installed the gas check first to create another groove)

[Dusty Bannister]

While bullet lube in general has a very long shelf life, it does take some consideration in storage. Leave those hollow sticks in the hot attic and you will have a large block to cut off chunks for pan lube use. Leave it in a paper container and some times it will dry out, so a zip lock bag is a good idea. Cool is better than hot when it comes to storage. Worst of course is a dirty shelf where you find it has been contaminated with dust and dirt.

I do not know if repeated heating and cooling as in pan lube application will have any affect other than being open to air and dust contamination.

[Bula]

I have some 50/50 sticks that are probably 12 years old. I keep them in a spare fridge in the garage. Still work fine. I think as long at they stay solid and clean, you are good to go. I would think hot/cold cycles over years might impact effectiveness.

[megasupermagnum]

I do not know about the sticks themselves, but lube on a bullet does eventually dry out to be less effective. Based on what I've seen, I would think a loaded round should be good for 20-30 years. They will certainly still fire after that, but the lube is very crumbly by that point. Being prepared is good, but I wouldn't keep a supply of lube that I wouldn't think would be used in more than about 10 years.

[jaegerstutzen]

I made a similar post a short time ago with no response. A friend who quit NSSA shooting gave me maybe 100 rounds of loaded and lubed .577 minies. I tried to shoot them and shot maybe 4. The lube was dry and crumbly and had to give up as would need a mallot to get the next one down. Poor accuracy. I have maybe another 100 rds that I loaded maybe 30 years ago. I would have given them away as I shoot a differant size now. Gonna remelt them at some point, the lube acting as beacoup flux. Was probobly shooting lens lube back then but can't remember. Have switched to SPG with good results but they don't sit much over a year. To the meat of the matter I make up minies for a friend in Atlanta
who basically only deer hunts with them and can't make his own. I would like to find a lube that will last as long as possible to cut back on the a mount of times I have to do this.He gets them sized, lubed, and loaded with powder in the plastic tubes we use in NSSA competition so shipping is problematic . I get the old ones back and remelt them when I go there. !,000 miles round trip so not often. Have not yet reloaded cast bullets for smokless. Thanks for looking, Jaeger.

[lotech]

In recent years, I've used Perfect Lube and Mirror Lube from the '60s; it worked fine.

[lar45]

I still have a little bit of that Purple lube left over. It looks like the color is starting to bleed into the label, but other than that the lube looks great.

[John Boy]

Does Lube ever go bad? does it have a point where it no longer works well?

All depends on the lube ...
I use mutton tallow - paraffin and bees wax. My lube bullets were under salt water from Super Storm Sandy in 2012. I still have some trays of those bullets - have reloaded some and there has been no lube starvation or leading in the bores

[barnabus]

I vacuum seal my lube sticks so they stay like new.

[wv109323]

I think you would want to keep it from extreme heat under 120 degrees. Wrapped air tight should help also.i had some majic lube that was of unknown age and kept in my garage. Some of the liquid had sepersted but I used it.