Problems with Lee Liquid Alox containers

[Jim22]

Yesterday I went to tumble lube some .32 cast bullets in my garage. Temperature was about 25 degrees F. I figured the LLA would be thick from the cold so I squeezed the bottle with the cap off. The plastic bottle split full length. Be careful. In the future I will warm up the bottle first. Just a heads-up.

[ShooterAZ]

I think it's a good idea to warm the LLA before using it anyway. Even at room temperature it can get pretty thick if it sets for a while. Hope you were able to salvage your lube.

[RU shooter]

Yep they don't like the cold . I always boil some water and pour in a glass and the put the bottle in it to warm up .

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I have had some plastic bottles split and/or crack simply from age, it is best to warm (the hot water works well) and if getting old, change to a newer bottle. I have started putting date of purchase or loaded on EVERYTHING so I know what to use first. I have a cardboard and tin lb can of H4831 with a $2.95 price on it, might be my oldest powder, still good.

[GregLaROCHE]

I cracked the rounded top part of a bottle once and it wasn’t near that cold. Maybe 10°F.

[dtknowles]

My bottle cracked and it was not cold at all, more like 80 deg. F.

Tim

[Jim22]

Yes I did. I had some 3 oz. bottles I bought at Walmart. I had used enough from the Lee 4 oz. bottle that it nicely filled the smaller one. I got the small bottles in a pkg. of four because I have read some really good things about using Mobil One synthetic as gun oil. A quart of Mobil One 5W30 should last me the rest of my life. The little bottles have flip tops so are ads handy as any other gun oil.

[redhawk0]

I've had some alox bottles that were 20+ years old. All of them cracked and ran alox all over the bench. Its the bottle plastic breaking down. Not much you can do about it but put the lube in a glass bottle/jar once it happens.

redhawk

[Larry Gibson]

I don't even try to pour LLA out of the bottle through the little spout any more. I just unscrew the cap after warming [in hot water for about 10 minutes] and pour from that.

[Jsm180]

A few seconds in the microwave does the trick, best to do it when the boss isn't around.

[243winxb]

Remove only a small amount of Lee's Alox from the bottle at a time. Put Alox in a small plastic cap. My cap is from an OLD WD 40 spray. Heat a pan of water on stove, just below boiling. Place cap with Alox in the hot water. When warm,, Dump on warm bullets in warm container.

This keeps the orginial bottle of Alox from getting thick.

May help if the whole bottle is NOT heated.

[Vegas Vince]

I heat lube (50/50 mix) in mic for 1 to2 min.,but I remove lid first!

[MUSTANG]

I actually think the current bottles are the problem. I have Lee Alox bottles with lube in them that are over 35 years old. Yet; the last two bottles (over last 2 years) I received with special order sizer dies, the bottles have split - even though I never opened the new bottles.

[samari46]

I had some that set up or congealed due to the carrier evaporating.
Odorless mineral spirits mixed a little at a time in stopper style candle jars and worked in to mix it with an old butter knife. Frank

[GasGuzzler]

I went to BLL some .358s I cast for a friend and when I squeezed the ketchup style bottle I store in, the lid came off and put 6 oz of LAA/SCJ floor wax on 200 pills.

Slightly excessive.

Last batch of BLL I mixed the LLA bottle split. Must be common and it ain't that cold here.

[centershot]

GG,
I also use the LLA+Johnson's Floor Wax mix for tumble lubing. When I make it, I heat the can of wax over an electric hotplate (gently, and outdoors) until it melts and then add the LLA. I leave it int the can to store it. The can seals tight so no loss of solvent. Try it next time you mix a batch!

[dogrunner]

My bottle cracked and it was not cold at all, more like 80 deg. F.

Tim

Me too! Covered the split with Gorilla tape and I'm still using it.

[shaune509]

Checked for my LLA and I now remember I tossed it as it had split and leaked all over the shelf. Must be some thing in it that degrades the plastic bottle, they [LEE] may need to go to ether a different plastic or glass or metal.
Shaune509