Tumble Lubing--Made Easy & Mess-Free

[Recluse]

Why cook the Mineral Spirits out of it and then add more back for boolit lube? I know I'm missing something.

I do it so I can more consistently control the viscosity plus the amount of wax and lubing properties in the JPW that is mixed with the LLA. Additionally, to get it to mix with the LLA, heat is required. I never had much luck getting the two (LLA and JPW) to mix and blend well at just melting temperature.

The small amount of mineral spirits (10% or so) seems to help keep the viscosity more fluid, especially when you heat it up as well as making the application onto the boolits a bit easier.

[zuke]

I mixed up a small batch and founf it to be REALLY watery.
Did I do something wrong?

[Recluse]

I mixed up a small batch and founf it to be REALLY watery.

At what temperature--room temp, ambient, after heating it with a blow dryer/heat gun or boiling water?

When warm, it should be much more viscous than regular LLA.

[zuke]

Room temperature. As I type it slosh's around the bottle like water.

[Dannix]

Room temperature. As I type it slosh's around the bottle like water.

Did you remember JPW? How much mineral spirits did you add?

[les265]

When I first made this mixture I didn't cook down the JPW. It ended up being very thin like water too. I ended up heating the mixture back up for about 15-30minutes and now it is a nice consistancy.

[Recluse]

I managed to have a voice-to-voice conversation with a lady at SC Johnson, parent company and manufacturer of Johnson Paste Wax.

During the conversation, I brought up the concerns, rumors and innuendo regarding JPW's soon-to-be exit from the market.

She assured me that here in the United States, no such thing was forseeable for at least the next five and probably ten or more years. However, she did pass along a couple of things to chew on:

1. Distribution beyond our borders is coming to a halt. Taxes and tariffs by the Obama administration, "green" concerns by the same administration and other countries, and the increasing cost of shipping what amounts to a low-cost but slow-selling product are all what fueled that decision.

That means that our Canadian, European and Down Under brethren who may wish to acquire some JPW need to contact any of us here at Cast Boolits. I find JPW at my local Lowe's home improvement centers for $5 a can all day long. We can make sure JPW gets into the hands of our casting brethren who live outside our borders.

2. So long as us baby boomers are still alive and kicking, the lady assured me there would be a demand for JPW. Way too many of us grew up with it and way too many of us know that little else is nearly as good when it comes to polishing and maintaining hardwood furniture.

Nonetheless, I am beginning a stockpiling--or call it hording, if you wish--action and buying a couple of cans each month or so. I like the stuff and I make a lot of the 45/45/10 mix for several other casters, as well as some reloaders who like to tumble-lube their commercially cast boolits one time before loading.

So that's about it. Just a quick update on the status of Johnson Paste Wax.

Regards,

[fryboy]

thanx for this post amigo ! it gave me enough courage ( and instructions ) to try this on my own !!!

[CrackyMcZap]

Would Howard Feed-N-Wax be a suitable substitute for the Johnson Paste Wax? It's a beeswax and orange oil wood preserver with a fair amount of solvent and enough carnauba to give antique wood a real shine. A pound of that is only about seven bucks here and I can't find JPW anywhere.

[res45]

Recluse,just want to thank you for your great post on the Alox/JPW/MS mix I cooked up a batch a few months ago and can't tell you how many bullets I have lubes and not made much of a dent in the batch I made up.

I used about 1/2 the can of JPW to make my first batch so there is enough left over to do another whole batch. I think I will need more lead before I need more lube,it dries fast and there is no more tacky bullets,works great as a ranch dip for traditional grease groove bullets also.

[Shooter6br]

I use a hot water "bath" liquify the lee and jp

[cptkeybrd]

I did a 50/50 after heating the JPw to get rid of some of the solvents, it cools down hard, I just put the old dishwasher soap bottle with it in the Microwave for 90 sec and it works perfect, far less smell and not sticky. Shoot em up
To the guy that can't find it, previous post has the online order info its 6bucks a can and 6 bucks to ship up to 4 cans.....................

Recluse and all you Lubers
I called Johnsons mail order number 1-800-848-2588 they said they are not discontinuing JPW
I ordered 2 cans for 18 bucks delivered by fedex so no worries mates.
thanks again Recluse for your work on making the Alox treatment much better and nicer to deal with. Happy lubing and shoot em up
Capt

website is http://www.scjbrands.com/mailorder/

[troy_mclure]

i just made up a batch. it is pretty thin, i may not have cooked the jpw enough. its still a bit warm tho.

thanks for the tutorial!

[Recluse]

i just made up a batch. it is pretty thin, i may not have cooked the jpw enough. its still a bit warm tho.

thanks for the tutorial!

Let it sit overnight.

When cooled, it should have a sludgy like consistency. Not water-thin viscous, but not a hard solid block feel either.

Depending on your climate zone and temperature, the viscosity will vary. In winter, even down here in Texas, I have to take a heat gun to my bottle to get it fluid enough to dole out the precise amount I want during a lube run.

In the other 51 weeks of warmer weather, it only takes a little bit of heat to get it as viscous as I prefer.

[JesterGrin_1]

I get those little rubber maid pudding cups that come with a lid. And simply put a coffee cup in the ole Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes with water and then place the pudding cup with the Alox in the coffee cup with hot water and place it on my bench and wait for the alox to thin and run with it. . The beauty of this is that the Rubber maid pudding cups have a nice lid to seal it all up when you are done.

[troy_mclure]

ive got a salsa jar of it right now. after 4hrs its still watery.

but i lubed some boolits and its allready dry, not taky at all.

do i need to re-heat it?

[bootsnthejeep]

I just went to a semi-local Ace Hardware to get my JPW. (After my two local hardware stores didn't carry it and didn't know what I was talking about.) I apparently was being waited on by the manager and when I got the last can on the shelf I asked him if they were still making it. This was before I read the updates above. He said the warehouse had 276 cans in stock and he was getting three more for the store, so I guess my source is secure for a while.

Another question tho, mine is percolating away on the stove, but I'm wondering if it matters how its heated up to "cook off" the solvents. I have it in my double boiler, but I see other people applying it to a hotplate. I'm just gonna let it go for a while and see how it tuns out, but it might be something to consider.

And just from what I've seen so far: 16 oz (1 lb in weight) of solid JPW yields about 22 oz of liquid by volume. Just something to consider. Am I expecting 6 ounces of solvents to cook out of this?

Boots

[bootsnthejeep]

And another thing, I noticed at the store that right next to it on the shelf (and in a very similar container) was Minwax Paste Wax. Naturally it didn't list ingredients, but might this be a doable substitution for the people who can't get the genuine article?

[George Tucker]

Stopped by my local Hardware Store today, and picked up some, i have 4 cans now, he called his Distributure in Spokane Wa, they have 150 cans left, so he ordered some more, George.

[bootsnthejeep]

Ok, I had much better luck with direct heat on the JPW. Smoked like nobody's business and isn't the most pleasant smell in the house, so if you're co-habitating with a female who's wrath you'd rather not incur, I'd do that outside. Lesson learned.

Cooked it down from 22 fluid ounces to just a tad under 16, then measured out 16 ounces of Lars Xlox and heated that up fluid state and mixed them up. Just got home to check on the solidified mixture, and its the exact color and texture of chocolate pudding. Exact. Its a little disturbing, actually. Figured I'd wait on the mineral spirits and see how it came out, we'll see how it works in actual application.

I think a little heat and this should be good. Now tomorrow I have to hunt up an appropriate container.