Felix lube getting soft with age?

[jonk]

So I made up a big batch of Felix lube about 2 years ago. Whenever my reservoir runs low, I heat it in a double boiler, stir it, and pour it in.

When I made it it was quite stiff, about as hard as I can run in my RCBS unit without a heating element. The lube on the bullet was hard with very little tackiness.

Now it's like tar. It's sticky, runs under the bullet base in the sizer, pulls out of grooves easily, and is generally a mess.

It still works fine in terms of firing though, with little or no leading.

What's up here? Did it spoil somehow? The wax break down? I'm thinking of adding a little paraffin to it to stiffen it.

[geargnasher]

Ahhh, now it's just starting to get good! I haven't had it happen to that degree, but the more times you heat it the more homogenous it gets and it can tend to soften a bit as the ingredients blend better with each other. I don't know exactly what you used or how you made it, but a little carnauba wax added (1 tsp of flakes per lb) will help, or make a fresh batch that's heavy on the wax and soap and add the old to the new at the end.

Gear

[fishnbob]

So I made up a big batch of Felix lube about 2 years ago. Whenever my reservoir runs low, I heat it in a double boiler, stir it, and pour it in.

When I made it it was quite stiff, about as hard as I can run in my RCBS unit without a heating element. The lube on the bullet was hard with very little tackiness.

Now it's like tar. It's sticky, runs under the bullet base in the sizer, pulls out of grooves easily, and is generally a mess.

It still works fine in terms of firing though, with little or no leading.

What's up here? Did it spoil somehow? The wax break down? I'm thinking of adding a little paraffin to it to stiffen it.

Where and/or how do you store it? Does it help to keep it in the bottom of the fridge or is that detrimental?

[jonk]

It just sits on my shelf in a metal stainless pot with a piece of plastic wrap and a rubber band over the top.

[geargnasher]

I don't think it's the heat. Mine sits in Pyrex measuring cup with a rag over it on a shelf in my shop, which has been 105+ every afternoon this Summer, absolutely no change to the lube since the Spring. I figure that rules out moisture and heat.

Gear

[runfiverun]

i'm with gear here, you are getting things homogenized properly.
felix lube needs polymerization for the ingredients to blend and work properly.
add the carnuba or a bit more ivory and it'll come back to where you had it.
adding parrafin will harden it, but will do so at the cost of brittleness...

[runfiverun]

ahhhhhhghh.