Can lube/LLA be cleaned off?

[Whistler]

I got a couple of bags of boolits from an aquaintance. It is a 148gn .358 SWC with traditional lube grooves, but looks to be tumble lubed. Either that or they have been lying in some dusty place (like a carpenters workshop) for so long that the lube has dried and partially fallen of.

All in all the boolits look very fine, but dirty.
Is it possible to clean them up so that I can lube them in my Lyman 4500?

I was thinking of perhaps boiling them in water, but perhaps that will affect the alloy or distort the boolits? It should melt the LLA at least and make it run off.
Tumbling the boolits in my case tumbler was another thought, but I fear the fine shoulders of the SWC shape might be worn down...

There's about 600 boolits, so it'd be a shame to just melt them down.

[rockrat]

I would try the boiling water first. Shouldn't hurt the alloy or distort the boolits

[fryboy]

real mineral spirits , soak slosh and agitate repeat as required , alox is some tenacious stuff that heat and water doesnt do too much too

[tackstrp]

like the picture fryboy have the same framed on my office wall.

[Whistler]

I'm sloshing them in mineral spirits right now and it works pretty good! I can't get all the LLA away off them, but all the dust/sand/dirt seems to come off!

Boiling them in water didn't help at all...

[Whistler]

Among all the boolits was a sealed and unopened plastic bag with more of the same boolits. The contents were the same, the boolits in the bag looked exactly as dirty as the others. It seems then that it was only dried LLA that made them all look dirty/sandy.

Now after cleaning them in mineral spirits I can run them through my Lyman with some Carnauba Red! :)

[fryboy]

eh is it worth using a brush too ? depends i guess but it would finish the job , a liquid type media bath would also work but could be a mess if one isnt set up to use that system , happy shootin amigo !

[tackstrp]

i clean all my TL bullets after loading.. use just about anything that is some what course. .doomed to a life of cleaning bullets. all my molds but one are TL. Which bythe way is the best one for bullets falling out with no shaking or banging.

Keep changing my mind by the hour or less, which i like best TL or sizing in lyman 450. Sure get purtty clean bullets. with lube heater and hard lubes. After i factor in the time spent cleaning TL not sure i save any time or work. There is one TL mold that I may buy and that is for the 32 ACP from Ranch Dog. Only because no makes a conventional 70 grain 32 ACP, outside of special order.