Thinning Lee Liquid Alox

[NVcurmudgeon]

I have been given a sample of Lyman 311407 boolits. With the one wide base band, and the near bore diameter of the rest of the bands I can't lube them in a die. My Lee LA is the consistency of water pump grease. Lee says thin with mineral spirits, what consistency should I try for?

[Treeman]

First try setting your LLA bottle in a cup of hot water for a few minutes. That will usually thin it enough. The "ideal" consistency is that of Pancake syrup. If it is like room temp Honey it will do fine also.

[UweJ]

Before I start with a new bottle of LLA I open it up and fill the rest up with mineral spirits, put it in hot water for a while and then shke it up real good.
It´s diluted enough to lube but does not draw the dirt and dust.
Uwe

[NVcurmudgeon]

Treeman and Uwe, thanks for the prompt replies. With two "recipes" I should get the 311407s laded easily. What a great resurce this board is!

[Scrounger]

Before I start with a new bottle of LLA I open it up and fill the rest up with mineral spirits, put it in hot water for a while and then shke it up real good.
It´s diluted enough to lube but does not draw the dirt and dust.
Uwe

UWE, it's a good thing you live in Europe; if you were anywhere close to Texas or Montana you'd dare nit sleep at night...

[7-30 Waters]

To thin my Lee liquid alox I spray a little shot of carb cleaner in the bottle and shake it up. Works well for me. No need to put it in hot water with this method.

[hiram]

The other night I loosened the cap and put the bottle in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

[Bear Claw]

Hot water is just the ticket for me as well, I dont thin it out either

[mooman76]

Be careful if you choose to dilute! I diluted some because in the winter in my garage it was real thick. I couldn't even get it out of the bottle without squeezing. It was fine after I diluted but come summer time it was too thin to use. Thats before someone told me about the placing in hot water. I just mixed it later with others that I haddn,t diluted yet and all was fine but I used mineral spirits and that worked well aside from over doing it! Try the hot water first!

[versifier]

Microwave is the easiest, but right out of the bottle it is unnecessarily thick. All it takes is a very thin coat to work properly, more does not make it work better, and it will build up much less in your seating die with thinner coats. Diluting it 50% with mineral spirits will let you lube 4 or 5 times as many boolits for the same amount of lube, and they're much less messy to handle after lubing. You do have to thin a bit more in cold weather, but if you overdo it and add too much thinner, just use that to thin the next batch with. I have taken to dipping longer nosed rifle boolits that can be held between thumb and forefinger in an even thinner mix, and this leaves the finished rounds the least messy. Moonman, you might consider dipping some in your overdiluted batch. T/L'd rounds can be easily cleaned up after crimping with a rag to which mineral spirits have been lightly applied.

[Dr.Doug]

I'm a 'thinner' too. I use mineral spirits and thin the LLA to the consistency of water, then dip my bullets. Early in my casting life I used it much thicker, but like others here have pointed out, more is not better, just messier. (I believe the instructions indicate a 'thin coat' is all that's necessary.)

[wiljen]

If you really want a quick drying version, cut it with Acetone instead of paint thinner. I found that works and it cut my drying time a bit.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

The real issue of dilution is not the thinning of the LLA but the residue on the boolitos when dry.