Today I made my first batch of Ben's Red.....

[Smokepole50]

And everything was going smoothly until I added the transmission fluid witch ended up being 10% instead of 5%. So I continued and added approx. another 10% Bee's wax before finishing up with the 5% STP. I heated and mixed everything very well as I added each different ingredient and it did set up in a fairly short period of time outside at 48 degrees. I have it in the freezer now and it looks a bit more like Ben's Purple or Maroon than Ben's Red. I also substituted Ford Mercon Tranny fluid because that is what I had. Hopefully it will be at least close to Ben's Red in performance. Is it possible to reheat the batch and try and improve on it once it has cooled? I still have a bit of Lucas red-n-tacky I could add if it is to hard to pan lube with.

Smokepole50

[DLCTEX]

My guess it will be softer due to the additional ATF. It can be remelted and modified. The Ford fluid must have contributed the darker color, mine is a light pastel Red using the Dexron fluid. If I ever need to make another batch, I made a Large one, I will add some red candle dye.

[Smokepole50]

Well I cut it up today in bars and it is firm and slightly tacky but it does not have the smooth sides at the cuts like I see with Ben's pictures. I did not filter the lube when I pore it into the pan, is this important? I did notice some very small pieces of un-dissolved red-n-tacky in the mix, do these need to be filtered out?

[runfiverun]

they will mix in with each re-melting.
if you followed my directions where you melt the grease first you don't have that issue.
oh dexron atf contains mercon anyway so no big deal it's the type f that has the friction adders.

[Smokepole50]

Yes I saw your directions last night after I had already made the batch, I will try that next time. I think I will need to make the next batch outside if I get the red-n-tacky that hot as the stove exhaust fan barely kept up with the bee's wax and grease mixture smoke.

Is the lube normally tacky on the sides when it is cut into bars? Maybe I need to do a remelt of the whole batch and add some additional bee's wax behond what I have already added to try and correct my mistake. If so, should I also add in a bit more JPW to the mix as well? My gut feeling tells me it is about right comparing it to the tackiness of the BLUE lubes I have seen on store bought boolits. As well, it seems to be about right for cookie cutter type lube but I have yet to do any of this so I am just guessing.

[41 mag fan]

Yes I saw your directions last night after I had already made the batch, I will try that next time. I think I will need to make the next batch outside if I get the red-n-tacky that hot as the stove exhaust fan barely kept up with the bee's wax and grease mixture smoke.

Is the lube normally tacky on the sides when it is cut into bars? Maybe I need to do a remelt of the whole batch and add some additional bee's wax behond what I have already added to try and correct my mistake. If so, should I also add in a bit more JPW to the mix as well? My gut feeling tells me it is about right comparing it to the tackiness of the BLUE lubes I have seen on store bought boolits. As well, it seems to be about right for cookie cutter type lube but I have yet to do any of this so I am just guessing.

Dont let it smoke, that is one of the keys to making it successfully.
Here's a link, read what I posted and hopefully it'll help you get you a good batch made up.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?148898-Ben-s-Red-Help/page2

[runfiverun]

the red and tacky will melt at about 350-f
once it melts, add the other stuff and stir until blended [the jpw will steam off a little]
give it a couple of minutes on the heat for everything to blend and melt properly.
take it off the direct heat and start adding the beeswax.
I break my bees wax into chunks before hand or pre-melt in the microwave.
add it in at about 200-f or less.
it will pull everything together, stir it as it cools.
just keep stirring it
when it begins to cool down and you see a little viscosity change then pour it out to set up.