Intro and .. I just came out of the kitchen..

[Expat74]

Hey all,

first post here (be nice)..

I aim to pan lube a bunch of 9mm Mak/ACP/Luger bullets that I am yet to cast.. was reading around in this section and found some posts on moly etc. Years ago I've bought five 1lb canisters of surplus army molybdenum disulfate grease canned in 1988 and I thought why not give it a try as they collect dust in my basement since a long long time.. so does a ton of paraffin tea lights that i bought at IKEA well before the new millenium if I remember right. So, in an effort to clean up I came up with:

1lb of paraffin and added four generous teaspoons of moly grease, stirred not shaken into hot paraffin. Basically I added until I thought the paraffin couldn't take more. I noted it takes a while to dissolve but will easily when the paraffin is almost boiling.

Any opinions on this mix or has anyone tried that so far? I'm just experimenting around at the moment.. thanks guys!

Expat

[runfiverun]

give it a day or so and see how things shake out.

[Expat74]

nope.. stuff won't stay in the lube groove... back to the drawing board

[btroj]

Ok, won't stay in lube groove. Why? Too soft or too hard. If brittle then try melting it down and adding a couple tablespoonful of Vaseline. Vaseline is basically a softer grade of paraffin and it will remove some of the brittleness.
Another option is to add a bit of lanolin. Do NOT over heat with lanolin, it will scorch easily.
Another option is to start over and use 1/2 paraffin and 1/2 beeswax. Beeswax will give more flex and a touch of sticky. I would still add a bit of Vaseline to soften the paraffin.

Oh yeah, mineral oil could be used to soften the original too. Add a tablespoonful to the original batch, let it sit overnight, and see what happens. If still too brittle and hard then add another tablespoonful and retest.

Key on maki lube like this is to make small changes. Sometimes a tiny addition gives a huge difference. I always like to let a new lube sit overnight before really evaluating it. THe time to rest can make a huge difference in how a lube feels and works.

Welcome to the insanity

[Expat74]

Thanks! That's the info I was looking for. That'll point me in the right direction. Total newbie in terms of lube and casting. I added lanolin but couldn't get better results. Heating is done in a water bath, so slow and controlled. It's still too hard, still too wax-like. I was missing the sticky part.. ok so I'll go for Beeswax/Vaseline now...or .. tomorrow. Thanks for your help!

[btroj]

Hey, been there, done that.

Think of mineral oil, Vaseline, and paraffin as different melt points of the same thing. Mixing them together lets you get a lube base that has the melt point and stiffness you want. Doesn't take much mineral oil or baseline to make a huge difference.

[geargnasher]

A small amount of STP oil treatment, Lucas, Morey's, etc. will add some tack to paraffins.

Gear

[btroj]

By small amount he means small amount. Like 1/2 to 1 teaspoonful per pound is often enough.

[leftiye]

Add more of the grease.

[dromia]

Welcome to Cast Boolits expat, I've never really got pan lubing to work well for me unless I use a cake cutter type tool.

[sthwestvictoria]

I mostly pan lube as I only shoot for rifles. I use 70% bee wax, 26% vaseline, 2% lanolin (sold at pharmacy's) and 2% crayon for colour (by weight). This has gone to 2200fps will no leading and 1 1/4inch groups at 100metres as my best effort so far. With the lube not staying in the grooves are the bullets nice and clean edged. If the alloy is too cool the lube-groove edges can become round. Some people suggest pre-heating the bullets to get lube to stick, I have not found this helps. I just pour the wax over cold bullets standing up in a silicone baking pan. Allow to cool to a just touchable state then push the bullets out base first.

Lithi-Bee is a common lube, I think this is because the natural bee wax is a good deal more tacky than paraffin wax. Can you access bee wax if the other posters suggestions don't work?

Good to see some more forum members worldwide, not just all these Yanks cluttering up the place! There was a very interesting post from a Russian fellow in the swaging forum a month or so ago, interesting hearing about his adventures.

[randyrat]

I just was looking up an old post on making mirror lube and some wanted suggestions on how to make it. Here is my suggestions.
Using paraffin or beeswax (the best)
Melt or get your grease hot or to a workable temp 1st then add the beeswax or paraffin
MIX MIX MIX until all melted and mixed without burning down the house and no smoke
then add your Vaseline or Lanolin at a lower temp
Using high temp grease or your Moly I would use 2 parts grease to 6 parts wax and a small quantity of Lanolin or vaseline
In other words, 1-3 ratio.You can vary a bit to compensate temps and use.
molybdenum disulfate grease = is an additive in high temp grease still made today.

Look up in the search MIRROR LUBE- It will give to some tips and recipes in making this
here it is=http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?118198-Mirror-lube&highlight=MIRROR+LUBE

[Expat74]

Thank you all! I finally got it together and the lube stays on .. if the bullet is ok. Thanks to beeswax and a teaspoon of mineral oil. Stuff smells way better too.
Remind me to buy you guys a beer ;)