Cleaning Loading Dies

[Airman Basic]

I took apart a set of pistol dies recently. They were pretty nasty. The seat die and stem were 'specially funky with bullet lube everywhere, probably because the stem doesn't exactly fit the SWC I've been loading after tumbling with 45-45-10.
Anyway, I thought of my handy-dandy HF ultrasonic. Put them in with a mixture of water and Dawn, 2 cycles did absolutely nothing to get rid of the gunk. Don't have any on hand, but would mineral spirits work in the cleaner? Or maybe another solvent type someone might suggest.

[xman777]

Brake cleaner and q-tips, then let em dunk in the ultrasonic.

[btroj]

Normal bore solvent, patches, and an old bore brush. Already on hand, designed to clean and dissolves gunk. Same thing I use on new dies.

[1hole]

You got to be careful about what you use to clean dies; if you use the wrong stuff the threads will slide off! ;)

[mdi]

I keep a "soak" handy for cleaning tools. It consists of mineral spirits, Marvel's Mystery Oil, some Kroil, and a little acetone (for plastic residue, but not necessary). When my dies get dirty I drop them in my soak and let them sit for a day or two. Most of the time I'll disassemble them. When I take them out I'll lightly wipe them down so a bit of the oil stays on for protection, and put them away. Same procedure with all my hand tools, keep them clean and rust free...

[bangerjim]

Laq Thinner in a glass jar. Just let them soak over night, then lightly brush/swab out. That is what I use to remove all the greasy lubes from commercial boolits I get B4 PC'ing them. Once PC'd, there is NO grease/grime buildup in you dies or barrels! EVER!

bangerjim

[John Boy]

but would mineral spirits work in the cleaner?
Yes and turn the heat on in the sonic cleaner.
Be sure to buy pure mineral spirits - not the mix stuff with methyl. Ace Hardware carries it in quart and gallon cans

[Garyshome]

I clean em' after I get done loading that cal. Then put em' in a plastic bag and get on to the next cal.

[TNsailorman]

I normally clean my reloading dies the same as I clean my rifle barrels. I use bore cleaner, dry with a clean patch and lightly oil and put back in the box. Sometimes with the high temperature greases, I disassemble and soak in de-odorized mineral spirits(usually for at least 24 hours) and then use a stiff synthetic bore brush to get the stubborn grease out. Then do the bore cleaner, dry, and light oil thing. Has worked for me for 50 plus years. Never had a rusted barrel or die yet. james

[gunoil]

alcohol. If just dirty.

if bad spots,, laquer thinner. Hemostats/forceps and some cut-up T-shirt. Then more alcohol.
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/40CACCC8-55B7-483E-84A2-8A961FC5F5CA-10110-000009ADBFFF7835_zps76278b23.jpg

Get some winners on ebay sometimes.

[prs]

I have used WD-40 to very easily dissolve LLA and Recluse lube in dies. Mineral spirits should work as well; but make sure these liquid solvents can not come in contact with primers, clean away the solvents before reloading. If alcohol would do the job as well, it may be more primer friendly.
prs

[Ickisrulz]

I use a heat gun to remove wax from dies and the bottom of Akro bins, etc. I heat a bit then I wipe them off with paper towels, patches or rags.

[monadnock#5]

Goo-Gone. Once set-up is complete for the seating op, I check OAL about every ten rounds thereafter. Generally when you start losing the OAL it's because lube is building up in the seater.
Goo-Gone on a Q-tip will get you up and running fast. Then you can do a more thorough job later.

[monadnock#5]

Sorry I didn't go into more detail before, I'll try to remedy that now...
Don't ask me how I know this. My employer has a very long reach.
A standard wash procedure prior to Heat Treatment might look something like this. 1) DeMag the parts. 2) Slosh in a solution of water, an industrial strength detergent and a very weak acid component all heated to about 140°F. 3) Send the parts through a robo wash system with two heated wash tanks, with a rinse in between and then three more rinses with deionized water. 4) Dryer.

Step 2 (slosh tank) is very important as it quite possible to "poison" the wash tank solutions in the robo wash system by requiring them to do too much. Think chrome parts covered with a congealed, industrial strength rust preventative here.
Your ultrasonic cleaner is a nice thing, and please use it in any way you see fit. It's my experience however that ultrasonics are really really good at removing the last trace of slime from mostly clean parts, but not so much for heavy duty removal of contaminants from really filthy parts.

[Three44s]

A can of gas in the hot sun ........... followed by a run through the dishwasher with extra soap!

Just kidding!

My goto on grundge is a spray can of brake cleaner and some bits of rags to swap out the stubborn leftovers. Follow with a rust preventative.

Three 44s

[Certaindeaf]

The lube is probably wax based. Alcohol cuts wax the best.
With that said, I'd try a fairly dilute solution of simple green in that vibro tank.. it wouldn't hurt to find out and it's very cheap and enviro friendly.

[seaboltm]

When buying used dies with crude and a light film of rust, I have been known to put them in my blasting cabinet and hit them with fine glass bead blasts. Not for everyday use, for for neglected equipment it will get you where you want to go fast, and it really doesn't remove metal (unlike sand).

[jonas302]

Mineral spirts on a rag wipes it right off

[Photog]

Clean Streak by White Lightning, amazing stuff, not too harsh, but still smells like cancer so use outside.

[waco]

I use brake cleaner. Sometimes I use Hoppes and a toothbrush.

[Bayou52]

A little alcohol on a q-tip works great to clean the inside of a die.

[tom357mag]

Take em apart and put them in a vibratory tumbler and tumble as you would brass. Add a capful of nufinish and they will come out clean and protected.