Ways to reduce the sticky-ness or tacky-ness of lube

[reed1911]

Oh how I love the performance of White Label on my pistol bullets. Oh how I hate the fact that EVERYTHING gets stuck to it (powder, dust, sand, cat and dog hair, lots and lots of cat and dog hair). I'm not overly excited to change from BAC....so what are the wonderfully inventive ways you all have come up with to reduce it? Mica seems a bit on the high side and pretty messy...

As a side note, cat hair increases accuracy, and there is not much that is funnier than your cats fighting you to get to your brass and bullets. I think the copper smell from brass smells a lot like blood and is my assumption on why they love that. The lube, well, oil-of-catnip may just be the secret.

[lancem]

I'm going to try this as I have the same problem. I've got the stuff just not the time. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?259285-NEW-!-!-T-L-Liquid-Lube

[Petrol & Powder]

I also use BAC with the occasional addition of dog hair but I have two different dogs and one sheds more than the other so that produces a variable concerning the type of dog hair contamination.:-D

You're right about the sticky part and my only suggestion is to try to keep the lubed bullets protected in a container until you're ready to assemble cartridges.

[LAKEMASTER]

My bullets go straight from the lube tray to a dollar store container that has the locking tabs and O ring around the lid. Just for the reasons stated above

[bangerjim]

Switch to PC.

[reed1911]

Nope, no PC here.

The issue is broader than that, when we load them up, the lube gets into the die and onto the case, and the hands, and the box, etc...

[bangerjim]

PC is Powder Coating.......not Politically Correct.

Well that is one of the MANY reasons for Powder Coating instead of grease!.....it eliminates all the gooey sticky glumpy mess you describe above. What do you have against solving your problems?

Hundreds if not thousands on here have switched from sticky grease to clean PC..no sticky boolits...no leading....no grease smoke.

PC is totally clean and totally reliable!

banger

[Blackwater]

At least a good part of this can be avoided by judicious handling of the bullets. Taking the bullets directly from the sizer die after sizing/lubing, and putting them in a box in neat rows CAN eliminate at least a good portion of the messiness. I try to use my left hand only, and a handy rag and a good washing after sizing/lubing, and things stay at least fairly clean. Keeping the bullets in boxes really helps a lot, too, with good covers so dust can't get to them.

I guess I'm going to have to try and see how various types of dog hairs work! :-D

[NavyVet1959]

On the alox bullets, I found a dash of talc to really help. The old style baby powder that was made from talc, not the newer stuff made from cornstarch.

[JWFilips]

CATs I the loading area will always improve your shooting!!! That being said try a tumble in Ben's liquid lube followed by a 2 hour fan dry time after you favorite lube!

That stuff seems to seals up a lot of sticky & tackiness

[dragon813gt]

No one asked about powder coat. It's irrelevant to the question at hand. Why people insist on mentioning it in conversations about conventional lube is beyond me.

I had high hopes for BLL as a kind of hard shell over the bullet. It didn't work but it could have been because the lube had run and the entire bullet was tacky. I've been meaning to try it w/ a new batch of bullets to see how it works in this fashion.

[Schrag4]

No one asked about powder coat. It's irrelevant to the question at hand. Why people insist on mentioning it in conversations about conventional lube is beyond me.

I had high hopes for BLL as a kind of hard shell over the bullet. It didn't work but it could have been because the lube had run and the entire bullet was tacky. I've been meaning to try it w/ a new batch of bullets to see how it works in this fashion.

If I was new to casting and didn't know about PC yet, I might really appreciate someone sending me in that direction. The suggestions I've seen above might reduce stickiness in the hand but won't they still gum up the dies nearly as much?

[reed1911]

No PC here due to volume and space. I'm fully aware of what the process is, what it involves, and the pros and cons.

[shoot-n-lead]

No PC here due to volume and space. I'm fully aware of what the process is, what it involves, and the pros and cons.

Well, just put up with sticky, messy bullets....enjoy.

And, just about forgot...enjoy the smoke, sooted guns and barrels, too.

[bangerjim]

Nuff said!

I rest my case.

[Spector]

We are a brotherhood of shooters, boolit casters and loobers. And generally we love to share what we think we've learned and now know about the craft. Unfortunately powder coating, as great as it CAN be, seems to create a tension in our ranks. And that is a shame.

Some were shooting great groups without leading long before I ever read about powder coating boolits. Heck long before I was even born and I am 68 years old. What we term ''conventional lubes'' and ''powder coating boolits'' both have served us well through the years with the conventional lubes having a vastly longer record of service.

I am certainly no expert in either arena, but I do know that we are much better as a brotherhood when we share ideas in genuine concern for our fellow brothers and sisters who are endeavoring to perfect their craft to meet their needs.

I am known at times for being a least a little abrasive. And I have been known to make a case or two advocating different ideas. And if I don't self-govern and choose my words carefully, my presentations can devolve into being argumentative.

Discussions are much better for finding the truths each of us seek. When the truth remains more important than personalities we all benefit. When we factionalize....the brotherhood is diminished.

I would say there is another site that has dealt mostly with powder coating and everyone is welcome there. This site is most informative as well. I guess two sites were deemed advisable as those who advocate different lubes sometimes let personalities make it a little difficult to determine what truth best suits individual needs.

A brotherhood.....obviously not in lock step with one another, yet very importantly, a brotherhood. One that I hope contains a goodly number of sisters. Yeah.....I just plain like women. They tend to civilize us brothers. grin...........Mike

[gwpercle]

Dust them with Motor Mica. Then stack in box, base down, side to side, one layer. Piece of thin cardboard on top and add another layer of boolits. Dumping them all loose into a container just encourages them to get all stuck together. Dust and stack neatly works.
I don't PC either....too darn set in my ways to change.
Gary

[reed1911]

And...Thank you! I did not think to look elsewhere for the mica, found some cosmetic grade for 20.00 a lb shipped. That will last me a while for sure. Did not know it was that cheap, then again I never thought to look at the alternative uses other than as a lubricant.

[runfiverun]

you could also try spritzing the lubed boolits with some rubbing alcohol.
it works great on carnuba red.

[Yodogsandman]

And...Thank you! I did not think to look elsewhere for the mica, found some cosmetic grade for 20.00 a lb shipped. That will last me a while for sure. Did not know it was that cheap, then again I never thought to look at the alternative uses other than as a lubricant.

I've done this and it can get messy. Better to use it on your shooting bags to reduce friction. This is only $9...

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2124290522/frankford-arsenal-fine-powdered-mica?cm_vc=ProductFinding

Ben's Liquid Lube should work very well for you. It sounds like you just used too much. It should dry completely in a few hours with no stickiness or slick feeling. Use just enough to coat the bullet, maybe 10 drops to about 50 bullets depending on bullet size.

[reed1911]

I do not use a liquid, I use BAC which is a stick type lube.

The item you linked to would run 35.96 per Lb, I just bought some for 20.00 a lb.

[Yodogsandman]

The 4 oz size is surely a lifetime supply for me. I hope it works out for you.

[gtgeorge]

Amen to the brotherhood and thanks to those that share the PC alternative but I am not ready to change as I have good success with the old ways.

I do like sticky lubes at times but usually mix something not so sticky. I also have plenty of mica but would love to hear how others have success in applying it. The few times I tried it is hard to just dust for this clumsy "old" fart although I feel young in this group:) . Perhaps some kind of squeeze bottle? I have only tried a little pinch in the fingers which didn't work so well.

Also wouldn't the mica defeat the benefits of the lube being sticky as in affect accuracy?

[garym1a2]

While I switched to Powder coat for 9mm and 40 S&W to reduce mess and cut down on smoke. Some bullets I use like the 200gr, SWC 45 ACP don't powder coat well for me. The build up from powder coat affects my OAL too much. For those I still use normal 50/50 lube and they are quite messy. I thought of trying Bens BLL lube for net run on it. Also, since they are already lubed thru the lubesizer maybe just tumble lube them in straight Johnson's liquid lube may work.

[Maximumbob54]

Try a final tumble in JPW thinned just enough for the tumbling. That should leave a dry enough coating. Don't over do it or you will have a mess during seating.

[NavyVet1959]

I use talc because it is easy to find. Just look for the old type baby powder instead of the newer ones made from corn starch. Currently, the Wal-Mart Equate brand (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Mild-Baby-Powder-22-oz-Pack-of-2/39262549) is listed at $3.54 for a 2-pack of 22-oz bottles. That's about $1.29 per pound. I've also used it on the rubber hand grips on my Harley when the rubber was getting too soft and sticky. It allows you to delay having to buy and install new grips for a bit. And, of course, it works great as a boot powder to ease putting on slip-on type boots. :)

There are various types of "mica" and depending upon who you are talking to, it can sometimes be one of the mica minerals and sometimes just be powdered graphite.

Hardness (Mohs Hardness Scale)
Wax (0°) -- 0.2
Talc -- 1
Graphite -- 0.5-1
Diatomaceous Earth -- 1-1.5
Lead -- 1.5
Tin -- 1.5-1.8
Sulfur -- 1.5-2.5
Gypsum -- 1.6-2
Mica -- 2.8
Copper -- 2.5-3
Zinc -- 2.5
Antimony -- 3.0-3.3
Steel -- 5.0-8.5

https://www.tedpella.com/company_html/hardness.htm

Looking at this, it would appear that there are couple of substances that are in the right hardness range. We don't want something that is so hard that it will increase wear on the barrel. Some of the substances might not that great if you get your bullets wet.

One thing that looks worthy of further investigation to me would be the Diatomaceous Earth. It's sold in powder form for insect control and for swimming pool filters (i.e. "D. E. Powder").

Looking on the Home Depot website, I see that a 25-lb bag of it for a swimming pool filter (http://www.homedepot.com/p/HTH-25-lb-DE-Filter-Aid-61306/100251333) is going for $20.95 ($0.84 per lb) and a 4-lb bag of it for insect control (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Safer-Brand-4-lb-Diatomaceous-Earth-Ant-and-Crawling-Insect-Killer-51702/202743025) = $8.97 ($2.24 per lb).

Copper powder (325 mesh) is currently $55 for 5 lbs on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Copper-Powder-325-Mesh-99-4-purity-Five-Pounds-USA-/161184470880?hash=item258757d760) including shipping. It would be interesting to see how that would work, but I don't particularly have another use for copper powder just in case it doesn't work.

[Maximumbob54]

Isn't non corn starch powder risking slowly scouring your bore?

[NavyVet1959]

Isn't non corn starch powder risking slowly scouring your bore?

Well, it's softer than lead, softer than the suggested mica, softer than the graphite that is also sometimes used to coat gunpowder, and softer than the copper that we use for jacketed rounds.

[Elkins45]

I have had good luck with just plain old corn starch. And you can't hardly get any cheaper than that.

Diatomaceous earth would scare the bejeebers out of to run down my bore. The primary component is silica (silicon dioxide) with is a 7 on the Mohs scale. It would essentially be sandpaper blasting down the bore.

[NavyVet1959]

I have had good luck with just plain old corn starch. And you can't hardly get any cheaper than that.

Diatomaceous earth would scare the bejeebers out of to run down my bore. The primary component is silica (silicon dioxide) with is a 7 on the Mohs scale. It would essentially be sandpaper blasting down the bore.

According to the link that I posted, Diatomaceous Earth has a hardness of 1-1.5.

According to wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth),



Diatomite produced for pool filters is treated with high heat (calcination (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcination)) and a fluxing agent (soda ash (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_ash)), causing the formerly harmless amorphous silicon dioxide to assume its crystalline form


As such, that would probably not be the best D-E to use for a bullet powder. Probably the insecticide one would be better.

For now, I'll stay with talc.

[bangerjim]

Talc should work very well......and keep your keister dry at the same time!!!!!!

banger

[Stoats]

Or go over to Carnauba Red. It's less sticky. If you don't want to get a heater, a hairdryer, soldering iron or heat gun will do you for the little wisp of heat it needs.

[pjames32]

+1 on spritzing with rubbing alcohol. I keep a spray bottle on the bench when lube/sizing. Give them a spray before placing in the storage container.
PJ

[reed1911]

Thanks everyone.