Burned lube?

[Kevinkd]

Hey all. Been away from rifle shooting the last few years (been addicted to trap shooting LOL). I had cast a few hundred pounds of 38's, 45's, 309's and 458s to tide me over the last few years. I had used pan lubing for the big stuff, tumble with the 45-45-10 for the pistol and light 309s.

My question is (in starting to research lubes again - since I need to start casting up alot - new pistol/rifle range built at my trap club - ;-) ), I see where alot of times its NOT recommended to overheat a pan lube. Ie dont 'burn' it or overheat it since it WILL lose its lubing abilities.

Which component(s) am I to avoid overheating?

I'm asking because I've got an old electric frypan that I"ve used for pan lubing and it still has the NRA 50/50 in it from before (still has 458 holes in it from last boolits I pulled out). I basically fill the holes with new boolits, turn on at 300 deg, wait until it all melts, shut off, let it cool (solidify). Then when COLD, I plug it back it for about 30 secs (or so) then unplug. Then boolits get warm just a bit since they are sitting on the bottom of the pan and with needle nose plyers I gently pull upwards and they come out with a 'snap' sound. Kinda funny. Fill old holes with new boolits and away we go.

Is my lube still good? Can I keep heating it over and over again (while adding more 50/50 when needed)? Is there an upper temperature limit on it?

The 38's, 45's are TL so all good there. The 309's are GC so good there.

Its the big 458's (340, 405, 450, 500) that I'm curious about.

I've got 2 Handi-rifles (one is Buffalo classic), a Pedersoli Sharps 1874 Billy Dixon and just got at xmas a Henry Lever in 45-70. So excited to start pouring the grey stream again :).

Thanks for your time in reading (and possibly answering).

[runfiverun]

well you ain't gonna burn the alox [it's already burnt]
the beeswax will start scorching at about 180-f a little won't hurt it too much.
really scorching it will break down the ester alcohols that the wax is made out of and make it hard and brittle.

[freebullet]

In addition bees wax has a fairly low flash point. Just something to keep in mind. I use an e-crock pot. It takes a little bit but, it don't burn nothing.

Your old lube is probably ok. You could add 5% odorless mineral spirits if it's dried out bad.

[Kevinkd]

Thanks for the replies.

All the older bullets I lubed 3-4 years ago are still fine (lube looks waxy still - lube gets soft/wet when held in hand and it warms up).

I guess I need some sort of double boiler and will keep it just under 200 at all times, I dont want it drying out. I dont 'cook' the lube, just get it melted, then allowed to solidify again. Over and over LOL.

Thanks again.

[gwpercle]

Use the crock pot and keep the lid handy just in case. Beeswax doesn't take a lot to flash into flames.
Another tip is melt and blend with whisk, let cool in crock pot and next day do it again. Three sessions heating, blending and cooling seems to get things all blended and homogenized without scorching the lube.
Excess heat is not your friend .
Gary

[Big Dangle]

After a while the lube in the pan gets dark I just add more when it gets below the rings. I haven't noticed a difference in the lube.
Shooting 45acp in a 1911 and blackhawk

[Kevinkd]

After a while the lube in the pan gets dark I just add more when it gets below the rings. I haven't noticed a difference in the lube.
Shooting 45acp in a 1911 and blackhawk

Yes, the lube is a dark brown now (was a yellow/light kaki brown) so I was thinking it was burned and no good anymore.

I really dont expect anything over 1500-1600 fps for any of these so nothing too extreme and most will be trail boss or 1200 fps etc.

Thanks for the replies :)

[Oklahoma Rebel]

freeboolit I have some homemade lube, would mineral OIL be ok to make it softer?, right now it is about halfway between a crayon and a toilet ring in consistency, has some tackiness to it, not a lot. is tackiness even wanted?

[Oklahoma Rebel]

sorry, didn't mean to be a thread killer

[Kevinkd]

No problem. Was pretty much answered.

All good.

Thanks

[BAGTIC]

When I used to keep bees I melted the wax in a double boiler.

[WALLNUTT]

I like a little tackiness so it sticks to the bullets.Lanolin is usually the ingredient for tacky. I used 50/50 parafine and vaseline for pan lubing and the lube didn't stick well.

[John Boy]

I'm asking because I've got an old electric frypan that I"ve used for pan lubingUse a water double boiler and you'll not have burned lube. A double boiler is bullets in a pan placed on a pan of boiling water