Leaving Lube on/Homebrew/10mm lube

[OilyPablo]

I mainly reload 10mm. I didn't used to lube my cases, but I think the brass forms nicer and easier with slight amount of lube on the carbide/brass and steel/brass interfaces. The cases finish more uniform.

I use a home brew of coconut fraction oil and liquid lanolin oil mixed 50/50, 2-4 oz in 16 oz of 99% IPA. 2oz in 16 oz. works fine for pistol. 4 oz for necked cartridges.

My main question: When I used my light formulation, can I just spritz, stir, allow to evaporate, form and roll about in a towel, then reload? There is not much detectable lube left at all. Certainly not much inside the case.

Will it screw the powder up?

What is the worst thing that can happen?

[OilyPablo]

I might try 50 with a lube clean step after forming and 50 without. Maybe 25 and 25. I have a lot of brass. But small balls.:holysheep

[Mk42gunner]

Not having used coconut oil as a case lube, I have to say try it and see what happens. I would think as long as it dries to almost nothing, I.e. you can't really feel it, that it will be okay to leave on the case.

What the extremely small amount that gets inside the case will do to the powder charge????

I do know that many people use a ratio of 1:9 or 1:10 of anhydrous lanolin to 91% alcohol for case lube. So I don't really think the coconut oil is needed.

Robert

[OilyPablo]

I just formed 400 cases. Super nice, but I'm afraid I overlubed this batch. Afraid now, may rinse in straight IPA. I'm just trying to avoid another wet step. I may go 1:20 lube:IPA next batch of pistol cases.

I like the fact the fractionated coconut is WAY less expensive than lanolin, doesn't go solid, and doesn't even cloud up. Mixed with lanolin, it holds the lanolin in solution. The two mixed together seem synergistic - ie don't need much lube. That said, when this bottle of lanolin is gone, I'll be using straight coconut oil for awhile.

Anyway, thanks for the input. Like anything reloading, I'll need to slow down and think about it.

[popper]

The 'normal' thought is to have a dry chamber to prevent extraction/dirt problems. I size/deprime and then clean the cases. Dirt hurts carbide/steel - brass doesn't. I don't reload steel cases.

[leadman]

If there is lube left on the cases the case may not grip the chamber wall and this increases the case head thrust on the breech face. I suppose this might result in the slide operating faster than normal, but how would you tell? Might get more gas out of the chamber than with dry chamber and case, but will be hard to determine unless something breaks or cases swell, or have a high speed camera to record the gun when fired.
I wipe my lubed cases with a towel with alcohol on it to remove any RCBS case lube.

[noisewaterphd]

I always clean lube from cases. Matters a lot more for bottleneck cartridges headspacing on the shoulder.

Either way, you certainly won't gain anything by leaving it on, at best you are making a bigger mess.

I know a lot of folks will use a vibratory tumbler to clean off case lube, so that is an option if you don't like wiping.

Lee case lube is still my favorite to this day, and I have tried nearly everything at one time or another. Very easy clean up.

[OilyPablo]

I am cleaning these, then I'm going with coconut oil. I just don't like cleaning lanolin and I don't like the expense of lanolin. Thanks!!

[OilyPablo]

In the end I cleaned 100 and left 100 lubed. Everything else the same. Loaded with 10gr Longshot over 180gr FN. There was exactly zero difference detected. I tell you what, I had so much fun shoot these reloads in my 10mm AR, I finally reached the point of completion. Not one stoppage. YAHOOO!! Wow what a project.