Mirror Lube

[Grump]

I just finished reading all the posts here at CB which mention "Mirror Lube". Interesting old-school stuff, but the only real accuracy report I saw was someone using RandyRat's replication of the stuff.

It came out 1962 or maybe a bit earlier. Mentioned in the September 1963 issue of Guns magazine. http://www.gunsmagazine.com/1963issues/G0963.pdf

It was $.50 per stick back then. US Dept. of Labor says that's = to
$3.87 now. Handy-dandy inflation/price calculator here: http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

Apparently some time later a Navy guy bought the business and kept it going for some time. Nothing positive on whether the formula remained the same... From 2011: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?118198-Mirror-lube. See posts 16 & 34.

So, just wondering if there are any new(er) recollections of this stuff, and how it did holding the 3.36 inch 10-ring for bullseye pistol targets??? Especially at 50 yards for slow fire.

Thanks!

[M-Tecs]

When I first started shooting bullseye it was very popular in this area. I have used a bunch but I have not done a head to head test. I still have some.

[Grump]

Thanks!

That DR badge makes me think I can trust your input on this.

[M-Tecs]

Thanks!

That DR badge makes me think I can trust your input on this.

As you noted its for the rifle. I worked on a double but I couldn't get it done with the pistol, however, that was not the fault of the mirror lube.

[lotech]

I've used a lot of Mirror Lube and it was forty years old when I bought it. It may be as good as anything currently available.

[randyrat]

I think I still have the recipe of Billy Bobs or modified Mirror lube if anybody wants it

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I think I still have the recipe of Billy Bobs or modified Mirror lube if anybody wants it
I'm curious what it is, If you would, either post it,or sent me a PM.
also, how is the micro-wax search going?
Jon

[ironhead7544]

Good stuff. Used a whole lot of it years ago. It was considered one of the best.

[M-Tecs]

I'm curious what it is, If you would, either post it,or sent me a PM.
Jon

Same for me.

[runfiverun]

it'd take some digging but I remember a recipe being made about 2 years back.
the guess was made with a little here-say and some testing.
it for sure has graphite in the mix.

[randyrat]

I found it in my highly sophisticated filing system, pinned up on tag board under the other recipes.
Mirror Lube
By weight and measure:
2 ounces of High temp Lithium moly grease
6 ounces of Beeswax
1 teaspoon Carnauba wax flakes
1/2 teaspoon Lanolin (Approx) to give it a little extra stick

This recipe seemed to mimic the sample I received a while ago and shoot the same. One thing I did notice though, once you put it into your Lube sizer it is tough to get it out when you want to change lubes. It's like liquid coal

[runfiverun]

that seems closer to Lyman's moly lube.
I would have swore the recipe I heard had graphite in it.

[Uncle R.]

I have no personal experience with mirro-lube but Dean Grennell said it was pretty good stuff. There are dang few sources I would trust more.
:bigsmyl2:

Uncle R.

[randyrat]

that seems closer to Lyman's moly lube.
I would have swore the recipe I heard had graphite in it.
Yeah, who knows what is/was in that Mirror lube, I just tried to mimic it the best I could

[runfiverun]

after looking at 2 jillion recipes the only thing I'd really be sure of is it has bees-wax.

even Lyman's moly lube has about 4 way's to get you super close.
none of it really matters all that much, as they all work pretty much the same way.
heck for that matter I guess you could take my simple lube/or the old 50-50 standby and add some moly or grapite and be close enough.

[Johnny S]

I ended up (somehow) with 11 solid sticks of Mirror-Lube and have been reading about it .... I found this .....

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20060030495



A composition for bullet lubrication that comprises an admixture of carnauba wax and beeswax in combination with mineral oil, silicone oil, metal-containing greases, molybdenum disulfide and graphite. The application of lubricants may be made to the aft portion of the surface of the bullet.



1. A bullet lubricating composition comprising 29% to 43% of carnauba wax in admixture with 21% to 46% beeswax, 1.7% to 15% mineral oil, 1.7% to 6.6% silicone oil, 2.6% to 9.7% graphite, 1.7% to 6.6% molybdenum disulfide powder and 9.2% to 19% metal grease, all by volume.
2. The composition ofclaim 1wherein the metal grease comprises two metal-containing greases mixed with the remaining components and wherein the two metal greases comprise the molybdenum disulfide-containing lithium soap based grease sold under the trademark MOLYKOTE® BR-2 PLUS and the molybdenum disulfide-containing mineral oil based paste sold under the trademark MOLYKOTE® G-N.
3. The composition ofclaim 2wherein the silicone oil comprises a phenyl methyl silicone past.
4. The composition ofclaim 3wherein the silicone oil is that sold under the trademark MOLYKOTE® 44.

[Outpost75]

I have to look and see what I got in the shop. I bought a bunch of lube which came with a Star machine set up for .45 ACP which I got, and also the bullet sizing machine. Can't remember if it was Mirror Lube or Perfect Lube. Used both back in the day and with .38 and .45 wadcutter anyway,they were great. Must have 40-50 solid sticks for Star...

[randyrat]

29% - 43% is a TON of Carnauba wax and will cause some major problems with the lube. My recipe will work much better and it comes close to the consistency of original.
molybdenum disulfide powder= is a lube in it's own. I seen this way before I had seen powder coating

[Johnny S]

Probably so but those are the numbers showing in the U.S. Patent for the stuff ...... do you sell your stuff at all Randyrat ??

[randyrat]

Probably so but those are the numbers showing in the U.S. Patent for the stuff ...... do you sell your stuff at all Randyrat ??

I will get back into it when things get settled down on the home front. You will find me in the VS Vendor Sponsor area later this yesr


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[303Guy]

Interesting. I've been using a lube on jacketed bullets for quite some time. For my hornet I use it to 'glue' the bullet in an unsized neck in conjunction with a paper hand towel 'cup'. On my hunting 303 using semi-boat-tail bullets, I dip the bullet bases in the molten lube, let them cool then seat in a sized neck. Both the hornet and 303 have rust damaged bores and neither of them have any copper fouling or need to clean and lube the bores. The lube I use is made up of Lee Alox (original), hard candle wax and STP smoke stopper in equal proportions. This makes a 'dry' and firm waxy-lube.

I've been looking for a substitute for the Alox mix and have been experimenting with carnauba mixes. This gives me a new avenue to experiment with.

[Guntzy]

29% - 43% is a TON of Carnauba wax and will cause some major problems with the lube. My recipe will work much better and it comes close to the consistency of original.
molybdenum disulfide powder= is a lube in it's own. I seen this way before I had seen powder coating

Didn't know the carnuba wax can be that damaging

[Robertdeeice]

I ended up (somehow) with 11 solid sticks of Mirror-Lube and have been reading about it .... I found this .....

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20060030495



A composition for bullet lubrication that comprises an admixture of carnauba wax and beeswax in combination with mineral oil, silicone oil, metal-containing greases, molybdenum disulfide and graphite. The application of lubricants may be made to the aft portion of the surface of the bullet.



1. A bullet lubricating composition comprising 29% to 43% of carnauba wax in admixture with 21% to 46% beeswax, 1.7% to 15% mineral oil, 1.7% to 6.6% silicone oil, 2.6% to 9.7% graphite, 1.7% to 6.6% molybdenum disulfide powder and 9.2% to 19% metal grease, all by volume.
2. The composition ofclaim 1wherein the metal grease comprises two metal-containing greases mixed with the remaining components and wherein the two metal greases comprise the molybdenum disulfide-containing lithium soap based grease sold under the trademark MOLYKOTE® BR-2 PLUS and the molybdenum disulfide-containing mineral oil based paste sold under the trademark MOLYKOTE® G-N.
3. The composition ofclaim 2wherein the silicone oil comprises a phenyl methyl silicone past.
4. The composition ofclaim 3wherein the silicone oil is that sold under the trademark MOLYKOTE® 44.


I have not seen that paten narrative since the 1980’s.
Wow,... that was with all the papers and history of Mirro Lube when I closed it down.
Every so often, given my strange last name, I will set out to Google it and see what comes back.

I am in fact R.D. Issacoulian.

I saw that there has been some resent activity and dialogue reguarding this product again, so I signed up last night to come out of the shadows (so to speak).

I’ll try to write up the whole story and history of the lube, and what happened in the next few days, but right now, in short, no one has any clue how exotic that mix was.

In fact, I doubt I would fare well (given the compounds used), where stored after HAZMAT became a thing to be reckoned with.

It was a nightmare to mix, but IÂ’ll tell the story of that in a later posting.

Also, the original owner/inventer had veered off from the “mineral oil” aspect by the time I had been given the business.

As for the Carnuba Wax; which I believe is a TM name, comes from the candallia plant fond in Mexico most tines. The mix still called for that but it was only a few pounds and I felt was there as a bonding agent for one of the other coumpounds.
I pity the poor fool that try to mix this again.
Once I post the story, you will all understand better.

Warmest Regards
R.D. Issacoulian, USNR (ret)

[GregLaROCHE]

Wow. It will be great to be able to hear the whole story. I for one will be waiting to see it.

[M-Tecs]

I have not seen that paten narrative since the 1980’s.
Wow,... that was with all the papers and history of Mirro Lube when I closed it down.
Every so often, given my strange last name, I will set out to Google it and see what comes back.

I am in fact R.D. Issacoulian.

I saw that there has been some resent activity and dialogue reguarding this product again, so I signed up last night to come out of the shadows (so to speak).

I’ll try to write up the whole story and history of the lube, and what happened in the next few days, but right now, in short, no one has any clue how exotic that mix was.

In fact, I doubt I would fare well (given the compounds used), where stored after HAZMAT became a thing to be reckoned with.

It was a nightmare to mix, but IÂ’ll tell the story of that in a later posting.

Also, the original owner/inventer had veered off from the “mineral oil” aspect by the time I had been given the business.

As for the Carnuba Wax; which I believe is a TM name, comes from the candallia plant fond in Mexico most tines. The mix still called for that but it was only a few pounds and I felt was there as a bonding agent for one of the other coumpounds.
I pity the poor fool that try to mix this again.
Once I post the story, you will all understand better.

Warmest Regards
R.D. Issacoulian, USNR (ret)

I really liked mirror. I am looking forward to hearing the rest of the story. I still have some.

[randyrat]

Out of curiosity, I too would like to hear the story.

[lotech]

I think most (maybe all) lubes have just about an unlimited shelf life. Some years ago, I bought at least eighty sticks of Mirror Lube along with a number of sticks of Perfect Lube. These were originally sent to Saint Jo, Tx gunwriter Kent Bellah. He wrote for a variety of publications from the '50s up until about 1964. Bellah died in '66. This lube was like new when I got it. I used a lot of it, and sold or gave away the rest.

I've mentioned previously that Mirror Lube is a good lube, but so are many others. The more I try various lubes, the more I realize how little difference there is among any of them as far as performance (accuracy and freedom from leading) goes. Smoke is a different matter; some lubes smoke more than others. I don't recall how Mirror Lube did from that aspect.

It would be interesting to see the results of extensive, controlled comparison testing using a variety of lubes and firing lots of groups with handguns and rifles in a number of different chamberings. I am unaware of any such evaluation. Time and effort alone would probably be more than most would be willing to endure.

[randyrat]

Here is a good test you asked for
http://noebulletmolds.com/smf/index.php/topic,554.0.html

[randyrat]

Didn't know the carnuba wax can be that damaging

Lets just say, I would not used that much Carnaba wax in any lube at $15-20 per pound and it does cause accuracy problems at certain temps

[lotech]

Here is a good test you asked for
http://noebulletmolds.com/smf/index.php/topic,554.0.html

That's a great evaluation and some interesting reading. I was unaware anyone had done such testing; certainly lots of work. Anything similar with handgun cartridges that you know of?

[randyrat]

No this is the only one I know of..there was more test but the individual is banned