Clean excess lube from loaded rounds

[ghh3rd]

Anyone have a quick and easy way to clean excess lube off of reloaded rounds without the chance of contaminating them?

I use Felix lube (beeswax/lanolin), and although I'm careful when handling the lubed boolits, my hands and therefore my loaded rounds tend to get a bit sticky.

Randy

[Yodogsandman]

I sometimes wipe mine down after loading with a paper towel.

[Tatume]

I sometimes wipe mine down after loading with a paper towel.

Ditto.

[sti40edge]

I use an old towel,lightly sprayed with lighter fluid. Pour ammo down middle, fold top and bottom 1/3 over ammo . Grab both ends and shake back and forth for minute or so. Box in your favorite container.


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[labradigger1]

I tumble in corn cob media with a little bit of mineral spirits

[osteodoc08]

I just wipe them with either a microfiber or cotton cloth. It allows me to inspect them and box them up.

My plinker fodder I don't ever bother with.

[runfiverun]

I give them to my wife and she gives them back clean.
same as my laundry.

[ghh3rd]

The reason that I am even concerned about this at all is that I want to run an experiment. I recently bought a Walther .45 and am casting 452460 200 gr SWC with a OAL of 1.185. I finally worked out the issue with many failing to go into battery all of the way by crimping down to .469 which was suggested by a few folks.

My next challenge is to find out why each magazine ejects at least one live round, although another live round often chambers successfully at the same time. How can a magazine strip off two rounds? So... I am very thoroughly wiping down 100 rounds tonight... they are all getting very polished with a very thin layer of beeswax as I wipe and wipe them clean.

I really hope that this resolves the issue, although I also wonder if it has to do with having to seat to an OAL of about 1.185.

I will report back.

Randy

[45-70 Chevroner]

I'm not to sure about the bees wax but you might be baking the bees wax onto the chamber wall.

Also I've been shooting tumble lube boolits with the nose coated with liquid lube for many yearsbut that was in revolvers.

[GunGuy2756]

I give them a few quick twists using a soft cotton cloth and they're good to go.

[smokeywolf]

runfiverun, you definitely won the marriage lottery. As Louis L'Amour put it, "She's one you can ride the river with."

[JSnover]

My next challenge is to find out why each magazine ejects at least one live round, although another live round often chambers successfully at the same time. How can a magazine strip off two rounds?

Randy
Take a look at the lips on the magazine, see if they're bent or worn. If they allow a live round to work loose under recoil, as soon as the slide is clear the magazine could punch it out, right behind the extracted empty case. Then as the slide goes forward it picks up the next round (as it should).

[Dan Cash]

I have a large Dillon media separator which was modified by drilling a 1/4 inch hole in each end of each half about 1 inch away from the rotating shaft. A 1/4 inch rod slightly longer than the separator body is inserted through each pair of holes with an absorbent cloth draped over the rod. An old hand towell or in my case, a leg section of some old warm up pants over the rod works well. I dampen the fabric with paint thinner, add brass and crank for about 30 seconds. Remove brass and place it in your favorite tactical ammo storage coffe can or what ever and you are done. Ammo is grease free and uncontaminated.

[country gent]

I use simple cleaning patches to wipe lube away. When fully impregnated with lube they go in a ziplock bag and on seldom used or BP firearms I run one thru the barrel when cleaned as a preservarive to protect bore then a clean dry patch to evenm out thin the coating.

[s1120]

I ran through this also. early reloads I didn't wipe down, and started fouling the chambers on my revolver. Now I just use a big patch, and just give a quick wipe as I pull the round off the press. Gives me a chance to inspect them anyways.

[runfiverun]

sometimes the round rides forward in the magazine just enough to halfway feed itself under recoil.

usually a super soft lube will gum things up in the barrel and stops the round from chambering.
when you pull it out [the not in battery round] you get a gunk build up on the front of the case.
I have been messing with this recently.
adding more and more wax to a too soft lube, and shooting the treated lube in the same few guns.
the slime is going away and things are getting progressively better batch by batch.
I'm going to see how far up the ladder I can go with more wax and less oils.
but it's been taking a while.

I wouldn't hesitate to say add more wax to your lube.
10% wouldn't be too much.
5% would be a good start.

[44man]

I wipe Felix from the brass with a rag but never wipe the boolit. I just keep loads in MTM boxes away from dirt and only fill my revolver for deer, never carry a pocket full that are never needed.
Rounds don't prance the runway like those skeleton girls.

[243winxb]

45 acp- Wipe off all lube thats exposed, to avoid feeding/chambering issues. Also avoid alloys that are very close to pure lead. The bullet nose should not stick on the feed ramp or get deformed. http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n420/joe1944usa/IMG_4506.jpg Lube was warmed, but not thinned for Lyman 200 gr BB, after lube turned to grease. I will keep using my Lyman 450 .

[oley55]

91% isopropyl alcohol, mist sprayed onto a microfiber cloth does it for me. The alcohol easily cuts through any bullet lube I know of. I buy the large jugs from the drug store and dispense through a generic multipurpose sprayer. Hell I use this stuff way more often than I use Kroil.

[Echo]

I use an old towel,lightly sprayed with lighter fluid. Pour ammo down middle, fold top and bottom 1/3 over ammo . Grab both ends and shake back and forth for minute or so. Box in your favorite container.
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My method, except I use mineral spirits.

[44man]

I make a mess when I lube, gets all over everything, bench and press.
I don't really size, just use the Lee dies to remove excess lube since my boolits are the right sizes.
That leaves a film on boolit sides and the noses.
After brass is shot in some calibers, I get lube blown back on it, .44 the worst for that. Others come out so clean they don't even need tumbled. The tumbler will not remove that lube and I don't use solvents in the media, tried once and just made muck. I would rather pour dry media out of brass. I tried commercial polish added once and won't do that again either.
Many things just make more work and I hate work!
I like lube on my boolits so to make loaded boolits shine is akin to weighing every boolit, MAKE WORK! Sometimes you stare at the mower and watch grass grow instead. :bigsmyl2:

[ghh3rd]

I've thought of adding some wax to my Felix lube to help keep it less messy, but that stuff works so good as it is I hate to change it. I've been using it for six or seven years and have had great accuracy from my 38, 40, 44, 45-70 and now 45 acp... and no leading.

[44man]

True, I have shot hundreds and hundreds of lube tests and it is amazing how just a lube change can go from 3" at 50 to 1/2". There are a few that shine and Felix is one.
The mistake is to look for no leading only. Many do that but what about accuracy? Lube is vital.

[ghh3rd]

Wouldn't think that lube would change accuracy, but I have tried others and always run back to Felix lube.

[Bullwolf]

I clean up excess lube using mineral spirits on a rag or paper towel when I'm the only one home.

I've also found that Johnson's Baby Oil, which ladies sometimes use as a make up remover also removes excess lube pretty well, and it smells much nicer than mineral spirits.

- Bullwolf

[w5pv]

I just put them in my vibratory tumbler and leave them until clean

[tmag97]

Old hand towel misted with rubbing alcohol. Lay flat put shells on half fold other half over and rub till clean.

[gnostic]

I've kept my loaded ammo in coffee cans un wiped for 50 years and never had a problem.

[Quickdraw4u]

I spray a little Gun Scrubber on a T shirt patch and have yet to find a lube it won't wipe off. Use with adequate ventilation especially if you're wiping a lot of rounds.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I make a mess when I lube, gets all over everything, bench and press.
I don't really size, just use the Lee dies to remove excess lube since my boolits are the right sizes.!
That leaves a film on boolit sides and the noses.
After brass is shot in some calibers, I get lube blown back on it, .44 the worst for that. Others come out so clean they don't even need tumbled. The tumbler will not remove that lube and I don't use solvents in the media, tried once and just made muck. I would rather pour dry media out of brass. I tried commercial polish added once and won't do that again either.
Many things just make more work and I hate work!
I like lube on my boolits so to make loaded boolits shine is akin to weighing every boolit, MAKE WORK! Sometimes you stare at the mower and watch grass grow instead. :bigsmyl2:
My exact thought. The less I have to mess with my loaded roundsl or brass the better.

[Cherokee]

tumble with mineral spirits and media

[gwpercle]

The reason that I am even concerned about this at all is that I want to run an experiment. I recently bought a Walther .45 and am casting 452460 200 gr SWC with a OAL of 1.185. I finally worked out the issue with many failing to go into battery all of the way by crimping down to .469 which was suggested by a few folks.

My next challenge is to find out why each magazine ejects at least one live round, although another live round often chambers successfully at the same time. How can a magazine strip off two rounds? So... I am very thoroughly wiping down 100 rounds tonight... they are all getting very polished with a very thin layer of beeswax as I wipe and wipe them clean.

I really hope that this resolves the issue, although I also wonder if it has to do with having to seat to an OAL of about 1.185.

I will report back.

Randy

Post a few photo's of your loaded rounds , there is a certain spot on that bullet that the case mouth needs to be located to to feed properly. I don't know the OAL , but I can tell you if you are too deep or not deep enough . There is a sweet spot .
That was my NRA Bullseye Match boolit for many years , still my favorite all around 45 acp .
Gary

[shoot-n-lead]

Shoot it off of'em.

[243winxb]

why each magazine ejects at least one live round, although another live round often chambers successfully at the same time. How can a magazine strip off two rounds? The lips of the magazines need adjustment. But others online have said its caused by a weak magazine spring. Reducing a maximum load may also fix it, by changing the slide timing/speed. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=455184 OAL.

[Denver]

Anyone have a quick and easy way to clean excess lube off of reloaded rounds without the chance of contaminating them?

I use Felix lube (beeswax/lanolin), and although I'm careful when handling the lubed boolits, my hands and therefore my loaded rounds tend to get a bit sticky.

Randy

Try an old sock with a little mineral spirits added to the toe Dump in your loaded rounds and roll them around in the sock with your hands for a a few seconds. Dump them out on an old towel or T shirt and let them dry off. Only takes a few minutes and works great.

D

[stubbicatt]

I just use paper towels. Takes the sizing wax off the brass and the lube off the bullets/necks just fine. But the is using single stage press, and just taking it easy. In the past when I would load on a progressive, 5 minutes in the tumbler with worn out media and all was good to go. -Somehow the media makes the bullets look dull, not nice and shiny like a couple twists with paper towels does.

[William Yanda]

I give them to my wife and she gives them back clean.
same as my laundry.

Does she run both through the washer and dryer?

Just askin'

Bill

[ioon44]

I started using Hi-Tek coating and really don't miss the lube mess.

[44man]

I am only concerned with lube on brass because it will increase head thrust. NO lube on brass. Lube on a boolit is what it is for.
yeah there was some crazy stuff that needed lubed but they went away.

[lightman]

I lube with a Lyman sizer and the only excess lube is sometimes on the base. When I load these I will have an old towel on my knee and wipe the base off. I just touch the bullet to the towel and give it a twist. Sometimes there are a few bullets that get lube all over them when I have to readjust the sizer due to a longer or shorter bullet. These go back into the melt for next time.

[ghh3rd]

So, today I got around to cleaning the lube off some of my loaded rounds. I picked up some mineral spirits yesterday, and today my father in law gave me a few new cotton T-Shirts with an advertisement for some car dealer. I'll bet he would never guess that the all cotton shirts were destined to become cleaning patches, drop cloths when water dropping hot boolits, and cleaning rags to hold mineral spirits to clean loaded ammo. :-)

I squeezed a zig zag of mineral spirits across one of the shirts, squished it together to distribute it better and dumped about 100 rounds on it.

I tried the hammock method, but found that I could lay the shirt flat and just roll the rounds around with my hand for about a minute, empty them into an aluminum pan, do another 100, etc. I cleaned 321 rounds in just a few minutes that way. Then I took a couple of paper towels, and stirred them around thoroughly in the pile of boolits to help dry off any residual mineral spirits and lube, and they seem to be clean as a whistle.

Thanks for the pointers, it made my life much simpler... I hated the thought of twisting a total of 500 rounds in paper towels, one at a time.

Randy

[303Guy]

Anyone have a quick and easy way to clean excess lube off of reloaded rounds without the chance of contaminating them?

I use Felix lube (beeswax/lanolin), and although I'm careful when handling the lubed boolits, my hands and therefore my loaded rounds tend to get a bit sticky.

Randy
I like my loaded rounds to feel a bit sticky. If they feel too dry I roll them on my lube pad. That eliminates case elongation and prevents case head separation in my 303 Brits.

[smargodt]

Thank you !
Working with Felix lube here, and there tends to be a sticky mess at the headspace zone when loaded into cartridges.
Used my "oldest" pair of socks ( without holes [smilie=s:) and sprinkled a little washing gasoline on it .
The kind you use to remove stains out of clothing. Dries up easy and removes all exess grease in a jiffy .
Takes 5 minutes to 1000 rounds , talk about economy !

[GhostHawk]

I have been known to take a old worn out terry towel and put a splash of mineral spirits or Johnson's One step liquid floor wax and then lightly polish each round, leaving if anything a very minor layer of wax.

[Victor N TN]

I save my old TEE shirts and use them mostly for cleaning duty. An old tee shirt squirted with charcoal lighter will remove the lube quiet well. I use a small tray when I'm loading lead bullets to clean the bottoms of the bullets / gas checks. I set them clean side down in the tray so they don't get nasty again. Then back to loading them.

This has worked for me with 38 / 357 and 45 acp very well since the early 1980s. It will probably work well for you too.

[Victor N TN]

I like my loaded rounds to feel a bit sticky. If they feel too dry I roll them on my lube pad. That eliminates case elongation and prevents case head separation in my 303 Brits.

Just be careful to not get them too slick. You have danger of getting a bolt or firing pin back in your face. When the case fires, it has to hold on to the chamber until the high pressures have passed. Most rifles that just takes a little over a mega second.

Not intending to fuss. Just be careful.

[leebuilder]

I found the boolits collected any crud near them, I don't want that between my boolit and rifling. I put an old wool sock over one hand and wipe the lube off, sometimes I have to scratch the lube with my fingernail then the wool sock will take the lube off quicker. Just another step in the QA. Looks better too.
Be safe

[WFO2]

I wipe the bases of after lubing . I wipe the cases of after loading . Its takes am extra bit of time but I enjoy the hobby .

[robg]

What's excessive lube? If it loads and chambers that's OK by me