Water Removable Case Lube

[Good Cheer]

Starting a new case lube thread...

What's a good homemade case lube formula that will afterwards wash off of the brass with either warm or warm soapy water?
Maybe some soap based concoction?

The bucket of lanolin I use for brewing up boolit lube has been my standard forever. But, the very qualities that make it such wonderful case lube also make it a booger to remove afterwards. Soaking with Dawn dish washing soap does a pretty good job (seems the best to be expected without using a flammable solvent) especially if you boil it a while. But there's got to be something with off the shelf ingredients that's mo' better.

[Tatume]

I can't even guess how many thousands of cases can be lubed and sized using a tube of Lee case lube, $5. Add to that, there is no need to remove the lube afterwards.

P.s. My home is located on Ark Road.

[Froogal]

I use the LEE case lube. I resize and deprime the brass, and then I tumble it. The brass is then bright and shiny. Ready to be reloaded. The Lee lube goes a long ways when mixed about 50/50 with water.

[gumbo333]

I use Lee on a q-tip to lube the inside of the necks on bottle neck cases that I load jacketed into, but use Imperial on the cases, just a dab on your fingers will do several. I've been using the only tin of it I've ever had, for years. Then a little alcohol on a rag and wipe the case off. Been working for many many years. If I'm going to load just 3 or 5 I will just use the Lee and wipe off with just the dry rag. I'm sure there are hundreds of ways and things to lube with. STP and the like are good but you need more than water to get the sticky off. 50 years ago I started with the old RCBS lube and pad. Too much lube and you got dents, too little and you might stick a case. But then you get to learn how to cobble up a stuck case remover. Plus RCBS left the cases very sticky too and had to be wiped with something, think in those days it was Energene. Find a retired dairy farmer, he may have a big tin of left over Bag Balm, that works good too. Can't remember but think a dry rag is all you need to wipe those cases off. OK, I'll end my lecture!

[Tatume]

I'm sure there are hundreds of ways and things to lube with. STP and the like are good but you need more than water to get the sticky off.

STP is not to be trusted as a case lube. It sure looks like it would work well, but I had a 308 case stick in the sizing die and ruined the die getting it out. I don't know why, but I won't use STP for a sizing lube again.

[earlmck]

When I get a large batch of once-fired stuff in to process I use the wife's Palmolive dish soap to FL sized before they go into the Thumbler's Tumbler. You do want to clean the size die good and shwoosh it down properly with your favorite lube/preserver afterward (I use Hornady One-Shot).

That said, I'm not sure Palmolive would be a good enough lube for resizing large, tough cases: I've just used it for 30/30 and 223.

[blackthorn]

"I use the wife's Palmolive dish soap to FL sized before they go into the Thumbler's Tumbler. "

Do you size wet? Or let the cases dry before sizing?

[Bazoo]

I use imperial for sizing and then a wet cloth to remove it. After just wiping with a wet rag the brass feels clean.

[1hole]

I've tried a LOT of case sizing lubes, commercial and various substitutes. The only case lubes I've found that can easily be washed off with water are the soaps; happily, we don't have to make it, just use it. Use Lee's for a factory lube, electrical cable pulling lube and even bars of hand soap that include high levels of lanolin have worked well for me.

That said, my favorite case lubes are the soft waxes, stuff like Imperial (Redding), Unique (Hornady). Excellent alternative waxes are Kiwi's "Mink Oil" and Sno-Prof/Sno-Seal "Boot Treatment". The soft waxes are easy and (done right) very fast to apply with finger tips, easy to clean and harmless to powder and primers. (Plus the alternates are cheep and easy to find in Walmart's shoe department. What's not to love?)

[1hole]

STP is not to be trusted as a case lube. It sure looks like it would work well, but I had a 308 case stick in the sizing die and ruined the die getting it out. I don't know why,....

I know why - you didn't properly apply lube to the thick lower part of the case.

I hate STP and it's rebranded duplicates (Lyman and RCBS and probably a few others) but NOTHING is as slick - and messy - as that stuff.

[Tatume]

I know why - you didn't properly apply lube to the thick lower part of the case.

The STP was properly applied to all of the outside, and to the inside of the neck of the case.

[Froogal]

"Lemon Pledge" works quite well also. Just spray it on.

[RogerDat]

I use Lee lube for bullets that I'm sizing and/or applying gas checks to with a push though Lee sizer die. Most times I only put a small swipe on ever 3rd bullet or so. Just to help them go through the die smoothly.

I wash with tiny amount of soap by swishing the bullets in the soap treated water, then rinse off with very hot water, and can powder coat those bullets successfully once they have dried. The powder coat sticking convinces me that the lube has been successfully washed off.

[tankgunner59]

I use Lee case lube for all of my bottle neck cases, a little on a Q-tip inside the neck, a little on the outside of the neck and a touch on my finger to spread on the case body. I personally let them dry overnight and size the next day. Then I dry tumble in crushed walnut shells with a cap full of paint thinner and one of Nu-Finish, it removes the case lube and shines them up real good. If you do get the lube on the shoulder, let it dry overnight before sizing and it won't dent the shoulder. I do use Imperial on the cases I resize. One tube of Lee case lube lasts for hundreds of cases, I've been reloading for years and I'm on only my second tube. If you don't want to dry tumble your cases Lee's will come off with dish soap and water.

[dogmower]

rcbs case lube is essentially super concentrated soap. works great, washes off and cleans the cases while you wash. it's all i use for case lube (except for case forming, then i use imperial case wax).

[dogmower]

I use imperial for sizing and then a wet cloth to remove it. After just wiping with a wet rag the brass feels clean.
the problem there is the lube that is left INSIDE the case. I used to do this, and would get powder clinging to the inside of the case mouth and neck. Even tumbling won't work - leaves media stuck inside the case. IMO, the water soluble lubes are the only way to go.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I was using spray on case lube and found that the midway stuff I had did not wash off easy and doing large runs of brass was a pain to clean , so I went back to rcbs and the lube pad a little and keep it off the shoulders like your book has always said and no dimples or dents , washs off in hot tap water in a large tub and on the tinfoil to dry in oven , no longer sticky no wiping each and every case . Have 2 bottles and can not see running out , used the little sample of lees it worked fine also but was only doing a small batch of 300blackout and some 32-20 , so was just a quick wipe , seemed fine to me also but for the large runs of 300blackout 223 and 30-06 its the old lube pad and rcbs.

[Greg S]

I use alot of RCBS and Imperial lube, just depends on the caliber and what it w a s shot in.

[Shawlerbrook]

Imperial Sizing wax on the outside and their dry lube in the beads for case necks. Wipe the outside of the case with a rag dampened in non-ammonia window cleaner and ready to go. Never had a stuck case or any other problems.

[John Boy]

Good Cheer - you are wasting your time to give the bullets a bath. Just wipe them with a cloth sprayed with mineral spirits. Will remove ANY excess lube

[uscra112]

RCBS lube. A little bit into a large Ziploc bag. Dump in your clean brass, (wet tumbled/washed/dried). Close and knead for a few minutes. Dump into a clean bowl and set to sizing. Wash off in hot water.

Close the bag up to keep the lube inside clean. I usually get 200-300 .357 cases lubed before I need to add more. One little bottle of the stuff lasts me for thousands of cases.

I've even used it when crunching .223 brass down to make .22-3000 Lovell, (.315 base diameter) which is a hydraulic press job. Don't see any advantage in the waxes. Stuff is cheap enough that I've never even thought about trying to make my own.

STP is almost impossible to get off surfaces without heat and solvent. That's why we used it 50-50 with motor oil as assembly lube when I was building race engines.

nb. I've always assumed that RCBS was mostly lanolin. Am I wrong?

[dogmower]

I've always assumed that RCBS was mostly lanolin. Am I wrong?

I'm not sure what's in it, but i doubt lanolin, as it's completely water soluble. I was thinking like a super concentrated soap, because it really does seem to clean the cases, and my hands.
Whatever it is, i like it. Cheap, too. 5 buck for a bottle that seems to last forever.

[6bg6ga]

I'm stuck on lanolin and alcohol simply because it works well and doesn't dent the cases. I can use it right away or come back hours later and it still works fine. Removal... I simply toss it back in the tumbler for a while and the cases come out without any residue of the lube. I don't want to try any water removal technique simply because of the wait time involved in getting the cases dry again for loading. With my tumbler removal I simply check the cases and see that they are once again clean and a quick blow with compressed air to remove any tumbling media dust.

[pertnear]

I wish I had a good answer for the OP's original question but I didn't even know that any water-soluble case lubes existed until I read this thread. I'm still learning...

I once had a gallon of .223's sitting in front of me waiting to be sized. Fretting the lube job, I just sprayed them down good with WD40 & massaged it through all the cases with my hands. All cases sized fine without a hitch. Afterward, I agitated the sized cases in a bucket of grease cutting dish soap, then a water rinse, then into the pin tumbler. Not highly recommended, but it worked:!:

[uscra112]

A water-soluble lanolin derivative does exist. No idea whether this is what's in RCBS lube.

http://imperialoel.com/products/lanolins-and-lanolin-derivatives/

Lanolin is virtually insoluble in water. By reacting with ethylene oxide, it can be converted into ethoxylated lanolin, a water-soluble derivative.

"LANIS PEG 75 is a PEG-75 lanolin; it is one of the most common derivatives, where 75 is the number of moles of ethylene oxide added per mole of lanolin. The derivatives have similar solubilising properties, but very different emollient properties: PEG-75 lanolin has a low degree of emolliency."

[uscra112]

WD-40 is basically just Stoddard Solvent. Lube properties on metal are fair to poor. I think pertnear lucked out.

[44magLeo]

I don't know what Stoddard Solvent is but the WD in WD40 stands for water dispersant. It's not a lube.
It gets water out of the way so the parts can do what they should. When I was a kid most people with Chevy's carried it around with them. If there was water on the hood and you opened it this water ran right on top of the distributor. This water got inside and disrupted the spark flow. Open the cap, spray with the WD40 in the cap and on the rotor, all the water runs off. Replace cap and it ran fine.
I never use WD40 as a lube or penetrating oil. For those jobs I use what's designed for those jobs.
On case lubes I have used STP. Got a 270 case stuck in a Lyman die. Tried the drill a hole, tap a thread puller deal. No go. I ended up sending it back to Lyman and they sent me a new die. Never used it after.
That's when I started using Lee's case lube. Just recently I got a can of Imperial lube. Can't really tell much difference between the too as far as sizing goes. The Imperial may size a case just a bit easier. It cleans of about the same.
I also just recently learned about diluting the Lee to use in a spray bottle. Seems to work well. Just have to shake it well before use.
The Imperial might have a more noticeable difference if I was case forming for a wildcat or something. My loading is for standard cases that are not hard to find.
Leo

[indian joe]

My first tube of LEE case lube lasted years and worked so good I bought four more (just in case they stopped making it) - used it with no problems reworking 348 to 45/75 (348 brass is pretty tough)

I run a 22/250 and only neck size for it and I use a little bottle cap of graphite powder - dip the neck in and give it a shake to dislodge excess - thats a quick easy deal for neck size and expand as I dont need to clean the lube from the necks - just load em and shoot - not a good plan for the body of cases though!!

[uscra112]

Stoddard Solvent is what's used in the cleaning tanks found in auto repair shops. As good a solvent as kerosene, but far less flammable. Basically a straight run naptha, with stuff added to inhibit ignition.

I haven't needed to buy any for many years, and a quick scan of the Innertubes indicates that it's no longer easy. Even 20 years ago the EPA was clamping down on it. Companies that serviced auto shops had to be licensed as HAZMAT handlers. Which looks pretty silly considering the amount of WD-40 that's released into the environment every day.

[TheDoctor]

https://www.floridasunshineproducts.com/index.php?rt=product/product&product_id=91

[uscra112]

Who's gonna buy some and give us a report? :coffeecom

[uscra112]

Here's the MSDS for the RCBS lube. Says it's 98% by weight of "oxyrane". Searching that, I seem to find a lot of entries for ethylene oxide. That might make the lube a form of ethylene glycol, but my chemistry-fu is 60 years old and so thin you can see through it in spots.

https://www.rcbs.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-RCBSSharedLibrary/default/dw3cbce08a/productPdfFiles/SDS901_RCBS_CaseLube2.pdf

[quasi]

I use an Alcohol - Lanolin mix sprayed on with a spray bottle. I don't wash it off after use, it seems to absorb into my hands when handling the ammo.

[LynC2]

rcbs case lube is essentially super concentrated soap. works great, washes off and cleans the cases while you wash. it's all i use for case lube (except for case forming, then i use imperial case wax).

I don't know what it is, but I have used it for many years and it works great. It easily washes off with plain water, great stuff.

[Ramson222]

Has anyone tried ultra sound gel? Its cheap and slippery and water soluble also.

[uscra112]

Isn't that stuff just glycerine? KY Jelly?

[abunaitoo]

I used to use Kiwi Mink oil.
Worked as good a Imperial wax.
At less than half the cost, for over double of the product.
They don't sell it anymore.
Something about them getting sued.
At their suggestion, I got their Kiwi conditioning oil.
It's almost the same, but not quite as good.
I've used Lee lube, mixed with alcohol.
It worked fine for normal sizing.
Not so good with case forming.
Good thing with the Lee lube is you don't have to remove it.
It's a kind of dry lube, so won't affect the powder.
With other lubes the powder might clump.

[gumbo333]

If you are 35 or 40 years old, buy some Imperial Sizing Wax. Maybe $7 to $10 a tin, whatever. You will still be using that same tin when you are 70. Costs just a few pennies a year and never fails. Having a tube of Lee around never hurts either.

[gwpercle]

The best " Water Removable " case lube .... STP Oil Treatment is not water removable and a lot of the lubes listed here are not water soluble / removable ... But one that is water soluble is good old fashioned Lee Case Lube...the white stuff in the tube .
For heavy duty forming jobs use it as directed on the tube...apply with fingers from tube onto case .
For lighter jobs and resizing mix it with denatured alcohol and strain into a small spray bottle , shake well and spritz cases , roll around and they dry in seconds...size them when dry .
No need to remove with anything other than a dry (or slightly damp) rag wipe .
Gary