Sizer Clean Out

[500Smith]

Hello All,
Happily getting back to casting from a too long absence.
Question:
I have a Lyman sizer. It has Lyman Super Moly lube in it. I'm want to try Orange Magic (heated). How much effort should I make getting the old stuff out? I must be close to 90% clean but the last bit is tough to get at.
All comments welcome.
Thanks.
Jay

[Bazoo]

It's not hard, but it isn't a 5 minute job. I've taken my sizer apart and boiled the body and the dies in water in a stock pot. All the lube melts and floats. You need to flip the body at least once so any trapped lube can escape. Then when it was clean I skimmed off the lube and pulled the sizer out with pliers. While hot I dried it best I could with a towel and sprayed it with remoil to keep it from flash rusting. This cleaned it excellently.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Or you could just have molly orange that changes to orange molly over time and don't worry about it:bigsmyl2:

im still working the last of the brown gunk out of my 45 when I put in Lyman Alox

[Scrounge]

It's not hard, but it isn't a 5 minute job. I've taken my sizer apart and boiled the body and the dies in water in a stock pot. All the lube melts and floats. You need to flip the body at least once so any trapped lube can escape. Then when it was clean I skimmed off the lube and pulled the sizer out with pliers. While hot I dried it best I could with a towel and sprayed it with remoil to keep it from flash rusting. This cleaned it excellently.

Put a bit of your favorite degreaser or dishwashing detergent in the water while boiling it, and that will help get it cleaner with less effort.

[John Boy]

Warm the Lube/Sizer with a hair dryer and it will pour out and wipe clean = Done, no big buzz

[Murphy]

500Smith,

I'm not sure how long you've been away from casting, but there are numerous lubes over the past 10+ years that have became quiet popular. I can't remember the last time I used Orange Magic. In fact, I think I may have a few tube dried up in the tube it's been so long. I also tried Lyman's Super Molly long ago.

Have you considered some of the lubes that use Carnuba wax? After discovering carnuba wax lubes, I haven't looked back for any of my lube needs. Here is a link to one I use extensively.

https://www.lsstuff.com/

I'm sure others will chime in with other suppliers as well.

In regards to removing the molly from your lube sizer, I cleaned out both my Lyman 4500 and my Star sizer a few years back using a stock pot and nothing more. I don't recall using any chemicals during the process and both came out looking new.


Murphy

[500Smith]

Thanks Murphy
The last time I did any real volume was 25 years ago. Had a DW 445 & S&W 29 that ran at least 40K rounds through. Tried to start 10 years ago but got sidelined. In a great place now.
The lube I used was from Lyman kind of a burnt orange/brown color. Would like a little less smoke. What do you recommend?

I road through Idabel many times, great area! Favorite day ride was from Dallas to Queen Wilhelmina and back. Done riding so that's why I excited to get back to casting.

Jay

[500Smith]

Thanks for all the input folks! Might be getting in some hot water.

[Murphy]

500Smith,

Glad you enjoyed seeing my part of the 'Oklahoma Hills'. I'm not sure when the last time it was you may have traveled up to Queen Wilhelmina, but If you haven't been up this way in the past 10-15 years...we've been found! Tourism boomed and about 4,000 cabins have been built up around the lake and points north, seriously.

I remember the burnt orange/brown lube you mentioned. But that's been so long ago now I don't even recall if it worked that well for me or not. The carnuba lubes really don't seem to be as smokey as I recall the others from long ago. I've learned a great deal about lubes since I found this forum. There was a time I thought all cast bullets required Lyman #2, or linotype as alloy. I was using it and some hard wax lube in my Star sizer and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was getting leading. Proper bullet size (I once thought there was a standard 1000th's over bore size rule, not any longer) and a good lube will resolve the vast majority of leading problems. If it doesn't? It's typically undersized cylinder throats, or a barrel restriction where it's screwed into the frame. If I recall right, Lyman Orange Magic seemed to smoke more than the carnuba lubes many use today. I mostly shoot 38/357, .44 Magnum and 45 Auto. Carnuba red has treated me well.

Murphy

[Iowa Fox]

The easiest way I found is to suspend it over a junk 5 gal bucket with some paper in the bottom for the drippings to fall on. Take out the sizing die and reservoir cap turn it upside down and put a halogen shop light a few inches above it. In a half an hour its empty and a swipe of a paper towel on a dowel really wipes things clean. If you boil them that floating lube sticks to everything.

Oh, and be careful that halogen light gets them hot.

[Iowa Fox]

The easiest way I found is to suspend it over a junk 5 gal bucket with some paper in the bottom for the drippings to fall on. Take out the sizing die and reservoir cap turn it upside down and put a halogen shop light a few inches above it. In a half an hour its empty and a swipe of a paper towel on a dowel really wipes things clean. If you boil them that floating lube sticks to everything.

Oh, and be careful that halogen light get them hot.

[LenH]

I have an old RCBS lube sizer and had some nasty stuff in it. I hung it upside down and heated it with an old hair dryer, I used an old coffee can to catch the drippins.

As others have said the White label Lube is good stuff, I am partial to the Carnuba Blue.

[BamaNapper]

"Hey Hon, I'm going to use the stock pot to boil my reloading gear." Nope, probably wouldn't go over too well at my house. To get a large item heated up I just put it in a trash bag and lay it outside in the sun for a while. A trash bag in the AL sun is almost as good as an oven.

I found that acetone and an acid brush works to clean remnants of lube off parts. Shiny clean and no residue.

+1 on the White Label lubes. Good product and a good price.

[greenjoytj]

The easiest way I found is to suspend it over a junk 5 gal bucket with some paper in the bottom for the drippings to fall on. Take out the sizing die and reservoir cap turn it upside down and put a halogen shop light a few inches above it. In a half an hour its empty and a swipe of a paper towel on a dowel really wipes things clean. If you boil them that floating lube sticks to everything.

Oh, and be careful that halogen light gets them hot.

Add a final spray out with an aerosol can of brake cleaner.
Then get some lube in it before the iron flash rusts or spray EEZOX or Barricade then add the lube later when you have time.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

My son’s pet toad died. The heat lamp used in the toad’s terrarium has been a valuable tool for heating up a sizer lubricator. I got the heat lamp from a pet store.

[Hanzy4200]

Just wipe off what you can and go. Not going to hurt a thing.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

Coincidentally I just cleaned my Lyman 4500. Took it apart, cleaned it with lighter fluid, a rag, Q-tips and paper towels. Within 2 hours it was mounted back on the bench clean. Didn’t even use my son’s toad’s head lamp.