Cartridge Case Lube for Sizing

[martyd]

Hi,
I have a lot of 30-06 cases & 270 Win cases to deprime and full length resize.

I tried silicon spray & LPS #1 but had multiple cases sticking in the die.

I read somewhere that a mixture of 99% alcohol and Liquid Lanolin in a 10:1 mix was great.

Any comments on this mix for lubing cases?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Marty

[Calamity Jake]

Lanolin and alcohol is one of the best case lubes around, it's all I use

[trails4u]

Imperial sizing die wax....

[para45lda]

I like Imperial for my rifle rounds and use the lanolin/alcohol for pistol.

I like the control I get by hand applying. Therapy for my soul too.

Wes

[Walks]

Imperial Sizing Die wax works very well.
I use it for case forming.

For std full-length resizing of rifle cases I'm still using a Case Lube pad and the RCBS Case Lube #2 that I've had for 30+ years.
Never stuck a case that I've ROLLED ACROSS that Case Lube pad.

For Me it's simpler and easier to use a Commercial product.

[martyd]

Thank you for your input!
Marty

[Joe504]

What's a cheap source for liquid lanolin, and does it have a shelf life? Thanks.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[panhed65]

I switched from a lube pad to Imperial die wax a very long time ago, been happy with it ever since, have had zero problems sizing for forming brass.
Barry

[Wilderness]

Lanolin is maybe the best there is, and it has a lovely smell. I use anhydrous lanolin, also called "woolfat", which is the raw material before it has been dickered with. The 1 lb jar I bought about 1970 would have seen me out if I hadn't dropped it on the tiles. Now you buy it in smaller plastic jars.

The application method is you put a very small amount on the palm of the hand, about as much as you'd use as a hand lotion (which it is), and rub the hands together. then roll the cases between the hands. For light sizing, tapered cases etc, that's usually enough. For heavier sizing, like making .22-250s out of .308s, slightly more may be required, but you get the idea.

Lanolin really sticks to the brass when it's under sizing pressure, which is probably what makes it so good.

[gwpercle]

STP Oil Treatment
Greasy but good ...$2.88 bottle w/screw cap will last you a lifetime .
It looks and feels just like the old RCBS case lube that you applied to a ink pad and rolled the cases over .

Remember ... Just a Little Dab'll Do Ya ... use sparingly !
Gary

[Three44s]

Lyman Unique in a 4 ox tub

Three44s

[Bmi48219]

I bought a 10 oz bottle of liquid lanolin on amazon several years ago. Mixed it with HEET Gas additive (99% alcohol) & into a spray bottle to apply.

[Shawlerbrook]

Another vote for Imperial Sizing Wax. IMHO the best there is.

[ioon44]

I mostly use Imperial Sizing Wax and some times Hornady One Shot, never had a problem with either one.

[greenjoytj]

I use a system that’s the best of both methods.
I smear a small amount of Imperial Sizing Wax onto an RCBS foam lube pad an roll the cases on the pad. Easy to apply sparingly last a long time on the pad.
It is the best lube for sizing and it’s easy to wipe off with a piece of paper towel.

[TrxR]

Royal die wax is supposed to be very good as well.

[farmerjim]

BMI4819 did this "I bought a 10 oz bottle of liquid lanolin on amazon several years ago. Mixed it with HEET Gas additive (99% alcohol) & into a spray bottle to apply. "

I did the exact same thing. I have not stuck a shell in over 10,000.

[alamogunr]

I got some lanolin from RandyRat to try as size lube since I had read about so many using it. Mixed up a spray bottle and used it on about every 10 .45ACP case even though was using a carbide die. Made it much easier.

Next, I tried it on .223(5.56) mixed cases. Just laid them out in a line and gave them one spray, rolled them enough to bring up the other side and another spray. No problems at all. I would still use Imperial wax if reforming.

[toallmy]

I use Randys lanolin as well cut with Vaseline on a pad most of the time . A pound will last forever .
But as mentioned many times already if I'm worried I get the imperial wax out ....

[rbt5050]

i use imperial sizing wax or dillon bullet lube

[lightman]

I mostly use the Lanolin/Alcohol lube from Dillon. I'll probably mix my own when the Dillon runs out.

[rbuck351]

I use either imperial wax or unique case lube and can't see much difference. Both work very well, are easy to use and very cheap.

[abunaitoo]

I used to use Kiwi Mink oil.
It worked the same a Imperial, and cost less than half.
But they stopped making it.
Seems they got sued, and had to pull it off the market.
They sent me a can of their shoe conditioner.
Said it worked the same.
Didn't tell them what I was using it for.
It's not the same, but works OK.
Not as good as Imperial or the old Mink oil.
I've found for pistol, the Lee white lube in the tube, mixed with 99% alcohol, in a spray bottle, works well.
I need to try the Lanolin/alcohol mix someday.

[Lloyd Smale]

go to the pharmacy and buy a tub of anhydrous lanolin. Its the same thing that imperial sizing wax is at MUCH LESS MONEY. You can find it on ebay too. make sure your getting the anyhydrous stuff though. I bought a 3lb tub about 10 years ago and still am using it and it would have lasted for 40 years if it wasnt one of the ingredients in felix lube i used to make back in the day.

[Budzilla 19]

Dillon Case Lube for small rifle cases and pistol cases, Imperial sizing wax for large cases,( Weatherby size stuff) and then i found Bag Balm! That stuff is slick as you know what, and a square tin of it lasts practically forever!!!!!!!!!! Just a slight touch on your fingers every 10 or so '06 cases, and i have never stuck a case using this stuff. And, it's very cheap at Walgreen's drugstore. Good luck however you go.

[contendernut]

Imperial. I bought a lot of it when they sold to Redding and am on last little tin. Hopefully the green version is the same

[NyFirefighter357]

Synthetic Wax Cable Pulling Lube 1-Quart $8 Water based doesn't need to be cleaned off & the bottle will last forever. Can be used wet or dry too.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Wire-and-Cable-Lube-Synthetic-Polymer-51015/100647818#product-overview

[zarrinvz24]

Some things you probably need to be aware of, HEET is no longer 99% alcohol. You can still buy 99% alcohol on amazon though. I made the switch to Imperial sizing wax about 10 years ago. At the time I dreaded FL resizing the surplus machine-gun fired 7.62 cases, but I had a lot of them, and a M1A to feed - the Imperial wax made a dreaded task tolerable. Give it a try, you won't look back.

[Butler Ford]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/LANOLIN-OIL-USP-GRADE-PHARMACEUTICAL-SKIN-HAIR-LIPS-MOISTURIZING-100-PURE-4-OZ/663275231?athcpid=663275231&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=PWVUB&athieid=v0&athstid=CS004&athguid=b6d0e1d2-007-1790e01e71f001&athancid=null&athena=true

https://www.walmart.com/ip/99-Isopropyl-Alcohol-Disinfecting-Liquid-Clean-Commonly-Touched-Surfaces/823031057

$23 and a spray bottle, you'll have enough QUALITY LUBE, easily applied and as good as anything you can use that says "sizing lube" on the label to last for thousands of rounds.

[Soundguy]

i like imperial sizing for hard sizes... but the lanolin and alcohol works great in general.

[mdi]

I bought a 10 oz bottle of liquid lanolin on amazon several years ago. Mixed it with HEET Gas additive (99% alcohol) & into a spray bottle to apply.

My formula too. But quite a while back I was in need and didn't want to wait for lanolin or dedicated case lube from a vendor, so I tried Mink Oil Boot Dressing Cream. Read about it here (maybe in 2008?) and found some in the shoe polish section of the local Walgreens. I have not had any trouble with sticking cases or removing from cases (just a wipe with a paper towel or roll a bunch in a towel). Smells OK and is good on this old mechanic's hands...

[John Boy]

281948I’ve posted this at least 50 times for the lube to use ... BAG BALM
https://www.amazon.com/Vermonts-Original-Bag-Balm-Moisturizer/dp/B01AASJCPA/ref=asc_df_B01AASJCPA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312075874728&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5475558069931668240&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003982&hvtargid=pla-424802979111&psc=1


https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1geHxGk3QL._SX679_.jpg

[yeahbub]

Wow, there's a bunch of stuff that works. The lanolin and alcohol mix sounds interesting. I get the impression that many of these ideas/formulas are mostly hand-applied for a relatively limited number of cases which won't be cleaned afterward. I used to use Hornady sizing wax and it worked well. For the occasional handful of brass, I now use a smear of Emmert's Boolit Lube (aka 541) and don't bother cleaning it off. Trace amounts will do.

There's another method for cases which are to be washed and/or tumbled after sizing, M-die and trim, and that's to use pan spray coating. When loading for a season's quantity of high-power matches, I'd get most of the brass standing up in a large baking tray and spray a quick pass of Pam or some store brand, and churn the brass up with my hands to distribute it. A barely detectable amount will do. With the cases upright, a little will get into the necks and lube the expander button or M-die operation. The cases do have to be washed or the vegetable oil will eventually turn gummy, but when I was doing a thousand cases at a time it was no biggie. My usual washing routine was to use lye-based oven cleaner, a squirt of Dawn dish detergent and a hot water rinse. They came out pretty bright and squeaky clean.

[Char-Gar]

Lanolin and alcohol is one of the best case lubes around, it's all I use

What are the proportions?

[sureYnot]

What are the proportions?One bottle of iso-heat (the red bottle) and 1.5 oz liquid lanolin.

[Soundguy]

Question.. anyone here use that liquid water based wax called.. rooster lube?

I grabbed some at a show.. label shows you tumble lube with it kinda like alox.

I havn't used it yet... just wondering.

[ackleyman]

Years ago, I made benchrest bullets. At that time, almost everyone was using some kind of lanolin as a lube for the bullet jackets. The Die maker taught me to take a tube of the Lee White Sizing wax, melt it in the micro wave to just a warm consistency, then mix it 50/50 with water.

The 50/50 water/wax worked many times better than Imperial for forming and sizing big magnum cases also. I guy could use the Lee sizing wax in the tooth paste container, but cutting it with water makes it last twice as long. I apply the wax with my fingers on the neck and shoulder when I am forming cases, and this product is much better than Imperial.

Nothing tests a lube like pointing up bullets and seating cores in bullet jackets...nothing.

For sizing a quantity of 223's, I use the Lanolin and Heat. 1 oz of Lanolin to a bottle of heat.

For a store bought product, Dillon spray lube is a very, very good product.

Remember, the Lee sizing wax in the tooth paste tube beats Imperial for tough, sizing and forming case jobs...in spades.

[243winxb]

RCBS Case Sizing Lube-2. Washes off with water. No sticky mess. I use it also to size bullets ,using a Lee push thru die, before oven heat treating.

A little lasts a very long time, when applied from a pad.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I guess I am a heretic as far as Imperial Sizing wax is concerned; Imperial works but lanolin based lubes work better. The 10 to 1 alcohol to lanolin mixture requires approximately 50% less pressure as Imperial when forming 50-90 brass into 43 Beaumont and 50-95 win. The RCBS lubes original and II work equally as good as the lanolin lubes. In my experience Lee lube works almost as good.

Gary

[David2011]

Hi,
I have a lot of 30-06 cases & 270 Win cases to deprime and full length resize.

I tried silicon spray & LPS #1 but had multiple cases sticking in the die.

I read somewhere that a mixture of 99% alcohol and Liquid Lanolin in a 10:1 mix was great.

Any comments on this mix for lubing cases?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Marty

You probably used silicone spray. Silicon is not the same thing as silicone. Regardless, neither LPS nor silicone is a good lube for sizing. If you use the lanolin/alcohol mix be SURE you let the alcohol evaporate or you WILL have stuck cases. For really difficult sizing straight lanolin works very well. I haven’t used anything but lanolin and alcohol or. Imperial for at least 20 years.

[leadhead]

I to have been using Bag Balm for 20 years... Works for me.
leadhead

[brassrat]

I think I read it here,recently, and opened this up. Fantastic. I have a tin of Imperial that I hardly tried, and just finished a bottle of RCBS. I hope this will tumble off without turning my media black but have only wiped some cases down. I got enough for ten lifetimes now282330.

[JLF]

To lubricate the body of the brass I use Redding case lube and for the neck I use Imperial dry neck lube. I do not lubricate the shoulder.

[GregLaROCHE]

Lanolin and alcohol in a pump type spray bottle. The spray lets you get a little in the case mouth too, that I think helps.

[oley55]

Some things you probably need to be aware of, HEET is no longer 99% alcohol. You can still buy 99% alcohol on amazon though. I made the switch to Imperial sizing wax about 10 years ago. At the time I dreaded FL resizing the surplus machine-gun fired 7.62 cases, but I had a lot of them, and a M1A to feed - the Imperial wax made a dreaded task tolerable. Give it a try, you won't look back.

ISO-Heet is currently 98.5% alcohol. Closer to 99% than I could measure.
MSDS: https://www.imperialsupplies.com/sds-pdf/_s/ds/0055120_SDS.pdf

[1hole]

Commercial case sizing lubes all work quite well and they aren't very mysterious. What's the "best" case lube for each of us mostly depends on how we prefer to apply it; nothing works well if it's incorrectly applied.

There's a lube sticky above that gives a quick overview of commercial case lube types plus some excellent but commonly available and low cost substitutes.

[Noah Zark]

STP Oil Treatment
Greasy but good ...$2.88 bottle w/screw cap will last you a lifetime .
It looks and feels just like the old RCBS case lube that you applied to a ink pad and rolled the cases over .

Remember ... Just a Little Dab'll Do Ya ... use sparingly !
Gary

For case sizing requiring more lubricity than Dillin spray can provide, I've used a 50:50 blend of STP and Marvel Mystery Oil applied sparingly to an un-inked stamp pad. Roll the cases lightly and size away; wipe off the residue with a paper towel dampened in miserable spirits, or dilute Simple Green for a waterbased cleaning.

Noah

[1hole]

BMI4819 did this "I bought a 10 oz bottle of liquid lanolin on amazon several years ago. Mixed it with HEET Gas additive (99% alcohol) & into a spray bottle to apply. "

I did the exact same thing. I have not stuck a shell in over 10,000.

Any commercial case lube will work fine IF it's properly applied.

A spritz of lanolin (lube) and alcohol (thinner) is a case lube but the alcohol must be allowed to dry off before sizing.

[1hole]

STP Oil Treatment
Greasy but good ...$2.88 bottle w/screw cap will last you a lifetime .
It looks and feels just like the old RCBS case lube that you applied to a ink pad and rolled the cases over .

Remember ... Just a Little Dab'll Do Ya ... use sparingly !
Gary

STP is more than similar to RCBS, Lyman and others that look, smell and make a mess like STP are indeed STP.

[porthos]

why on earth would anyone mix lanolin, stp, or anything else that leaves a goey mess to clean off. anything other than imperial and some other similar lube comes off easy and is probably a better lube anyway.

[SOFMatchstaff]

I use a hair care lube called Blue Magic that I found at wally world. Tub of it was $3 and I use it on every thing from 50BMG and case forming 577/450 from 24ga brass down to Hornet. Smells decent and comes off in the tumbler easily. For mass loading of pistol cases The spray of lanolin and alcohol is handy.

[David2011]

why on earth would anyone mix lanolin, stp, or anything else that leaves a goey mess to clean off. anything other than imperial and some other similar lube comes off easy and is probably a better lube anyway.

Doesn’t sound like you’ve used the lanolin/alcohol mix. It comes off in the vibratory polisher in a few minutes, just like Imperial. I have no desire to try STP when Dillon, homemade lanolin/alcohol and Imperial work so well and clean up easily.

[porthos]

i don't remove case lube (imperial) in the tumbler. i wipe it off with a paper towel