Film Coat Lube

[Ajax111]

I came into a large batch of old Speer lead bullets. They have a coating of Film-Coat lube from the factory, according to the label. I'm not sure it's any good. It is gummy/sticky and covers the whole bullet.

Does anyone have any knowledge of these things?

Thank you

[HWooldridge]

I used to buy those when they were generally available - they were somewhat sticky even when new. I seem to recall you can wash it off with diesel or mineral spirits then let dry and tumble in Alox.

[Ajax111]

Thank you HW. I will try that method and see what happens.
I did contact Speer. They really didn't have a lot of answers. I think these are so old, nobody is around that was familiar with the coating.:)

[toallmy]

In the 80s my brothers and myself shot quite a few Speer soft lead boolits out of 38s & 44s with light powder charges without a issue . I'd consider trying as is before making it complicated .
Just a thought

[Ajax111]

I probably will try to shoot them, but they are really gummy. I have some boxes I haven't open yet.
According to Speer, they were supposed to go faster without leading. I don't shoot heavy loads anyway, so they may be fine.
They look like they have been stored in a lot of heat. The coating does not appear to be even on the bullets. Maybe they were made like that?

[HWooldridge]

You might be able to skip the wash and just tumble lube them again. That might cover the gummy feel.

As I recall, they were very soft lead and could not be driven very fast. I used to shoot one size in 45 ACP and it did OK, but I never found a good load for my 44 mag.

[fc60]

Greetings,

Years ago, I worked with a fellow that made the bullet tooling for Speer. As to lubricant, he said "they order lots of Beeswax and Dry Cleaning fluid".

I have shot thousands of the 32 HBWC lubricated in this fashion. They shot well.

The new lube is a water soluble mix that, I think, contains Moly. As I load, the film gets on my fingers and the bullets get harder to pick up without slipping away.

My guess is that the Dry Cleaning fluid was a HazMat issue and done away with.

The new bullets with the dry lube shoot okay; but, I rather prefer the older ones with the Beeswax lube.

Cheers,

Dave

[Ajax111]

I washed a couple of the bullets and the gummy part kind of came off.
It left the bullets covered with, what appears to be Beeswax. It looks like whatever it was covered with separated over time? Or maybe that was the way they were made?
I'll try some and see how they do.
Thanks for all the information!

[gwpercle]

I probably will try to shoot them, but they are really gummy. I have some boxes I haven't open yet.
According to Speer, they were supposed to go faster without leading. I don't shoot heavy loads anyway, so they may be fine.
They look like they have been stored in a lot of heat. The coating does not appear to be even on the bullets. Maybe they were made like that?

Dust them with a little Motor Mica , an automotive dry lube used in assembling engines .
It's advertised as a "white Graphite" but it is really a finely powdered hexagonal boron nitride ... if that matters ! Or ... I have dusted sticky boolits lightly with a little cornstarch , talcum powder and/or Johnsons Baby Powder ... they smell good .
Just use enough to rid of the tacky ... even the Baby Powder doesn't harm your bore .
Gary

[wksimple]

I tried those Speer bullets in 9mm years ago. If you have the same ones, they are swaged, not cast……very soft! Even using starting loads caused excessive leading. Just be aware, and good luck.

[Three44s]

I second the use of motor mica on the sticky boolits!

Three44s

[GregLaROCHE]

If they are still sticky, I would suspect that there was Alox in the lube. I’d try shooting them as is. Why go to more trouble than you have to?