PDA

View Full Version : "Alox Lube?"



beng
08-07-2009, 02:04 PM
I have been loading cast now for a month or so. I got to looking at bullet casting equipment from Midway and looking at "Liquid Alox Bullet Lube" and I am getting pros & cons on it at our range. The reviews are saying, "great stuff really does work or reduces leading or forget it. etc. "Is it any good? I now load 38 spc---148 LWC and 158 SWC at less than 900 fps. and a 405 FN. (45-70) at 1350 fps. All is used for target and/or silhouette shooting only. Thanks for your time.

243winxb
08-07-2009, 02:24 PM
Xlox(Alox) from Lars45, link bottom of this page, tested well for me. 45acp, Lyman bullet, target load, bullets unsized. 452" dia. Shot same as if lubed and sized in my Lyman 450. Follow Lees instructions for applying Xlox, same as Alox. Coated bullets should have a light brown color. See Lee link Info to apply. Link to Xlox> http://www.lsstuff.com/lube/liquid-x.html

theperfessor
08-07-2009, 02:41 PM
Liquid Alox is primarily intended for use on tumble lube boolits, popularized by Lee. These have lots of small lube grooves versus one or more larger lube grooves. Regular lubes, including Alox and beeswax formulations (and lots of others creative people have dreamed up) are primarily intended for boolits with conventional lube grooves.

Some people uses liquid Alox on conventional lube groove boolits, some use regular lube on tumble lube bullets, its all in the fun of working out the load you like for your gun. Because of all the variable involved what works good in your gun may not work good in somebody else's, thus accounting for the variety of responses you will get from other people.

I think the reason tumble lube boolits were designed was to allow you to shoot boolits as cast instead having to buy a luber/sizer, a real benefit to somebody wanting to try out casting without having to spend a lot of money upfront. Lee makes a simple and inexpensive push-thru die for a standard press if you need to size down your bullets, but it doesn't lubricate the boolit at the same time like a regular luber/sizer, which accounts for the much lower cost.

I would think that with a proper tumble lube boolit of the weight you indicate you could come up with good .38 loads pretty easily. No experience with 45/70 and cast yet, maybe somebody else will chime in here.

snaggdit
08-07-2009, 02:50 PM
I use it on my tumble lube pistol boolits. I had been pan lubing my non-tumble lube pistol boolits but read that you could use LLA on them as well. Started to do that (way easier) and noticed no difference in performance at pistol velocities. When i get a lube/sizer I will probably start using conventional lube in those designs but for now and convenience sake, I have no complaints with the LLA on non-tumble lube designs. When I run out of the stuff that came with my Lee push through sizers (goes a looong ways) I will be ordering xlox to replace it.

Leftoverdj
08-07-2009, 04:41 PM
I have been loading cast now for a month or so. I got to looking at bullet casting equipment from Midway and looking at "Liquid Alox Bullet Lube" and I am getting pros & cons on it at our range. The reviews are saying, "great stuff really does work or reduces leading or forget it. etc. "Is it any good? I now load 38 spc---148 LWC and 158 SWC at less than 900 fps. and a 405 FN. (45-70) at 1350 fps. All is used for target and/or silhouette shooting only. Thanks for your time.

Lee's Liquid Alox will meet your needs, which are pretty modest. The White Label Xlox is about the same stuff with a different name, like Coke and Pepsi. In your range, either will work fine with either conventional or tumble lube bullets. It's a little thick as it comes. You can either thin if with mineral spirits or heat your bullets before applying. All you need is a golden tinge to your bullets. A thin coat dries much quicker and harder.

There are better lubes, and you can find all sorts of opinions; some informed, some not. If you were doing something more demanding, I'd likely tell you different, myself. LLA and the Lee pushthrough dies are the poor boy's way into casting. Some of us keep using them for a lifetime. I still use them for .32 and .38 WCs among a few other applications. Haven't found anything worth the extra effort for those bullets. I also use LLA to shoot Lee's 459-405-HB as cast from a couple of .45-70s. My usual load is 31 grains of 4198 which must be very close to what you shoot.

Recluse
08-07-2009, 05:56 PM
My first ever mould and lube setup was the Lee .358148WC and the .358 Lee Sizer, which included a bottle of LLA (Lee Liquid Alox).

Like every caster before me created by the Lord Himself, I used too much LLA my first few times out. And like every caster before me, I did a little cussing over the stickiness and mess and smoke that excess LLA will cause.

However, I liked the ease and simplicity of tumble-lubing, even with traditional lube-grooved boolits, and I stuck with it. I tried cutting the LLA with mineral spirits which helped a lot. I started mixing concoctions, etc.

The one constant from the very first time I used the LLA, however, was that I got no leading and had excellent accuracy from my little Lee wadcutter boolits. And that was all I ever asked for.

Now, many boolits later, I still tumble lube some of my boolits--even those with traditional lube grooves. I also mix up my tumble lube concoction 45% LLA, 45% JPW (Johnsons Paste Wax) and 10% odorless mineral spirits. I lightly tumble lube the boolits, set them on wax paper overnight to dry thoroughly. Next day, I run them through the sizer, then lightly tumble lube and set back on the wax paper. Then I either load 'em up or store them.

I get superb accuracy, no smoke, no leading and a bore that can be cleaned with a couple of passes with a dry patch. Doesn't get better than that.

:coffee:

mroliver77
08-07-2009, 08:15 PM
Personally I hate the stuff.I find it a pain to use. It's messy, sticky and slow. I does however work well. I have a Ranch Dog mold for my 38-55 and I used alox according to RD directions. It was slow and messy but worked like a charm. The stuff makes a great metal preservative! I coat guns being stored with it and it is the best product I know of for this. My .02
Jay

geargnasher
08-07-2009, 08:29 PM
My first ever mould and lube setup was the Lee .358148WC and the .358 Lee Sizer, which included a bottle of LLA (Lee Liquid Alox).

Like every caster before me created by the Lord Himself, I used too much LLA my first few times out. And like every caster before me, I did a little cussing over the stickiness and mess and smoke that excess LLA will cause.

However, I liked the ease and simplicity of tumble-lubing, even with traditional lube-grooved boolits, and I stuck with it. I tried cutting the LLA with mineral spirits which helped a lot. I started mixing concoctions, etc.

The one constant from the very first time I used the LLA, however, was that I got no leading and had excellent accuracy from my little Lee wadcutter boolits. And that was all I ever asked for.

Now, many boolits later, I still tumble lube some of my boolits--even those with traditional lube grooves. I also mix up my tumble lube concoction 45% LLA, 45% JPW (Johnsons Paste Wax) and 10% odorless mineral spirits. I lightly tumble lube the boolits, set them on wax paper overnight to dry thoroughly. Next day, I run them through the sizer, then lightly tumble lube and set back on the wax paper. Then I either load 'em up or store them.

I get superb accuracy, no smoke, no leading and a bore that can be cleaned with a couple of passes with a dry patch. Doesn't get better than that.

:coffee:

+1 on that, Recluse, my experiences have been similar on guns that like it, I just wish I could get it to work for everything.

If you ask my guns, you will get different answers about LLA. My .45 ACPs love the stuff, and my .45 Colt loves it on one boolit only, leads like crazy with two other styles I've tried, sized the same.

The .38 Airweight loves Lyman 358665 with thinned LLA, one coat after sizing. My GP100 absolutely hates the stuff at any velocity I've tried, on any boolit I've tried. But it loves the harder stick Alox. Go figure.

I'm too chicken to try it on my rifles, I use stick lube (various kinds) and the Lyman 450 for those with such good luck and low volume that the LLA wouldn't offer any advantage for me.

Bottom line, with pistols I reach for LLA FIRST. If it doesn't work and I've exhausted my patience trying everything I can think of to make it work, THEN I try some other kind of lube. The stuff is just too cheap and easy to use not to try.

Gear

Edit: Beng, If you're considering Liquid Alox, please get it from Lar's, not Midway. Your money is far better spent.

bohokii
08-07-2009, 08:35 PM
Liquid Alox is primarily intended for use on tumble lube boolits, popularized by Lee.


I think the reason tumble lube boolits were designed was to allow you to shoot boolits as cast instead having to buy a luber/sizer,



i am so confused now

they sell the lee alox in the sizing kit yet it is intended for use on tumble lube bullets but those are specifically made so they dont need sizing

i think i cramped my brane


http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/bohoki/DCP_6878.jpg

SciFiJim
08-07-2009, 09:17 PM
LLA came first, then the tumble lube design. I use it for everything, .40s&w, .45ACP, .357 pistol and rifle. No leading at all. I mix the LLA 50/50 with JPW. Trying to figure out how to add some carnauba wax to it to see what it will do.

wallenba
08-07-2009, 09:26 PM
[QUOTE=bohokii;632007]i am so confused now

they sell the lee alox in the sizing kit yet it is intended for use on tumble lube bullets but those are specifically made so they dont need sizing

i think i cramped my brane


[The TL boolits can usually be loaded as cast, but as we all find out sometimes a particular gun likes a slightly different diameter or one or more cavities in a mold drop them a little too big, the Lee push thru sizers give you an inexpensive way to deal with the problem. A bigger problem is that Lee only offers a limited range of sizes.

geargnasher
08-07-2009, 09:51 PM
LLA came first, then the tumble lube design. I use it for everything, .40s&w, .45ACP, .357 pistol and rifle. No leading at all. I mix the LLA 50/50 with JPW. Trying to figure out how to add some carnauba wax to it to see what it will do.

JPW already contains about 10% carnauba, which should be plenty to make your bore shine which is it's only purpose in lube.

Gear

SciFiJim
08-07-2009, 10:06 PM
Carnauba wax also raises the melting point of lubes. I live in a hot climate (California desert) and need all the help I can get. I have had to carry my ammo to the range in an ice chest before. Ammo left sitting in the sun can get uncomfortably hot to handle.

theperfessor
08-07-2009, 10:14 PM
As wallenba said, when you combine mold diameter tolerances with alloy composition/shrinkage variations you can end up with a bullet that is either too small, within a range that will shoot OK, or too big to chamber.

If too small you'll probably get blowby and some leading and you'll cuss LLA to everybody.

If in middle range you'll love the convenience and you'll praise LLA to everybody.

If too big you'll have to add extra steps (sizing and relubing) and you won't gain much advantage (other than financial) over using a convential luber/sizer. And if you like bullet casting enough you'll eventually buy one. And then you can show it off to all your friends! :drinks:

Recluse
08-07-2009, 10:59 PM
i am so confused now

they sell the lee alox in the sizing kit yet it is intended for use on tumble lube bullets but those are specifically made so they dont need sizing

One of the first things I learned when began reloading a zillion years ago, was to control all variables possible.

For boolits I cast myself, one of those variables that I can control is size.

I know that TL boolits are supposed to be "cast, lube, load, shoot," but when I've put the mic to random TL boolits at random times, I've gotten random sizes.

Therefore, my motto is, "If I cast it, I size it. No exceptions."

Anything that doesn't go my way after that, I can at least eliminate sizing as an issue.

:coffee:

Marlin Hunter
08-07-2009, 11:29 PM
i am so confused now

they sell the lee alox in the sizing kit yet it is intended for use on tumble lube bullets but those are specifically made so they dont need sizing

i think i cramped my brane




When you push any boolit through the Lee sizer die it needs to be lubed. I have used LLA and a Lee .356 sizer on .358 semi-jacketed hollow points so they would fit in my 9mm.

If you cast good round boolits with the TL Lee molds, than you should not need to size them. I have had good luck with the .41, .45, and .44 Lee TL molds. But I also have a Lee factory crimp die that will re-size the boolit in the case.

Nora
08-07-2009, 11:59 PM
Welcome to the board beng.
I'm one of those that likes LLA. It's the only lube I use, and on everything, doesn't matter what size or style. I'm not going to say that it is the best lube to use in all cases. I just haven't found one that will justify me in buying one of the fancy models from Star, Lyman, or RCBS. Yes I can see where others say that it is messy, smells bad and takes more time to dry. However those things don't bother me.
I like to cut mine down with a third mineral spirits. A little will go a long way and this will also help reduce the drying time. Leading has not been an issue in any of the firearms that I've fired it threw. Even up to 2600 fps in '06 there hasn't been any leading found. Granted I couldn't find the target with anything fired that fast, just that there was no leading.
If you shoot them as cast one coat is enough, if they are sized and / or gas checked, then a second coat will be needed before loading.

:p I see your two boxes of Alox lubed boolits, and raise you an ice cream bucket. :lovebooli

Nora

geargnasher
08-08-2009, 01:02 AM
Nora, I'll see your two boxes of Alox lubed boolits, an ice cream bucket, and raise YOU a 1-quart freezer bag![smilie=l:

Gear

UweJ
08-08-2009, 12:18 PM
Funny thing about LLA here in germany.U canīt order LLa as such from the U.S , as they will not ship,but if u order a sizing kit youīll get a bottle with it.LOL
Uwe

357maximum
08-08-2009, 12:53 PM
Funny thing about LLA here in germany.U canīt order LLa as such from the U.S , as they will not ship,but if u order a sizing kit youīll get a bottle with it.LOL
Uwe

If you contacted Lar45 and ordered some "rust preventative" could it work for you then?

UweJ
08-08-2009, 01:17 PM
357 maximum , thanks for the advise but I have enough already. Itīs just the bigotry that you canīt order LLA but you can order a sizing kit with LLA .
Uwe

mooman76
08-08-2009, 01:20 PM
LLA works. The draw back is it is messy and get on your equipment and in your guns and needs to be cleaned out periodically. Not trying to put it down, I still use it but also use a Lyman lube sizer as it suits me. There are also ways around some of the excess mess. It's great for people starting out on a budget like I was.

UweJ
08-08-2009, 01:29 PM
Mooman , I agree that LLA works on some boolits and I also use an old Lyman 450 which never let me down so far. LLA hasnīt been to messy for me yet so I canīt really complain. I dilute with mineral spirits.
I also make my own lube for nitro and never had any problems with leading or cleaning so far(lol) but my friends at the range which buy sure do. Tried to convince them of slugging the bore but most feel that a .45 is always .452 and a .357 is always .357. My scores at tournaments and other competitions should tell them otherwise but -Oh well- itīs their money.
Regards Uwe

geargnasher
08-08-2009, 01:50 PM
Mooman , I agree that LLA works on some boolits and I also use an old Lyman 450 which never let me down so far. LLA hasnīt been to messy for me yet so I canīt really complain. I dilute with mineral spirits.
I also make my own lube for nitro and never had any problems with leading or cleaning so far(lol) but my friends at the range which buy sure do. Tried to convince them of slugging the bore but most feel that a .45 is always .452 and a .357 is always .357. My scores at tournaments and other competitions should tell them otherwise but -Oh well- itīs their money.
Regards Uwe

I concur on all counts.

I'll never undertand why anyone would call LLA "messy" and turn around and spend a session with a 450 wiping bases and getting lube all over their fingers and never think a thing of it. To me, LLA is the cleanest to handle of all lubes because you only have to touch it when it's DRY. And you don't have to set the boolits up on their bases after you pour them out on the waxed paper, just let them lie on their sides, it makes absolutely no difference to final performance.

Gear

butchs37
04-02-2010, 07:10 PM
Hi new to forum and bullet casting and have a few questions. I use a lee .575-472M mold and LLA. Would LLA be enough lube or should I use barrel butter in groves or in the cavity in the bottom. Also would paper patching be a better alternative?

canyon-ghost
04-02-2010, 08:06 PM
Just as a side note, Alox is a commercial lubricant designated as 2138F Alox. It's been around in the stick version for lubrisizers for a very long time. Seems it's a type of grease.

wiljen
04-02-2010, 08:20 PM
Just as a side note, Alox is a commercial lubricant designated as 2138F Alox. It's been around in the stick version for lubrisizers for a very long time. Seems it's a type of grease.

Alox 2138F has been discontinued and was the alox originally used in 50/50 (NRA) lube with beeswax. It has been replaced with Alox 350.

LLA is a solvent cutback of Alox 606-55HF and isnt the same thing as the 2138F or 350 nor is it even close.

HORNET
04-07-2010, 01:00 PM
butchs37, is that Lee .575-472M being used in a muzzleloader? If so, Alox (in general) and LLA are NOT recommended for use with black powder. It seems to form an extremely hard-to-remove deposit in the barrel. Stick with Bore Butter or make some Emmerts (see the lube recipes stickies). Also check out the muzzleloaders forum. Welcome to the fun.

fowl_language
03-27-2012, 06:22 AM
I thought i'd put in a few cents...ended up being a couple dollars...sorry

I've been reloading now for about 6 months which makes me no expert by any means but, when I started reloading...I STARTED RELOADING.. lol. I bought everything I could find (that was low cost). That being said I researched cost as the primary reason to reload (flame on, I know the deal now..didn't then) as reloading rarely is more cost effective (although now i'm down to about 10 bucks a box for pistol ammo of any caliber).

So I bought everything to reload cast boolits and I started buying my own lead (Pb) then that lead to me buying a lee pour pot, then that lead to me buying mold after mold, after mold, until I had all my pistol calibers covered. So needless to say eventually I got to the point where, "hey I just casted 300 boolits, what do I do now?!?!", and this is where lee liquid alox (LLA) came in to the fold. I will go over my set up so people can relate or not relate to my experience and if they should take my suggestion with a grain of salt or not.

SET UP, CURRENTLY LOADING FOR: .357 Mag, .38 spec, 40 S&W, 45 ACP/AUTO
- Lee Anniversary Kit
- Lee Perfect Powder Measure (LPPM)
- Lee Safety Powder Scale
- Hornady (.1) digital Scale
- Lee 10 lb Lead Pour Pot
- Lee .401 and .451 diameter resizer kits.
- BRASS (Whatever I get from the range or pick up from public land)
- Lee bullet molds
--- 158 gr LRN (.358 dia), 38 spec, 357 mag
--- 200 gr LRN (.452" dia) , 45 ACP
--- 175 gr Truncated cone (.401" dia) , 40 S&W
- Homemade powder trickler when loading Alliant powders.
- All dies used are the 4 die sets from LEE reloading, rifles are RCBS in case people care.
- Primarily load with Alliant Unique but have used other Alliants and going to start AA #5 soon.
- LEE LIQUID ALOX

Now that everybody knows what i'm working with, I have to say that I really like LLA, it has served me well for over 2000 rds of the different calibers. I will say this though, it is very much firearm dependent. I have only loaded for pistol calibers, and although I cast and load for a lot of calibers, I do not load for a lot of different velocities, and burn rate has a lot to do with leading. But I can say with my good "plinking" recipes, I have not seen any "crazy" leading issues while using LLA. I will say this though, if you coat the boolits "too much" with LLA you run into a whole host of problems if you choose to load like i do. The first is general problems with stickiness, although some don't find this offensive, it is a major problem if you drop the boolit on the ground at any point in the process. Also the LLA will gunk up any piece of reloading equipment you will use post bullet casting, ie. resizers, seaters and crimpers. But with a little attention to detail you should be able to use LLA to reduce leading and produce very good casted boolit with exceptional accuracy (I no longer shoot anything but my own casts in competition <- when allowed).

Knowing when too much is too much, and too little is too little:
Living in a moderately dry climate, I can dry boolits over night that are coated in LLA. But in my limited experience, too much still gives the boolits a distinctive "tangerines mixed with varnish" smell after completely dry (this is not true if you flash dry them with a hairdrier, they will always retain the smell as per my experience). I like it when the boolits are coated with just enough LLA to see some brown in the groves but not enough to be obvious on the contoured edges. If I open the tupperware of my casts and I can smell the smell I know to reduce the next tumble. I usually tumble the casts in a ziplock bag (or common petroleum shopping bag) to get an even coat, this works well, unless you cast >200 or so boolits, the bag may rip. I lay them out on either wax or freezer paper over night and if in a hurry you can speed up the process with 30 mins of heat gun/ hair dryer treatment.

The only major draw back I have found with LLA is the resizing issue. I am still having problems with my resizer sizing boolits .001 smaller than they should, after about 100 or so. I think the LLA is building up on the walls of the resizer and eventually producing a boolit that could potentially be undersized, this could become an issue in my semi-autos, but as of yet has not caused an accuracy issue.

In long (was suppose to be short) I really like the LLA product it has served me well for what I use it for, quick coating on plinking and short range precision casts. Other posters have gotten it spot on, try what works best for you and knock em down range. To sum up, with my current set up, I have had the best experience with enough LLA to see some brown in the groves of the boolit but not enough to see swirls on the contours.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask questions anytime, as of late i've had a trial by fire of reloading cast boolits in a variety of pistol calibers.

FL

EDIT: I have not mixed the ALOX in mineral spirits yet, but i'm glad I stubbled on this thread, I will try that soon if nothing else it should add to the longevity. Also, some people have talked to me at local shooting spots about loading sub-sonics for pistols and for rifles...I would be hesitant on using LLA type bullet lubes on sub-sonics I might try a few out but I still have a lot of research to do. Also I am new to reloading as well sl please don't take this long winded post as trying to sound "uppity" I just want to let people know my experience and also learn from people that have casted thousands upon thousands of boolits over the years. I really enjoy reading and contributing to discussions. Not to hijack the post, but anyone with suggestions on other casts lubes for pistol casts please let us know.

1bluehorse
03-31-2012, 01:01 PM
The only thing I've tried LA on have been "normal" bullets. I own no tumble lube molds. Tumble lube bullets may work just fine, I just don't like the way they look. Go figure. Like Gear, I don't find LLA messy and it is definitly easy to use. (thats why I decided to try it) the first few times I tried it I had good results with ONE style bullet and ONE pistol and thought it was the best thing since metal woods, but then I started getting mixed results with it with other bullets and guns (no rhyme nor reason here) accuracy was generally okay but I was getting quite a bit of leading.....I also have a lubrasizer and I use White Label 50/50 lube, (yeh it's soft and can be a little messy) but it works very well for me and my applications (good accuracy, no leading) so I see no reason to change ..so I guess bottom line for me....No more LA, I have a lubrasizer so I'll use it...

MikeS
04-02-2012, 12:53 AM
I'll never undertand why anyone would call LLA "messy" and turn around and spend a session with a 450 wiping bases and getting lube all over their fingers and never think a thing of it. To me, LLA is the cleanest to handle of all lubes because you only have to touch it when it's DRY. And you don't have to set the boolits up on their bases after you pour them out on the waxed paper, just let them lie on their sides, it makes absolutely no difference to final performance.

Gear

I too don't understand the complaint about it being messy! I find any of my conventionally lubed boolits MUCH messier than any boolits lubed with LLA. In fact when I'm loading conventionally lubed boolits I usually keep a rag on my lap to wipe off the excess lube from the completed cartridges, something I don't need to do when using boolits lubed with LLA. I mean in theory I don't need to wipe off the finished rounds, but they're usually got some excess lube on them, and it's an uneven coating, sometimes only on one side, some boolits have no excess, some have lots, so I find it just looks better when I wipe down the boolits in my finished rounds. I suppose I could also wipe down my LLA lubed boolits, as the lube on the nose of the boolit isn't doing anything to help lube the boolits, but I figure it's a very thin coating, and it IS a uniform coating, and it's much harder to wipe off than conventional lube, so I just leave it on the boolits. If done correctly (that means a very thin coating of LLA), rather than putting a thick coating of LLA on the boolits, that I have no problem with it building up in the seating die, nor with the finished rounds collecting more dirt than conventional lube boolits.

I use mostly conventionally lubed boolits that I size in a Star lube-sizer, but also have some TL boolits that I lube with LLA. Slightly off topic, but I'm about to get another TL mould, a 2 cavity mould HP'ed by Erik of hollowpointmold.com. It's the TL452-230-2R, and when Erik makes it into a hollow point, it should be a really great shooting boolit, as it's a great shooting boolit before he works his magic on the mould, and it can only get better! Anyone that wants to cast HP boolits with a great mould really should try one of the Lee 2 cavity moulds Erik makes into a HP, as the process not only makes it a HP, but it also fixes some of the usual problems with Lee 2 cavity moulds! Unless you simply hate any mould that says LEE on the side of it, you will like using one of Erik's modified moulds, they really cast so easily that you might forget that you're casting HP boolits!

FloridaFlyBoy
10-17-2013, 09:34 AM
My first ever mould and lube setup was the Lee .358148WC and the .358 Lee Sizer, which included a bottle of LLA (Lee Liquid Alox).

Like every caster before me created by the Lord Himself, I used too much LLA my first few times out. And like every caster before me, I did a little cussing over the stickiness and mess and smoke that excess LLA will cause.

However, I liked the ease and simplicity of tumble-lubing, even with traditional lube-grooved boolits, and I stuck with it. I tried cutting the LLA with mineral spirits which helped a lot. I started mixing concoctions, etc.

The one constant from the very first time I used the LLA, however, was that I got no leading and had excellent accuracy from my little Lee wadcutter boolits. And that was all I ever asked for.

Now, many boolits later, I still tumble lube some of my boolits--even those with traditional lube grooves. I also mix up my tumble lube concoction 45% LLA, 45% JPW (Johnsons Paste Wax) and 10% odorless mineral spirits. I lightly tumble lube the boolits, set them on wax paper overnight to dry thoroughly. Next day, I run them through the sizer, then lightly tumble lube and set back on the wax paper. Then I either load 'em up or store them.

I get superb accuracy, no smoke, no leading and a bore that can be cleaned with a couple of passes with a dry patch. Doesn't get better than that.

:coffee:

Are you still using this formula, and how is it working? I am using boolits cast by a company from the Space Coast of Florida, and got some lead in the barrels of a Colt Python .357 and Ruger Redhawk .44 ( shooting .44 spl to save on hard to find powder). Thanks to the input of some of the fine people on this blog, bullet lube for cast boolits had been unknown to me, and now I see it's a step I may have missed.

I am new to cast boolits, and this forum, and wise experienced input is greatly appreciated.

Best to all, Paul

bangerjim
10-17-2013, 11:21 AM
Well if you are having doubts about LLA and other lubes, please consider electrostatic gun powder coating.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?209151-Powder-Coating-101-Electrostatic-Method&highlight=powder+coating

I switched from LLA & the 45/45/10 goop to all PC. No mess, no grease, and most importantly....NO LEADING, even in rifle speeds.

Just pointing it out to you for your consideration. Many, many on here are doing it now and never look back. Nice thing, there are alternatives to almost everything!

bangerjim

Airman Basic
10-17-2013, 11:41 AM
Are you still using this formula, and how is it working? I am using boolits cast by a company from the Space Coast of Florida, and got some lead in the barrels of a Colt Python .357 and Ruger Redhawk .44 ( shooting .44 spl to save on hard to find powder). Thanks to the input of some of the fine people on this blog, bullet lube for cast boolits had been unknown to me, and now I see it's a step I may have missed.

I am new to cast boolits, and this forum, and wise experienced input is greatly appreciated.

Best to all, Paul

Get 45-45-10 from White Label and tumble those store-boughts in it.
http://lsstuff.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=31

runfiverun
10-17-2013, 11:56 AM
or make it yourself at home.
it's 45% cooked down [the solvent's are cooked off] Johnson's paste wax
45% alox, and 10% mineral spirits. [I add a lot more mineral spirits and some beeswax to mine]

Airman Basic
10-17-2013, 12:13 PM
The ingredients cost almost as much as White Label's product, you're supporting a Castboolits vendor, and a quart of the stuff lasts about half of forever.

FloridaFlyBoy
10-19-2013, 08:56 AM
The ingredients cost almost as much as White Label's product, you're supporting a Castboolits vendor, and a quart of the stuff lasts about half of forever.

(just kidding) Now you tell me !!:bigsmyl2:. I missed the X-Lox post, and already purchased the items for the formula. ( One last question, maybe ? ) How is it applied? Spray, dip, etc.?

Maybe I am asking the wrong questions ...( being a newbie to cast boolits:razz: )n Thanks for bearing with me guys,
Thanks again guys. Best to all, Paul

Airman Basic
10-19-2013, 11:23 AM
(just kidding) Now you tell me !!:bigsmyl2:. I missed the X-Lox post, and already purchased the items for the formula. ( One last question, maybe ? ) How is it applied? Spray, dip, etc.?

Maybe I am asking the wrong questions ...( being a newbie to cast boolits:razz: )n Thanks for bearing with me guys,
Thanks again guys. Best to all, Paul
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?67654-Tumble-Lubing-Made-Easy-amp-Mess-Free

FloridaFlyBoy
10-19-2013, 11:55 AM
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?67654-Tumble-Lubing-Made-Easy-amp-Mess-Free

Thanks Airman!! :cool:Your Captain is well-pleased. In the days of Generals Patton and LeMay, you have earned a field promotion !!:razz:

Thanks again