Got rusty dies? Try this

[deerslayer]

Here in the humid area of my garage reloading nook my dies had began to show increasing amounts of light surface rust. I have tried cleaning and different oils and had no luck the surface rust came right back. I know that taking care of the humidity will help and I am looking for that deal on a dehunidifier but have not found the right deal yet.

Last night I broke down 4 sets of dies completely and put all the aluminum parts in a seperate pile. I then loaded my vibratory tumbler with some walnut media that was well used and added a couple tablespoons of Johnsons Paste Wax and a couple Tablespoons of ATF turned it on and let it all mix in. Boy it sure looked awful. Throwed in the steel die parts and set the timer for 4 hours.

To my surprise this morning, this concoction was magic! My dies looked brand new and they have a nice waxy finish that I am hoping will protect them for a good while. I should have took before and after pics!

Although I can't yet say how long it will be before they start to rust again I can say that they are extremely clean and shiny. I believe the wax will help to protect them for a while.

Hope this helps: Nate

[Lavid2002]

Cool! My dies are always rusting... I just let em rust : ) On the outside at least. When It gets bad I hit them with the 0000 steel whool and there clean in 10 seconds.

[deerslayer]

I forgot to mention I threw all my shellholders and rusty shell plates in there also. One of those shell plates I got on a trade was really bad and even it looks like new.

[RobS]

Good work.............You'll have to hit us up on this when you find out if they keep from rusting. I love this forum...........people are always thinking, must be something to do with the fumes.:lol:

[exile]

Great idea. If it doesn't stop raining here in Nebraska soon, I may have a lot of rusty dies.

exile

[Calamity Jake]

Go to an industrial supply house and get some rust inhibiting paper(sheet or button), cut into strips and place in die boxes, no rust!!!

[deerslayer]

The problem with the rust inhibiting paper is it will severaly degrade all the paperwork that came with my dies if I don't remove it from the box.

[Char-Gar]

I keep a fine wire wheel on one side of my grinder. Makes short work of rust on reloading tools.

[mooman76]

I wonder how this would work on a slightly rusty mould.

[Southern Son]

I wonder how this would work on a slightly rusty mould.

My only concerns with this would be:
1. Rounding edges on the mold (I have noticed sometimes my 45/70 brass will have the mouth crimped a little after a long cleaning session);
2. Getting the wax off the mold before casting.

[mooman76]

If I tried it, I would skip the wax or possibly substitute something else and monitor it often to make sure it wasn't over done. I've had a few moulds that I bought with minor surface rust inside.

[BillP]

This works good for old rusty tools too.

[AZ-Stew]

How long will it be before mike in co tells you it won't work unless you use corn cob media? Damned walnut stuff is no good. NO commercial vendors use it. (Just quoting mike).

Regards,

Stew

[deerslayer]

How long will it be before mike in co tells you it won't work unless you use corn cob media? Damned walnut stuff is no good. NO commercial vendors use it. (Just quoting mike).

Regards,

Stew

LOL thats why I am using the walnut for this I found corn cob and needed something to do with that walnut I got. It is a custom designed and sized walnut that is gauranteed to stick in every flash hole.

[Changeling]

Actually "Mike-n- Colorado" is right (my opinion)! I like the corn cob media a lot better.

[sagacious]

The tumbler/wire wheel/etc will leave microscopic bits of rust on/in the steel, covered by wax. The problem is that once rust starts, the wax won't stop it. Once rust starts, it does not need more water/humidity to continue. So the microscopic specs of rust will keep growing until they are visible again, and the rust will be back.

You're much better off using citric acid to chemically remove every bit of the rust, and then apply a wax-based rust inhibitor like BoeShield to the dies. If it's a rusty mold, just treat with citric and then proceed as usual.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[Storydude]

No offense to mike, but walnut is the only thing that takes annealing scale off my swaged bullets.

[uscra112]

Boil ferrous parts in a solution of trisodium phosphate (like Tide laundry powder) for ten minutes to get all the oil off. Rinse thoroughly but quickly, then boil in slightly acidic water for 20 minutes. The second boil will stop the rust at the molecular level, but the water must be slightly acidic. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar per gallon if you have hard water, or a teaspoon-full if you don't. (Me, I'd use distilled water plus ten or fifteen drops per gallon of battery acid. Back in the bad old days we used dilute battery acid in the body shop, to kill rust before starting a rust-repair job. Or you can often buy phosphoric acid in the masonry aisle at Home Despot.

Probably not essential, but I'd rinse in denatured alcohol before dropping them into the tumbler full of that concoction.

I've never before heard of VPI paper degrading ordinary paper articles. Curious.

[sagacious]

No offense to mike, but walnut is the only thing that takes annealing scale off my swaged bullets.
Citric acid will do it almost instantly. I soak my annealed jackets in hot citric acid solution and it easily removes the scale in less than a minute. Shines 'em up nice.

[c3d4b2]

I use Zerust and do not have any rust. Though I do not know if it is the Zerust or the oil I wipe the dies with?

http://www.flambeaucases.com/index.php?p=page&pid=50&mid=13

[Storydude]

Citric acid will do it almost instantly. I soak my annealed jackets in hot citric acid solution and it easily removes the scale in less than a minute. Shines 'em up nice.

I"ll have to try that. I picked up some ceramic triangles that just RIP the stuff off now.

[izzyjoe]

i keep a pint of 50/50 balistol and water for wiping down all my equipment after i'm done reload'n. my shop has a dirt floor so it's like growing mushrooms in there when it's damp, humid and hot. wish i had an a/c in the window,but that might be worse.[smilie=b:

[selmerfan]

I stumbled onto this trick when I was selling my Sinclair Wilson trimmer set up with a bunch of case holders. The case holders had light surface rust that I couldn't get off, in a moment of frustration I threw them into my vibratory cleaner, turned it on and walked away for the night. Next morning they looked like new with a coating of wax on them!