If you want to change lubes, what's the best way to clean the old lube out of the sizer? I have an RCBS Lube-A-Matic II.
Thanks,
jv
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If you want to change lubes, what's the best way to clean the old lube out of the sizer? I have an RCBS Lube-A-Matic II.
Thanks,
jv
I wave a propane torch around on mine.
Not so close & hot to burn the paint off, just get it real warm.
With the sizer die removed, the lube will run right out like you're melting a candle.
I use the lube on bullets until it runs out, then replace it with the new stuff. I hate wasting anything.....
Hope this helps.
Fred
Use a heat gun or a hair dryer and get it warm, sizing die removed and it will run out. Gravity is your friend. Make sure you have it over a cookie sheet or similar surface to catch the runoff.
I've had good results in boiling water. I've rebuilt a couple doing it this way. To rebuild: A good wipe down with acetone and wire brush and it is ready for paint.
Put it in the oven on warm, on top of a cookie sheet covered in paper towels, and it will empty itself.
Dangle it in front of a torpedo heater with the sizer and pressure nut removed. I suspend mine with wire from the 'arch" of a stepladder and aim the heater at it. Makes for a quick hassle free purge outdoors.
yup unless your having problems with it why not just use it. If your getting leading then load some low pressure plinkers with it and go blast them up and have some fun. I can about guarantee you that you wont see any earth shattering differences by switching lubes. Ive used about all of them through the years. Some work a bit better at low pressures some at high. Want something thats a game changer? walk away from that lubesizer and start using pc. Im old school and fought it myself but after the first week of shooting pc'd bullets i doubt my star will ever be used again other then just sizing when i dont have a lee size die the proper size. Now if you getting that lube out for good to use the press to just size then it makes sense. Even so id just keep using it till it ran out.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReloaderFred
Remove die and pressure nut. Tilt up the back end, warm with hair dryer or leave it in the hot sun. After most old runs out then add new lube and nut, wrench till your new lube runs out, install sizer die.
All the run off lube You can save and reuse if you want it again.
I run mine low, add new lube and keep sizing till color changes then switch Dies and bullets.
Most time like said above, it shouldn’t make that big a difference if you have a little mix of two lubes unless your going to extreme differences like BP to high power rifle ?
Mike
+1 on this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lloyd Smale
I have only done this maybe twice in 40 years but I also used a hair dryer. It produces more then enough heat and will get all but the smallest residue out. I cast and load for handgun only and have never needed to change lubes so I usually run it till I can't crank the reservoir handle anymore then refill. I also use the hair dryer to clean the dies every once in a while.
I "had" always used a lube recipe/brand change as a time to completely empty and clean a lubsizer...and used a Heat gun, followed by MS and lots of rags.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReloaderFred
The first time I tried what Fred suggested, my old lube was green and the new lube was red. I had christmas colored lube boolits for one batch of about 200 boolits, before the red kicked 100%.
Wow, thanks for all the helpful replies! Great community.
I guess my desire to clean my new-used sizer is related to my general obsessive-compulsive nature. I don't know what the lube is, that's in there, and I wanted to select a lube for my purposes. I'm leaning towards LBT Blue Soft. Or maybe White Label's Carnuba Blue.
The bullets I will be casting are for mostly light loads in .45 ACP, .44 Magnum/Special, .38 Special, .380 AVP; and, 35 Remington (with GC) and .303 British. I don't do a ton of shooting, but I'd like to do more. My primary desire is to avoid leading.
Maybe I'll just "practice" lubing with the existing lube,'til it runs out. I've never even cast a bullet yet, so it will be a learning experience.
Thanks,
jv
If you happen to start casting/loading 45acp or 38 spl, most any lube will work...45 acp and 38 spl are very forgiving calibers, then using the existing unknown lube will likely be successful.
I drop mine in a canning boiler and boil the wax out.
Took thousands of bullets for my lube to change. Use to use Tamarack, switched to LBT blue. I do start my sizing procedure with a hair drier on the backside of my Saeco sizer, and I do have a warm up plate on the bottom. It just takes to long to get the lube warmed up. My sizer is in my basement, so even in summer it's cooler down there.
If you want to lube two totally different lubes say one for handgun and one for rifle , the best / easiest thing to do is get two lube sizers .
If you have been using ABC and want to now use XYZ just insert a stick of XYZ and keep using , the ABC will soon run out and the XYZ will replace it . This is what I do .
Cleaning out a filled lube sizer is a lot of work ... and extra work is something I try to avoid .
If you must do it ...a big old pot , and boil in water ...when all the lube has melted and floated to the top ... get the cleaned sizer out and be ready to clean up a big mess ...do not do this in your wife's kitchen on her stove in one of her good stock pots ... You will not believe what melted boolit lube can ruin by getting on / in . Kitchen floors and counter tops are especially hard to clean .
Gary
Attachment 285317
I use two sizers but one is for 309 and the other is for 452 that share a common heater. Both use Orange Magic. KISS.
Thanks for all the helpful replies. I will clean out what I have, and start fresh with something good for all the calibers I will be lubing.
When I want to clean out a press I boil it. You can let the water cool and lift the solidified wax off the surface if you want to keep it, but when I’m boiling it is usually a new to me press or a failure and I throw the lube away.
Just changing lube, I pull the die, turn up the temperature on my heating plate and melt the lube into an old tin can for reuse.
But I have many presses now, and haven’t just changed lube in a long time.