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Homemade case lube

17K views 36 replies 12 participants last post by  soundguy 
#1 ·
Well not all the way, but for those that like using Hornady one shot or Dillon rapid lube 5000 this may be the way to go. I was at my LGS looking for a can of one shot today and they were out, not only that but one shot was also $9.95 for a 5.5oz can! Now I know most of us reload not only for better quality ammo or ammo to feed our addiction when there's none to be found but most of us also reload for the price savings. So since I was having to wait for them to get more one shot in I decided to look up to see if I could make my own case lube and this is what I found. Everybody says to use 1 part Lanolyn to 8 parts 99% isopropyl alcohol, well since I had a few tubes of RCBS case lube hanging around that different folks have given me I decided to use that instead. Also some people suggest that if you can't find the 99% alcohol anywhere you can also use ISO Heet witch is a fuel injector cleaner/ moisture decreaser that can be found at just about any auto parts or Walmart and it also contains 99% isopropyl alcohol. Now use that info at your own risk... Well I did the 8:1 mix and I noticed after resizing about 10 cases that the die started gumming up and denting the case neck on my 5.56x45 brass so I ended up mixing a 16:1 mix and taking the die apart and cleaning it out and after 100 rounds of resizing I had zero issues with the case necks and it glided like a knife through hot butter. I always sort my brass in sandwich baggies and label them what ammo and count them out to 50 and I found out that it only takes about 3/4 of a squirt on them in the bag and roll them around to lube all 50 cases. I will report back on how it's going with the lube if anyone is interested in trying it out themselves.
 
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#2 ·
I haven't experimented with it, but I can think of no good reason not to use denatured alcohol in place of isopropyl for the solvent. Denatured alcohol is just ethanol (moonshine) blended with just enough methanol to make you go blind drinking it. It's cheaper than isopropyl alcohol, sold in every hardware store, and is usually fairly clean with no residue, and no water left behind.

Another combination that might be worth trying is something my dad used to make to keep the kitchen door from squeaking. Before there were thousands of 'green' products to save energy, houses were built with a thin strip of bent brass inside the jamb which acted like a spring closure to keep out wind and moisture. The drawback was that it tended to squeak whenever the door was opened or closed. Dad dissolved paraffin (sealing wax from the grocery store) in benzene (no longer available) and painted the brass sheet with it, which completely silenced the noise, and made the door slide open without resistance - paraffin is a great lubricant.

I used the same stuff as a kid on all the shiny bits on my bike to prevent rust, and it worked great. Even though we can't get benzene anymore, paraffin is still plentiful, and it dissolves nicely in acetone or toluol or a blend of both, and they're easy to find. Both solvents dry without residue, and do no harm to brass or any other metal. Paraffin is at least as effective a lubricant as lanolin, possibly better, and has no effect or the burning rate of powder, should it end up inside a case, that I know of.

In fact, as a child experimenting with explosives and rocket fuels, I used just such a mixture to wet black powder and various rocket fuels and powdered explosives in order to shape them into specialized charge profiles. The residual wax held the preferred shape, and didn't interfere with ignition at all. It also had the advantage of not having to risk melting and casting rocket fuels into a hollow core; some mixtures tended to explode rather easily. But I digress..

I know it's hard to find isopropyl alcohol that is 99% free of water, but the denatured alcohol I've seen is always pure. At the risk of putting some sheep out of work, though, I'd suggest trying paraffin and acetone as a cheaper, easy to find and make substitute. It's a mixture I've been meaning to test, but just haven't found the time to check out properly. The only drawback I can think of is that, if one attempts to fill a plastic sprayer with it in order to spritz a batch of brass, the sprayer will be a lump of mush in short order. Acetone dissolves most plastics, in addition to waxes, so a new application method is needed to use it. I'd toss the brass into a stainless steel pot, cover with the wax solution and agitate, then pour the remainder of the solution back in the jar and let the brass dry. It should take about 1 minute.
 
#3 ·
I made my own a few months ago by getting the lanolin and isopropyl alcohol . I forget the mix rate, but I seem to think it was one ounce of lanolin to a whole bottle of alcohol which I think was 12 to 16 ounces.
It works great and does not gum up my dies at all. Since it only takes a couple of pumps each time, I have been working off of that one bottle for months and it looks to last me a year
 
#5 ·
I use the lanolin/Isopropyl alcohol mix and I use it the same way the op states.

I could not find 99% Isopropyl alcohol anywhere so I chose the Heet product. Just make sure you get the red bottle of Heet, not the yellow bottle. The yellow bottle is methanol and is a very poor solvent for Lanolin, in short .... it wont work (well).

Why alter the formula if you can get the red Heet? It's readily available, cheep, and it works well. It also is easy on the sprayer parts. If it aint broke ... don't fix it. A bottle of it will last a long time.

ocymmv
 
#7 ·
I use a mixture of lanoline and iso heet. There are other vids about the same thing. The vid gives the mixture. Watch a couple others to see their techniques. Like stated above, light spray works well. The vid says the iso heet is safe...don't think he has heard of msds. Use in a ventilated area so you aren't breathing it. If you run your hands thru it, buy the cheap harbor freight nitrile gloves. His spray method doesn't hit the inside of the necks and might be a problem for some brass vs sizer dies. Will work, but might have more friction that you don't like or possibly jam. I can't wet tumble more than I can get on a large cookie sheet, so I lay them on those blue auto shop paper towels and couple passes then roll them around. I spray at a different angle for the rifle brass to hit the inside portion of the neck a tiny bit. Some cases here an there don't get any spray inside but the others that do provide enough for the sizer button to have enough lube to make easy press work. For pistol brass, a couple sprays from the top and roll about and call it quits. Caution of the paper towels being a fire source later if you keep them around for repeated use. I have never tested them with ignition, combustion, or burning. Have no idea how they behave. I get rid of them in a safe area until the weekly trash is picked up.
 
#12 ·
I thought it sounded like the stuff I used to buy when I had a diesel pickup.

Now, back to the lubricant - if you cannot find any lanolin, why not buy a tube of Lee case lube to mix with the heet?

I use a solution of alcohol and Lee lube . Mix them together, shake it up good, put brass in a gallon size baggie, spray some on the brass (in the baggie), shake the baggie to make sure all the brass is covered, if more is needed spray and shake again. Pour the brass onto the table top and let the alcohol (or Heet) evaporate and then size the brass as usual. It is a great lubricant and a little will go a long way. I am using the same bottle that I made about three or so years ago. I got this recipe from Josh Allen (JLA).
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
#32 · (Edited)
Well since I've been using this for a few months now I thought I'd chime in with what I found works pretty well......

First, a few pointers......
1. 99% isopropyl alcohol is NOT rare, I got mine at Safeway which was a bit cheaper than the local Walgreens and CVC pharmacies which both carried it as well. If memory serves I paid less than a dollar for a 16oz bottle.

2. You will be more likely to find the liquid lanolin in a health food store than any drug stores. In my little town of 5.000 we have half a dozen health food/nutrition stores so they are likely everywhere, just look around. Be sure to buy LIQUID lanolin NOT the ointment in a tube that you might run across. The liquid breaks down in the alcohol very quickly but the ointment will NEVER break down. I paid $6.50 for a 4oz bottle.

I already had some denatured alcohol in my shop so tried it but it didn't mix well at all, besides the isopropyl is a lot cheaper. I got my denatured alcohol at Lowes for around $10 a pint.

If you notice the black line towards the bottom of the little spray bottle, that is how much lanolin I put in then filled the bottle with alcohol. I have loaded a little over 400 .223 rounds now and barely touched the solution. At this rate the $8 I have invested should last me for many years!

I tried the plastic bag method but found it messy. Instead I lay out a paper towel, place a few dozen cases then give the lot two pumps then roll the rounds up and down to evenly coat everything. I do it left handed so imagine where my index finger is... right on the necks and I find that this gives excellent coverage in the curved area of the neck.

Once lubed, I move the row over to dry and lube another few dozen. I found that it is VERY important to let the cases sit a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate. I didn't at first and almost got a case stuck in my die. If you put wet cases in the die you're asking for trouble plus the wet cases in the die allows the alcohol to evaporate leaving a coating inside the die thus causing buildup. Since I started letting them dry, I haven't had one problem.

After depriming I dump a load of brass in my ultrasonic cleaner with a cap full of One Shot Sonic Clean solution and it cleans up the lanolin coating as well as putting a nice shine to the brass.

This may not be the best or the worst method, it's just the one that works for me!

On EDIT: I almost forgot, I use the same folded up paper towel over and over and found that after a while the towel becomes saturated with lanolin and acts similar to one of those lube pads and takes less and less of a spray each time.

 
#36 ·
my rcbs spray bottle is near empty, and it will get refilled with that.

so.. 16:1 ?
I'm trying to remember which formula I followed when I mixed mine. I thought it was 20:1 but at these volumes the difference between 16:1 and 20:1 is miniscule and to be honest I thnk I just squeezed in a few drops of lanolin 'till it looked good. You'll know when you have it right when you allow the alcohol to evaporate and end up with just a hint of a coating rather than a slick, thick coating.
 
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