Help Cleaning reloading dies that have been sitting for years

[InfoLoader]

Hi i have some dies that i never put away in a turret head for bottleneck rifle cases and was wondering are there limitations to:#1what solvents i can use
#2 can you soak them in solvents or do you just spray them
#3 if so, How long long can they soak for
#4 after solvent use do you lube them and if with what
#5 Is scrubbing with brushes ok and if so what tupe of brush
The insides dont look as bad as the outsides of these dies but i dont want to ruin them.
THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE .......

 

[horsemen61]

Ttrl

 

[drband]

Do you have a case tumbler? Disassemble and tumble in cleaning media just like cleaning cases. Stainless steel pin wet tumbler? Even better.

Wipe down with oil or RIG grease when clean.

I'm sure solvents would work with a brass brush or fine steel wool, too.

 

[edwardware]

I don't think any chemical we usually think of as a solvent will harm steel. Stay away from strong oxidizers, acids, and corrosive salts. . .

Now what will help is a different question. I suggest a soak in a whatever oil you have on hand; lighter oil penetrates slightly better. Once well-soaked, work with steel wool. I have polished surface rust from inside dies with a bob of 0000 wool with good results.

 

[macgrumpy]

I use a carburetor cleaner to get up inside the dies and the outside then I oil them with a light oil, transmission fluid is a good cheap oil that penetrates well and wont leave a terrible sticky mess, just wipe off the excess after applying. Some people like to use liquid dish soap and warm water, it cuts the oils really well, and then dry and oil the dies.

If you want to scrape away built up crud then use one of the cleaners I mentioned and a nylon style scrubbing pad, something like they recommend for cleaning Teflon pans. The more aggressive pads will work too and they will remove built up crud faster but as you get more aggressive you may scratch the finish and that's not a good thing on the inside of the die while it's just cosmetic on the outside. You wont have to worry too much about removing metal because dies are hardened tool steel and it takes more than a scrubbing pad to hurt the steel.

 

[Rule3]

I guess the question is, are they rusted??

You can clean them with any solvent, Clean them like a gun. If the are rusted then you have more work involved but again, some solvent, wire brush on the outside, bronze bore brush inside, Pretty hard to hurt them.

 

[Laphroaig]

I asked the same thing in a thread some time ago. Mine were slightly rusted on the outside.

RC replied and suggested hitting them with a wire wheel on a bench grinder. I considered that, but took someone else's advice and tried tumbling them (I use corn cob) first. They came out pretty nice and I didn't do anything else.

 

[hdwhit]

Infoloader wrote:
...Cleaning reloading dies that have been sitting for years

Are the dies rusted to the turret head? If so, try a liberal amount of penetrating oil to get them to the point where you can spin them out. If they're badly rusted at the threads you may want to hit them with a wire wheel (brass, bronze or steel) to knock off the worst of the rust. You will probably also want to just replace the locking rings. After that, I would try disassembling them and tumbling them for a long time.

If the dies are not rusted to the turret head, just take them out, disassemble them and throw them in the tumber for a few hours. Apart from cleaning out the vent hole in the side of bottleneck dies, I do no maintenance on my dies other than disassembling them every decade or so, running a cleaning patch through them, reassembling them and rubbing some paste-type resizing lubricant (like the Lee lubricant that comes in a tube) on the polished exterior surfaces.

My Lee Universal Decapping Die does develop surface rust on the polished surfaces were my hands spin it to take it in and out of the press so I burnish it with steel wool and use a paste-type resizing lubricant to protect the surface.

 

[FROGO207]

Your dies are hardened steel and they will not be damaged that much if at all by a thin layer of crud and possibly rust. First some steel wool with penetrating oil on an old bore brush and spun in a drill for the inside. If that does not fix it well enough then take a section of 1/4 dowel split it down about 1/2 inch and slide a long flap of 600 grit sandcloth down the split. Put the other end in a drill and polish the crap out of the inside of the die. That piece of sandcloth will give up before it hurts the die. I do this to get rid of brass gauling inside my dies when the streaks appear. Have yet to hurt a die. Then use a wire wheel first on the outside if needed and then tumble them as needed after disassembly. Do not mix up parts of the dies or mix calibers like I did once. When done coat the surface with something to inhibit rust. I have yet to buy a set of used dies that were rusted beyond use when cleaned.

 

[InfoLoader]

Thanks for all the good advice everyone. Really appriciate the help. I feel confident from all the posts that i won't damage them now when i start cleaning.

 

[InfoLoader]

Im still debating the tumnle clean as they will get very dusty inside.

 

[Rule3]

Im still debating the tumnle clean as they will get very dusty inside.

So? If they get dusty, blow them out with spray solvent and compressed air.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I had some dies damaged by water. After cleaning the rust off I polished the inside. The polishing was done with a drill and J-B Bore polish. The FL dies were over sized and uneven after this mild cleaning. It takes very little to ruin the die bodies.

 

[hq]

I had some dies damaged by water. After cleaning the rust off I polished the inside.

In addition to being a great way to restore lightly damaged and corroded dies, It's a good idea to polish even new ones. Even though the die contact surface with the brass appears smooth, there are microscopic imperfections that can be polished out for a very slick action and noticeably less effort working the press. Power drill or Dremel tool with a felt pad (VFG pellets work nicely) and a dab of Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish does the trick.

 

[flashhole]

A wire brush wheel on the grinder does a great job on the outside of a die. You can buff every part to a nice sheen.