Lube tip.

[ArchAngelCD]

In my experience, it doesn't last very long. I use it occationally because it's handy - there's a can of it sitting on a shelf right above my bench.

That makes sense.

 

[WeekendReloader]

I clean it with CLP and then use some 3-in-1 oil (30W). Works great.
The 30W 3-in-1 oil is odorless, unlike most motor oils for cars.

 

[Chief TC]

I wipe the ram on my press periodically with Ballistol. It seems to work just fine.

My answer to any lube or cleaning question is almost always Ballistol!

 

[Click_Here]

Not only does Oneshot not last long, its kind of gums up...
I use it for resizing as advertized but I noticed that the container that I used to spray the cases is all sticky/waxy like and I have to clean it.

I just been using CLP on the ram.

 

[westernrover]

My ram has a grease zerk.

 

[westernrover]

Ok, my Lee presses don't have grease zerks, so I do lube them differently. The APP manual calls for heavy oil on the steel columns. I use a gun oil, not CLP. The last one I used was M-Pro7. Importantly, I'm not spraying the plastic parts with solvents or a lube that will gum them up. I just put a drop of oil on the sliding surface. I do think a light coat of grease would be better, but impractical to apply without time-consuming disassembly.

On the ABLP, I've used One-Shot, but dislike the toxicity, the toxic fumes, and the massive amount of solvents that come out of the can. I like it as a last-stage gun cleaner. It doesn't remove the carbon and copper fouling that better cleaners do, but it leaves a nice finish after those. Many other cleaners leave an oily coating my stainless-steel guns do not need.

For the ram and linkage on the ABLP, I liked Rem Oil in the aerosol can. It comes out in a fine mist rather than a heavy spray with solvents. I hope I can buy more because it's also great for coating garden tools -- better than WD-40.

I bought a bottle of Tri-Flow to lube spherical Messerschmidt ("Heim") joints on my 4x4. That seems to work really well for the pivoting linkages on the presses. In the past, I wouldn't use grease on the ram because I deprimed on the ABLP and it could get cruddy. Now I might switch to depriming on the APP or ACP. Grease should last a lot longer than One-Shot, Rem Oil spray, Tri-Flow or even motor oil.

 

[Laphroaig]

Are we talking One Shot Case Lube or One Shot CLP? The CLP killed it in this gun oil comparison test thread:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/results-of-gun-care-product-evaluation.751408/

 

[westernrover]

Well, I'm not about to repack my wheel bearings with Hornady One Shot. In that test, it did show remarkable corrosion protection -- and as I wrote earlier, I appreciate how One Shot doesn't leave an oily film on my stainless-steel guns. However, One Shot is a polymer based coating in a solvent base. Polymer based coatings and lubricants are in the category of dry lubes. "Teflon" is the trade name of a popular polymer lubricant polytetrafluoroethylene. It is not an oil, grease, moly or graphite lube, but a polymer coating. As such, I would like to compare it to other polymer coatings like Nu Finish, Meguiars Ultimate 'Wax' and Griot's Garage 3-in-1 Ceramic 'Wax'. Those are primarily automotive polymer coatings rather than lubricants, but they do lubricate -- just try sliding a dry towel on bare paint versus treated. Hornady One Shot is actually made by Multi Marketing Corporation and is primarily sold as a polymer coating for woodworking tools, to provide corrosion protection and lubricity. So it wouldn't be out of place to repurpose an automotive coating instead of repurposing a wordworking coating. A wipe-on, wipe-off polymer coating without the petroleum-based solvents (Hexane etc.) would not only do away with the skin-contact toxicity and toxic fumes, it would probably also be a better lubricant and provide better protection without the solvent's potential to wash away the coating before they evaporate.

The One Shot case lube and One Shot gun cleaner are the same product. I believe the case lube might have more solids in the can versus the cleaner with a higher proportion of solvents, but the MSDS indicates no difference. The cleaning solvents in One Shot are no better than non-chlorinated brake parts cleaner, which is considerably less costly. The polymer, I suspect, is not superior to alternatives They do have various means of application whether aerosol spray, drip bottle, spray bottle, or cream and no doubt the method of application will affect the result.

 

[Buzznrose]

Dillon recommends 30 weight motor oil and grease. I use Mobile 1 and Super Lube

 

[westernrover]

Aren't most Mobil 1 oils like 0 weight? I think at most they have a 20 weight oil for v-twins (Harleys).

 

[Blue68f100]

Most are in the 20W to 30W range. Amsoil go up to 5W-50 for some engines. All the newer engines spec a light oil, better for fuel economy.

 

[westernrover]

5W-50 is 5 weight at room temperature.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

Well, I have moved on.
There are definitely better lube than "One Shot".
After I posted, I tried a couple of drops of RemOil.
Have not done anything since.
Hundreds if not a thousand or more strokes since.

Thanks for the posts guys!

Hey, use care out there!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Call me a heretic: Ballistol

 

[45/30-06OKIE]

I just went and literally sprayed the ram and linkage of my Big Boss with Seafoam Deep Creep, a very thin penetration type oil ment for rusty bolts and lock tumblers and such. It seems to help a little bit. I'll see how long it lasts then I'll try something else. Thanks for the tips guys!!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I just went and literally sprayed the ram and linkage of my Big Boss with Seafoam Deep Creep, a very thin penetration type oil ment for rusty bolts and lock tumblers and such. It seems to help a little bit. I'll see how long it lasts then I'll try something else. Thanks for the tips guys!!

That's not a lubricant, it's a penetrating oil. It will lift any lubricant out of there, so make sure you put an oil on that will stay on for a while, and when it dries up, re-lube it.
I use Lubri-plate white lithium on my press rams. It's good stuff.

 

[Ranger99]

What ever you use, just use it. That's all you really need to do.

^ ^ ^ ^ this ^ ^ ^ ^
My main unit is the same well used
Rockchucket I bought used when I
first started loading. I have no idea
what lube was used on it before it
came to me, or if it was ever lubed
at all. There's no play in the ram or
any of the linkage before or since
the decades I've had it and used it.
It's had different oils and greases
whenever I felt the need to apply
something. Probably the best I've
used ( imaginary or not) is the
Ford Teflon grease manufactured
for automotive use
I'm sure the press will be very
useable for many decades to come
and will outlast me and the next
owner at the very least

Semi related- most reloading press
users would be best off to beef up
their bench to eliminate flex, which
I feel is the cause of most "problems "
associated with reloading presses

 

[deadeye dick]

When i was a kid i used sperm oil than they banned it. LOL

 

[Skgreen]

75W-90 on the 'Chucker and Lucas 'Red and Tacky' on the LNL AP
Thicker than most folks use but they stay in place quite well.

 

[.38 Special]

I find that whatever I use, the ram still gets filthy after a while. So now I just use whatever is at hand - usually WD-40 or Ballistol - and wipe off whatever muck has accumulated. No reason at all to find anything fancy, because it doesn't need to last longer than a month or so.

The wax idea is interesting. It probably does away with most of the cleanliness issues. I just don't want to spend an hour taking the press apart and cleaning out all the lube before waxing it, so I'll probably just keep spending a few seconds, every once in a while, wiping it off with a paper towel and then spritzing it with Ballistol again.

 

[deadeye dick]

I find that whatever I use, the ram still gets filthy after a while. So now I just use whatever is at hand - usually WD-40 or Ballistol - and wipe off whatever muck has accumulated. No reason at all to find anything fancy, because it doesn't need to last longer than a month or so.

The wax idea is interesting. It probably does away with most of the cleanliness issues. I just don't want to spend an hour taking the press apart and cleaning out all the lube before waxing it, so I'll probably just keep spending a few seconds, every once in a while, wiping it off with a paper towel and then spritzing it with Ballistol again.

Yup. Thats what i do. why complicate things

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I find that whatever I use, the ram still gets filthy after a while.

Yup.

 

[Chief TC]

Ballistol - works on everything. If you find any issue involving oil, use Ballistol. Only other oil to use is Kroil in certain situations. If someone tries to make it complicated - use ballistol. I used to fear BP and all the ridiculous cleaning methods - just use ballistol and some water! Seriously though, read about the uses of Ballistol.

 

[.38 Special]

Ballistol - works on everything. If you find any issue involving oil, use Ballistol. Only other oil to use is Kroil in certain situations. If someone tries to make it complicated - use ballistol. I used to fear BP and all the ridiculous cleaning methods - just use ballistol and some water! Seriously though, read about the uses of Ballistol.

On the other hand, when the mechanic took his first look at my seized SUV engine, he asked "Why the hell does it smell like rotten fish in here?!?".

 

[Tilos]

The reason I tried "Oneshot" was I thought it wouldn't collect dust/dirt as easy as other lubricants.
My Rockchucker gets taken apart, cleaned, greased and lubed at least once a year.
It spends the summers in the garage popping spent primers.
Not as clean of a place as the reloading room.

""It spends the summers in the garage popping spent primers.""

I just drop a PAPER grocery bag over the press to keep the dust off when not using it...
try it,
.