Total newbie question about case lube.....

[Lenny62]

Totally noob question....
What are acceptable alternatives to brand-name (i,e, RCBS, et al-) case lubes?
Baby oil? Goose grease? Snake oil? (Just trying to be humorous...)
TIA,
-

 

[Skeptic13]

I use lanolin and alcohol mixed. You can buy lanolin on amazon and you mix 1 part lanolin with 10 parts 90% rubbing alcohol. I use a spray bottle to apply mixture to a batch of cases then let dry a few minutes. Then ready to resize. You can find lots of advice from others using the same technique on the internet.

 

[Lenny62]

Ah! Thanks much - Pretty cool!

 

[Reloadron]

Here is a similar recipe. Something to consider is the alcohol used. You want good stuff like 99% verse the lower end 70% more commonly found. The 70% is 70% alcohol and 30% water. The alcohol serves as a carrier for the lanolin and evaporates right after it carries the lanolin from spray bottle to your cases. A little bit goes a very long way.

Ron

 

[lightman]

Mink Oil boot waterproofing. STP oil treatment. Wax base wire pulling lube. Pam spray cooking oil. I like the Lanolin/alcohol mix the best.

 

[FROGO207]

I use the IsoHeat brand gas line antifreese in the red bottle it is 99% isopropyl alcohol and available at auto parts stores and WM at least around hhere. The lanolin is anhydrous. It has all the water removed and is used to make makeup. Find it at the health food store. I put some brass in a gallon zip Loc baggie, spray in lube and shake and roll around to cover brass. Then pour out into an old cardboard box that has been cut to have 1 inch sides and let dry completely. Usually 10 min, then go to town sizing.

 

[Lenny62]

Great help from everyone!

)I keep denatured alcohol on hand, I think it's wood alcohol - but I'm not so sure if that's good for this application...)

Ran out to the drugstore, found some lanolin easy enough, (in the breastfeeding section, always a good place for a guy to be browsing...) a bottle of dry gas from the gas station..(Heet, the red bottle, just about pure isopropyl alcohol...great for frozen gas lines, too..) Mixed it all up in a cheap spray bottle -

Still have to put things together, the cool guy from UPS dropped of a box with a Lyman single-stage and some other tasty goodies....

Off to the races -

 

[ZGunner]

I’ve used the lanolin and alcohol mixture when I was doing a lot of progressive loading of .223. I don’t load much on the progressive anymore so I just use some Imperial Sizing Wax, love the stuff.

 

[chamokaneman]

I use one shot spray. Lay the case in a row on the shiny side of butcher paper and make a couple passes. Put a straigh edge on them to roll them a little as a group and make another quick pass. I throw them in my block and do a little spritz from the top and then size them. I've also used the shake and bake in a freezer bag successfully (quicker). When this can of one shot runs out someday, I think I'm going to try the lanolin and achohol method. One shot is a little pricey.

 

[FROGO207]

When I was buying One Shot a can would not last a week. So I started making my own as posted above. Lots easier on the wallet.

 

[Texas10mm]

Great help from everyone!

)I keep denatured alcohol on hand, I think it's wood alcohol - but I'm not so sure if that's good for this application...)

Ran out to the drugstore, found some lanolin easy enough, (in the breastfeeding section, always a good place for a guy to be browsing...) a bottle of dry gas from the gas station..(Heet, the red bottle, just about pure isopropyl alcohol...great for frozen gas lines, too..) Mixed it all up in a cheap spray bottle -

Still have to put things together, the cool guy from UPS dropped of a box with a Lyman single-stage and some other tasty goodies....

Off to the races -

Whoa Skippy!

Make sure you have anhydrous lanolin and not solid lanolin.

Next, are we talking straight wall pistol cases or bottleneck cases?

I use Hornady One Shot for pistol. I use a homemade lanolin spray for bottleneck cases.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I am usually one to do things myself if I can make something, even going so far as to make my own bullet lube for cast bullets. But case lube is one of those things I just buy.
Imperial Sizing Wax is about $10 a tin and I've had the same one for 4 years. The amount in the tin is barely noticeable that any is gone.

 

[mmb617]

Every time I read one of these threads I think maybe I should try the homemade lanolin/alcohol mixture, but then I remember that I've been using the Lee resizing lube without ever having a stuck case and one $8 tube does over 3k bottleneck cases and I decide to keep doing what's always worked for me.

 

[rsnell]

Wood alcohol is methyl alcohol and is poisonous. Ethyl alcohol should be used.

 

[Ruger 15151]

+1 Lanolin / 100% alcohol 10:1 mix.

This works great and you can buy the alcohol at automotive stores (additive used to remove water from gas tank) and order a bottle of lanolin on Amazon for next to nothing. Trick is to not over due it because then you have an oily mess. Just put your cases in a container, give them a few sprays, roll the cases around with your hand to distribute the lube, and then let them sit for about 15 minutes to allow the alcohol to completely evaporate.

 

[labnoti]

A can of one shot lasts for many, many thousands of cases. 10,000?
A tin of Imperial Wax lasts for many, many years. I've sized almost a thousand with my tin and I can only just start to see a fingerprint on it.

The cost commercial case lubes add to reloading is negligible.

 

[labnoti]

Wood alcohol is methyl alcohol and is poisonous. Ethyl alcohol should be used.

This is good advice. Understand that methanol is toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. It should not be used even if you don't intend to drink it. It should not be made to contact your skin. Note that during the hand sanitizer shortage, some sanitizer was produced with methanol either by fools or scammers. The FDA issued warnings and there were recalls: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-methanol

 

[Highland Lofts]

I load a lot and use the Lanolin & red bottle of Heet (dry gas. And haven't had a stuck case since useing it.
Sure beats the hell out of $10 for a spray can of Hornady One Shot.

I put a line with a permanet black sharpie at 4 1/2" and another at 1/2"
First part dry gas second part lanolin.
I always shake it up before useing it.

 

[George P]

I use lanolin and alcohol mixed. You can buy lanolin on amazon and you mix 1 part lanolin with 10 parts 90% rubbing alcohol. I use a spray bottle to apply mixture to a batch of cases then let dry a few minutes. Then ready to resize. You can find lots of advice from others using the same technique on the internet.

I haven't seen rubbing alcohol since Covid, and 90%? Most are only 70%

 

[labnoti]

Heet is methanol. Toxic to the body through skin contact.

 

[waldens]

Heet is methanol. Toxic to the body through skin contact.

I believe it's yellow Heet that's methanol. Good fuel for backpacking stoves. The Heet in the red bottle is isopropyl alcohol. Or at least about 99%.

Other lube recipes, if you want to go the DIY route instead of forking out for commercial:

For pistol (yes, I lube pistol too, because of shoulder issues), all mixed with red Heet, about 7:1 to 10:1:

• Castor oil – Cheaper than lanolin, and doesn't get sticky like lanolin. My Walmart has a 6oz. bottle for $ 2.84. That's enough for several years for me. I believe coconut or olive oil would also work.
  
• Ideal brand clear wire pulling lube – just the one my Lowe's had. Said to be essentially the same thing as Lee lube.

For bottleneck rifle:

• Have been mostly using use lanolin and alcohol spray, but it does tend to get sticky. Will be experimenting with a richer mix of castor oil.
• Albolene – It's a ladies facial cleanser/moisturizer, 12 oz. tub for less than $10 at Walmart. Has a lot of petroleum jelly in it, but melts more readily, so it's easy to apply with fingers. Very slick!

 

[Reloadron]

As to the product Heet there are two types. They are distinguished by their yellow and red containers respectively. The yellow containers are Heet and the red are ISO Heet. They contain methanol and isopropanol, respectively. The latter with isopropanol cost about $2.50 for a 12 ounce container.

I see waldens already covered it well. Whatever you choose just do not drink it and exercise common sense in mixing it. Avoid direct skin contact.

Ron

 

[Bfh_auto]

Every time I read one of these threads I think maybe I should try the homemade lanolin/alcohol mixture, but then I remember that I've been using the Lee resizing lube without ever having a stuck case and one $8 tube does over 3k bottleneck cases and I decide to keep doing what's always worked for me.

That's where I am with RCBS case lube. I took a stroll down imperial sizing wax lane and almost got stuck.
I use it on straight wall and 223 only now.
RCBS makes sizing rifle cartridges a breeze.

 

[748]

The cheapest fastest thing you can grab same day is vegetable oil.

 

[Metal God]

A can of one shot lasts for many, many thousands of cases. 10,000?

No it doesn’t, not even close . I used that originally and it took at least 3 cans to do 10k cases . How do I know . , I do large lots of cases at a time 500+ so it was easy to keep track . Maybe 10k 9mm cases that doesn’t even need lube but not 308 cases . If I recall I was lucky to get 2k 308 case from one can .