Removing lanolin after resizing

[ageingstudent]

Nothing wrong with that.
I started out with the RCBS case lube.
Now I use the ISO/lanolin mix or redding imperial sizing wax.

Hornady one shot works too. Just make sure you use enough and let it completely dry before sizing. If not you'll be trying to figure out how to remove a stuck case.

Don't ask me how I know......

I just use Imperial or Hornady unique on everything now. Lasts forever and if you don't get too much on they don't even need a cleaning just a wipe in a towel. I use some mica inside the necks and that doesn't need cleaning.

 

[umrek]

I would 5 gallon bucket it with water and dawn dish soap. Agitation provided by Caveman Jim. Rinse well with fresh water and dry.

I tried this but it didn't remove the lanolin. It just spread the lanolin all over...brass came out looking a dull gray. It was a mess. Not sure what I did wrong but I had to revert back to a tumble in walnut.

 

[Retired Guy]

I tried this but it didn't remove the lanolin. It just spread the lanolin all over...brass came out looking a dull gray. It was a mess. Not sure what I did wrong but I had to revert back to a tumble in walnut.

I know what you're saying about the lanolin sticking. I found that HOT tap water, Dawn and shaking it in a smaller container works for me. A Folgers coffee 48 oz cannister works best for me. I can shake it pretty good, dump the suds out and rinse it with hot water until clear. It works for me. Don't do it in the house! Water and suds can leak out.

 

[umrek]

I know what you're saying about the lanolin sticking. I found that HOT tap water, Dawn and shaking it in a smaller container works for me. A Folgers coffee 48 oz cannister works best for me. I can shake it pretty good, dump the suds out and rinse it with hot water until clear. It works for me. Don't do it in the house! Water and suds can leak out.

Maybe the hot water is the trick... I definitely didn't use hot water. Thanks!

 

[Mikej]

Why not just use carbide dies and forgo all the sheep grease and fiddlin' around?

Because Carbide is nice but it still needs a little lube to get it.... Ready for this, @Stomper ol' buddy? I still needs a little lube to get it in-and-out without breaking anything and making a mess of your die. It's the "Fiddlin' with sheep grease" that grosses me out.

All these replies PROVE it's a PITA to lube brass. Hey, that rhymes if you say it out loud. A stuck case (shivers) must be the ultimate loading faux pas. I didn't like the way the expander ball was so difficult on the up-stroke so I got some neck lube too. Unfortunately it's graphite, therefor black, and a little messy.

 

[Stomper]

Because Carbide is nice but it still needs a little lube to get it.... Ready for this, @Stomper ol' buddy? I still needs a little lube to get it in-and-out without breaking anything and making a mess of your die. It's the "Fiddlin' with sheep grease" that grosses me out.

All these replies PROVE it's a PITA to lube brass. Hey, that rhymes if you say it out loud. A stuck case (shivers) must be the ultimate loading faux pas. I didn't like the way the expander ball was so difficult on the up-stroke so I got some neck lube too. Unfortunately it's graphite, therefor black, and a little messy.

That post is RIFE with material for "that thread, but that last line...

 

[osprey]

Why not just use carbide dies and forgo all the sheep grease and fiddlin' around?

Bottleneck cartridges.I would guess. I have proven to myself lanolin/iso mixture will not foul powder charge but the residual lanolin will cause powder to stick to neck. You could take a 22 pistol gun rod with slotted patch holder and use iso alc, acetone, brake cleaner or possibly heet on patch and run in and out of cases changing patch every 10-20 rds. I have done this on smaller runs but would get tedious on batches of more than 100 or so. On big runs they go back into the wet tumbler. The harbor freight dual drum was a game changer for me. Way handier for the way I reload than the monster frankford aresenal unit I tried first.

 

[Retired Guy]

Why not just use carbide dies and forgo all the sheep grease and fiddlin' around?

With bottleneck cartridges, you still have to lube the cases. A few years ago I was getting tired of lubing cases and I called Dillon to order a set of their carbide 5.56 dies. The guy who was taking my order told me that I still had to lube the cases. So I asked him what was the point of spending all that extra money on carbide dies? He said that they were primarily aimed at commercial producers or reloaders that load large quantities. The carbide dies last longer than conventional dies so save time and money when producing large amounts of ammo. I did not order the dies. He advised me to just toss the cases back into the tumbler to remove the lube. He said it did reduce the lifespan of the media but was the easiest option.

 

[Caveman Jim]

The only aspect of cleaning lanolin off of the cases is the neck area and that is where I need to concentrate my efforts So it seems that the wet mess is the way to go for large batches of 3-500 or so.

 

[osprey]

Iffin you were closer Jim, I would let you borrow my seldom used frankford wet tumbler. Do you have a media separator? If so you could put water and dawn in the tub and rotate by hand. Maybe the dishwasher if you can get approval from the warden.

 

[bentoncity]

99% alchohol & liquid lanolin 4 me.
Toss into my Thumbler vibratory tumbler corn cob with a bit of brasso. Let run till shiny. I tend to forget I'm polishing so...it might run for 12 hours or more. It's an old age thing.
Pic 1 .380 I forgot was running.
Clean primer holes & done.
Pic 2, Perfect primer pocket corn cob stabber. Any welding store.

Dan

 

[ageingstudent]

That post is RIFE with material for "that thread, but that last line...

View attachment 685387
View attachment 685386

Well the powdered mica is hella white and less messy so either way he's screwed...

 

[ageingstudent]

Because Carbide is nice but it still needs a little lube to get it.... Ready for this, @Stomper ol' buddy? I still needs a little lube to get it in-and-out without breaking anything and making a mess of your die. It's the "Fiddlin' with sheep grease" that grosses me out.

All these replies PROVE it's a PITA to lube brass. Hey, that rhymes if you say it out loud. A stuck case (shivers) must be the ultimate loading faux pas. I didn't like the way the expander ball was so difficult on the up-stroke so I got some neck lube too. Unfortunately it's graphite, therefor black, and a little messy.

Brother there is so much in that post that could go in "that" thread I'm giving you a pass...

 

[Caveman Jim]

Well after careful deliberation and not wanting to spend all day drying out my cases I decided to do a test and put 200 in my corn cob media and let it run for an hour. To my surprise there was no stickage anywhere, even in the neck portion of the cases.... so I dump the rest of them in and I'm done in less than an hour and a half and no mess.

Now for those of you who know me know that I am like Disney's absent minded Professor so I'm gonna write this down in my reloading book just so I do not forget next time I do another mass reloading drill... But, Mark my words I will probably forget to look in the book where I wrote it down. LOL

 

[Caveman Jim]

Iffin you were closer Jim, I would let you borrow my seldom used frankford wet tumbler. Do you have a media separator? If so you could put water and dawn in the tub and rotate by hand. Maybe the dishwasher if you can get approval from the warden.

Thanks for the offer brother.
If there's any run it all up there for the socks, let me know, I am up for a road trip.

 

[Caveman Jim]

99% alchohol & liquid lanolin 4 me.
Toss into my Thumbler vibratory tumbler corn cob with a bit of brasso. Let run till shiny. I tend to forget I'm polishing so...it might run for 12 hours or more. It's an old age thing.
Pic 1 .380 I forgot was running.
Clean primer holes & done.
Pic 2, Perfect primer pocket corn cob stabber. Any welding store.

Dan

View attachment 685798 View attachment 685799

Nice job Dan, I used to do that all the time so they would come out looking like they were bleached after running about 12 to 16 hours, don't say anything but I left my Tumblr running all weekend while we were visiting grand child number one... they looked WHITE!!!!
What I did was purchased a few outlet timers and set them to run for two hours or however long I think it's gonna take. Problem solved wife happy, caveman happy...

 

[Camelfilter]

...What I did was purchased a few outlet timers and set them to run for two hours or however long I think it's gonna take. Problem solved wife happy, caveman happy that wife happy...

That's a great idea, thanks!

 

[ageingstudent]

That's a great idea, thanks!

Just don't wire them like a caveman

 

[Towhead]

Never, ever, use brasso. It has ammonia which degrades brass.
And mineral spirits in corn cob take off the lanolin.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Just don't wire them like a caveman

Hey it only took me three times to figure out how to get the damn thing to run right. LOL
Caveman have learning curves. UGHHH