cleaning your die's ?

I don't bother cleaning my dies very often, even when loading cast/lubed bullets. If bullet lube builds up in my seating dies, I'd just clean out that one.

Come to think of it, I have some rifle dies that I've never cleaned, except when they were new and just out of the box.

When I do clean them, I use Hornady OneShot Die Lube, which is all I use for my resizing lubrication. This leaves a nice waxy coating on all surfaces.

Of course, I tumble all my cases before loading, so that does a good job of keeping the junk out of the dies.
 
I clean them every time I change calibers on my press...because I usually run a few thousand rounds of one caliber ..and then switch calibers.

I then set that toolhead aside ...on a shelf, for the next time I want that caliber ( clean and ready to go ).

If for some reason, I run a large volume of one caliber --- and I leave that toolhead in the press for several weeks....( and I will do that often on 9mm because its what I shoot the most of week in and out ) I will remove the dies or the whole toolhead and clean it about every 2,000 rds.

I take the dies apart ...and clean them with a Shooters Choice solvent ..using a patch, Q tips and/or cotton pipe cleaners.../ and then run clean patches to make sure they are dry. No lube inside the dies.

I tumble clean all of my spent cases....and I use Dillon's spray lube on all cases, even though I only use Carbide dies - but I don't get a lot of gunk buildup in the dies. But I think staying after it - so the dies are clean - is smart.
 
I use Hoppe's #9, a few drops on a piece of rag over shotgun cotton mop, dry off with a clean patch& finish with a light coat of Ballistol. Wipe it down with a dry patch when I reload again.
 
Let me tell you what not to do. Last week I got the not so brilliant idea to toss my sizing dies in my case tumbler. They came out packed solid with corn cob media. I had to blow them out, brush off the threads with a dry paint brush and flush and swab them with gun scrubber. Finally I sprayed them with Barricade. Never again.
 
I never (or extremely rarely) clean when I'm using jacketed bullets unless its only to occasionally wipe with a dry cloth.

Cast bullet seating and crimping dies get "delubed" around every 1000 rounds because of my softish lube.
 
I have been reloading for 6 rifle and 3 pistol cartridges. Some fairly often and others seldom.

I started reloading for a 30-06 using Lee hand tools almost 40 years ago. I now have RCBS, Lyman, Lee and Redding and have never cleaned any of them. Sizing, seating, crimping, etc.
 
At the end of every reloading session.
Bore cleaner.
Oil afterwards (as a preservative & rustproofer.)
Remove the oil with alcohol before reloading when you use reloading lube.
 
In my opinion, Ballistol is a wonderful cleaner and lube / protectant all in one. I use it for the occasional die cleaning when needed, and also as a way to strip the shipping oil off of new dies. I soak em good, wipe them down with lint free cloths, ans they're clean, smooth and protected.
 
I clean them occasionally with Hoppe's #9. I feel I should buy Hoppe's #9 for old times sake, but I don't use it for anything else anymore. If I'm going to clean a sizer I do it before the session, follow with a dry patch and use lots of lube on the first case or two. Seaters are cleaned as needed, anywhere from never to quite often in the case of cast bullets. If it's summer and I think my hands might be sweaty I have used a toothbrush on the knurled areas with whatever I'm using. I loved Ezox, now it's Gunzilla, probably something else tomorrow.
 
Clean them? They tend to self-clean the working surfaces.
I'll spray them out with degreaser occasionally.
You clean your dies whenever you want to. It won't hurt anything, other than any settings you have made.
 
How do I change settings by cleaning?
The lock ring is in the same place.
The decapping stem is unscrewed with its lock nut & re-screwed back to the same position & so on.
 
I like mineral spirits for cleaning dies. It dissolves old lube nicely. Doesn't promote rust. I tried brake cleaner, that worked, but it's nasty stuff and you have to oil afterwards or your dies will rust.
 
I will only add that after using a sizing die, for example, unscrew it and look inside. If you have a gummy residue, it will take about 30 seconds to get rid of it. It won't kill you to keep it clean and not worry about the lube mixing in with media residue (read abrasive). If you use a media with a rouge mixed in, just look at your button after sizing 100 or so cases and ask yourself if you really don't want to clean it.
 
I don't drink, but my porch looks like the joke about one click purchases while drinking.

Did you know you can buy old beat up reloading dies and reloading books on Ebay? I now have over 300 dies.

When I get dirty old dies, I put them in the mini lathe, spin them, and poke a Q tip with Flitz up in there. I learned that from Varmint Al's website ~~15 years ago.

Then I measure them and enter their data in my reloading die spreadsheet.
The most used datum is the go gauge pin gauge that fit in a full length die's neck. You might think that old die it is too tight for 270 for which the die is labelled, but it turns out to be just right for 6.5-06.
 
My case might be a little different that some...
I rarely fire up the press unless I'm going to do at least a couple thousand,
And sometimes I won't clean the dies for 10,000 rounds...

I do the usual, knock the primers out via a 'Universal' decapping die,
Anneal the cases if needed,
Then CLEAN THE CRAP OUT OF THEM!

Going easy on the lube,
Clean cases and using a LIGHT lube, not some thick, sticky lube helps a bunch.
No gooey lube, no crud getting into the dies reduces the need for cleaning.

With a quick change progressive, dies are in the removable tool head,
So when I remove the tool head when I'm done, I clean the dies,
MAKE SURE I GET THE VENT HOLE CLEARED,
And coat them with some sort of anti-corrosion before storage.

If you do several calibers, there are dies you may not use for YEARS, so the anti-corrosion is a good idea...

The vent hole RARELY plugs up during use unless you have some super thick lube.
The plugging usually happens when you don't clean the vent after use, and the lube in there has a lot of time to harden in place, and MAN IT CAN REALLY HARDEN! I've had to use drills on occasion to get that sticky/hard case lube out of them before when they sit for a long period (Years sometimes)...
 
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