Don't try to clean off Alox in the tumbler

T

totaldla

New member
I had about 250 155gr Hitek-coated lswc that were leading a bit at the muzzle of my 4" 40sw. So I decided to tumble lube them with Alox(Lee) as that would help me know if the coating wasn't doing it's job (and it wasn't, Hitek coating isn't the best lube). Anyways I decided to clean the alox off the loaded cartridges by tossing them in the vibratory tumbler using walnut shell. I thought it would clean the alox off the exposed bullet surface.

What a mess! I tumbled those cartridges for two hours and ended up with alox mixed with walnut shell. I had to clean each cartridge individually using a cloth rag that had a little gun oil on it.
Lesson learned - alox is sticky stuff.
 
Experience is a tough teacher .
Dampen a rag with mineral spirits and wipe the alox off next time .
Tumblers are not the magic cleaners of everything but it is tempting to have that little machine do the job . Lee Alox is just so sticky . When you want to tumble lube bullets with it ...cut the thick sticky alox with mineral spirits untill it is thinner and will leave only a light , thin coat on the bullet ...it dries better too .
Gary
 
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