I would complain to the company about NOT having proper instructions.
Did the measure NOT come with its OWN instructions?
Never ever pour questionable powder back in the bottle/can/keg.
FYI:
All measures come with rest preventative that must be removed (except my PPM, which is all plastic, so it was washed in soapy water and air dried).
Follow manufacturer's instructions, but I do the following:
I have found the best cleaner is Hornady One Shot Cleaner and Dry Lube (NOT the case lube). It doesn't attack plastic parts on any measure I have tried it.
Disassemble measure. Thoroughly clean all parts and let the parts air dry (don't wipe off the dry lube). This includes metering assemblies and rotors.
Plastic parts can be washed in warm soapy water and air-dried, don't rinse. Dillon measures have the hopper retained with two screws, so you can unscrew the hopper and wash in soapy water easily.
Assemble measure and run 1 lb of graphitized powder (should be black to dark gray in color—but NOT black powder) or some powdered graphite through the measure.
Now, the measure is ready for use.
When getting ready to use,
1) Inspect inside of measure to be sure no bugs have taken up residence and nothing has fallen into it.
2) Fill hopper with powder and shake the measure a few times to settle the powder
3) Always throw a minimum of 10 charges (and return powder to the hopper) before you ever start to weight a charge.
4) Throw charges until you get three throws of the same weight (no more than +/- 0.1gn variation and you should be able to get +/- 0.0gn).
5) Adjust the charge and throw at least 3 charges (returning powder to hopper) before weighing.
6) If the metering assembly has any markings that correspond to position, note them when you get the charge you want.
