How can I re-lube some older cast bullets?

N

natimblue

New member
I got into shooting cast about a year ago after the ammo shortage and found some Colorado Cast 300 grain 44 for about 75% off. I love the bullets but most have the lube falling out of the groove. How can I re-lube the 1000+ I have remaining? Thanks, Tim
 
You can use Veral Smith's Blue Soft, pan lube or tumble lube. They all work. You can also use a wax toilet ring, or Johnson's Paste Wax.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_vYYoArHtE

Tumble lube instructions:

Lead bullets require lubrication to prevent them from depositing lead in the bore when shooting. There are many types of bullet lube. Traditionally, a stick of hard wax bullet lube is used in a lubrisizer to lubricate the bullets as they are sized. It's a bit messy, but the lube works well. For less mess and lower cost, tumble lube bullets using a thick liquid bullet lube. This works best if the bullets have tumble lube grooves or micro bands. Instead of two thick drive bands on the shank and a thick lube groove in between, bullet molds designed for tumble lubing have a few smaller drive bands with a few smaller lube grooves between them, providing more surface area for the thick liquid bullet lube. The tumble lube process is simple. Dump the sized bullets into a plastic container and add a blob of liquid bullet lube. About a teaspoon is sufficient to lubricate 200 bullets in the 9mm to 10mm range. Put the lid on the plastic container and shake, rock & roll until the bullets have a uniform coating. This only takes a minute. Pour the bullets out on an old cookie sheet in a layer one bullet deep to dry overnight. With tumble lube, the sticky lube is applied to the entire bullet and not just the lube grooves on the shank where it's needed. This makes handling the bullets a bit messy when reloading ammo, and loading ammo at the range. Sprinkling a teaspoon of powdered mica over the bullets will help keep the bullet lube on the bullets.
Click to expand...
http://www.tacticoolproducts.com/bulletcasting/

You can use this same method to apply "toilet wax".
Blue soft can be wiped into the grooves with a bit of lube on the index finger of the master hand, then hold that finger out of the way as you use that hand to push the bullet through a Lee sizer, or seat into your ammo without sizing. I find finger lubing far less messy and much faster than the cake cutter method, having loaded thousands of rounds this way. When I do it, I visually inspect the bullet, apply lube, only in the last groove for lighter loads, and seat the bullet. It goes surprisingly fast with little bullet handling.
Click to expand...
http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php/topic,85250.0.html

Johnson Paste Wax:
I put bullets (approx 50) either PB or GC'd into a plastic jar and mix shaved (very thin) scented candle, and about 2 tablespoons of JPW into the jar. The turp. or ???? disolves the parafin no heat source needed. Shake this mess around for about a minute and lay out the proj's on a doubled upped sheet of foil. Air dry for about 24 hours. PB's under 1400, and GC's at approx 1650 foot seconds. My personal experience has been no leading and accuracy is as good as the operator can shoot. posted by Gwindisch
Click to expand...
http://www.castbulletassoc.org/forum/view_topic.php?id=3377&forum_id=16


>Maybe this answered a few questions. Jim
 
Lee Liquid Alox. Tumble lube. I use a cool whip tub. Toss in a couple good sized handfuls. Then I give the bottle of lube a couple good squeezes. Shake the tube till the bullets are coated. Add a bit more lube if needed. Spread out on wax paper to dry over night.
 
Hey Natimblue,

I was going to suggest just running them through your Lubrisizer again, but when I re-read your question, I got the idea that you probably did not have a Lubrisizer. You can, of course, do the tumble lube and cake pan stuff, but that gets old real fast to me. If you get a Lubrisizer, you would be on your way to making your own bullets for a lot less money.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
Depending on the condition of the lube, you might be able to just melt it back in by slowly warming the bullets in the oven to about 150F. The wax usually softens before it melts and runs out, if you hit the sweet spot you might save yourself a lot of labor with 1000+.
 
I use a mix of Vaseline, JPW, with a bit of Lee Alox mixed in and tumble lube. Don't use too much Vaseline. Just enough to thicken the mix.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top