I'm a lanolin case lube convert!

The OP's concern was the hazard potential list on Hornady's One-shot case lube.

Read the same warnings about Red HEET from hounddawg's post. There is virtually no difference in hazard risks.
 
I got a piece of steel stock from McMasters out of California one time.

It had a Cancer warning in it.

Its not that we are not term limited, its being reasonably careful with the time and what we do.

Putting a can of One Shot in your mouth is a sure recipe to shorten it.

Spraying cases once in a while is not.

Driving is more hazardous. I got two types of Pneumonia shots in me, at my age avoiding Pneumonia is a really good idea (well its a good idea at any age but people over 60 tend to clog up hospitals so my Medicare pays for it as well)
 
zxcvbob, what's the ratio of castor oil to alcohol?
I'm not sure. I've mixed it up 9:1 and used that on 9mm brass (9mm works without lube, but lube helps) but I have been afraid to try it with rifle brass diluted that far. I'd probably go 4:1 or 5:1. (I think 9:1 is okay, I'm just chicken. 10:1 might even work)

I have used castor oil applied lightly with my fingers to resize .30-06 and .223 brass and it works great.
 
Kind of off topic but I must post this, its true, was expensive & insanely painful.

About 30+ years ago I had my auto shop / salvage yard, I kept cans of Go-Jo & D/L and various hand cleaners around.

I started getting warts real bad, like 20-25 on each hand and they had grown large, slip with a wrench tearing one off and it bled nonstop, went and had them burnt off (PAIN) was intense on ride home, by the 3rd visit say 10 months from the first visit, the gal said listen, you are putting your hands into a chemical causing this - we discussed what I did and various chemicals, in the end it was the lanolin in the Go-Jo & D/L I stopped using them and now use a orange pumice hand cleaner no lanolin.

My younger son also started developing warts on his hands from the use of these products - he stopped and the warts went away.

Just a heads up, would hate to see anyone endure the misery I went through, 3 times like 40 - 50 warts each time very ugly.

Others may use D/L or Go-Jo daily / daily we just had issues with the lanolin, maybe wear gloves if you start getting tiny developments.
 
in the end it was the lanolin in the Go-Jo & D/L I stopped using them and now use a orange pumice hand cleaner no lanolin.

just becasue those products had lanolin in them along with a dozen other chemicals it is kind of a leap to blame the lanolin for the warts. Warts are caused by a virus.

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/ss/slideshow-warts


A lot of wet nursing mom's would have warts on their nipples if lanolin was the cause :eek: .
 
When I became serious about reasons my SD's were not 0 I started measuring my brass, before, during and after the sizing process, a real eye opener! One operation that was changed was case lubrication. I now use the same Lano that a dairy used on teats to do the case body, a small dab will do. 3in1 oil is used of the case neck, just enough to show a shine, and that is all, no dents in the case. The measurements show this works. No need for spray bottoms, ratios, or hand cleaner, (my hands are always soft).
 
When I became serious about reasons my SD's were not 0 I started measuring my brass, before, during and after the sizing process, a real eye opener! One operation that was changed was case lubrication. I now use the same Lano that a dairy used on teats to do the case body, a small dab will do. 3in1 oil is used of the case neck, just enough to show a shine, and that is all, no dents in the case. The measurements show this works. No need for spray bottoms, ratios, or hand cleaner, (my hands are always soft).
If I were not resizing batches of 1000-3000 casings at a time, this would be a good option....
 
Bugs, I agree with hounddawg; more likely ingredients other than Lanolin - maybe even the chemicals on your hands from the work you do interacted with others in those preparations. Orange pumice sounds good, but I also thought of an old timer called 20 Mule Team Borax which might still be around.
 
zxcvbob, I want to be sure I understand your ratios. 9:1 is alcohol to castor oil, right?

Some time ago I made a mixture using 10% Lanolin "ointment", not liquid, in 91% Isopropyl alcohol. Lanolin is not soluble in water or alcohol but if shaken, it forms a cloudy solution that eventually separates again. I used it in a manual spray bottle. It worked really well on rifle cases, but it sat unused for too long and the lanolin stayed on the bottom in a mass that would no longer mix when shaken. So your Castor Oil suggestion sounds goodenough foe me to experiment again.
 
Odorless mineral spirits might do better with the lanolin. I haven't tried it. It would take longer to dry off than alcohol, but might be worth the wait. Patience solves a lot of problems.
 
Kind of off topic but I must post this, its true, was expensive & insanely painful.

About 30+ years ago I had my auto shop / salvage yard, I kept cans of Go-Jo & D/L and various hand cleaners around.

I started getting warts real bad, like 20-25 on each hand and they had grown large, slip with a wrench tearing one off and it bled nonstop, went and had them burnt off (PAIN) was intense on ride home, by the 3rd visit say 10 months from the first visit, the gal said listen, you are putting your hands into a chemical causing this - we discussed what I did and various chemicals, in the end it was the lanolin in the Go-Jo & D/L I stopped using them and now use a orange pumice hand cleaner no lanolin.

My younger son also started developing warts on his hands from the use of these products - he stopped and the warts went away.

Just a heads up, would hate to see anyone endure the misery I went through, 3 times like 40 - 50 warts each time very ugly.

Others may use D/L or Go-Jo daily / daily we just had issues with the lanolin, maybe wear gloves if you start getting tiny developments.
Chemicals do not cause warts. Warts are caused by a virus (see the attached link).

Hint: The virus causing common warts can be smothered by daily applications (takes about two weeks) of such things as mineral oil, petroleum jelly and a band aid (works with Plantar warts also). There is no need to have them burned off or surject removed.

I know this is not gun related, but want to save folks from needless pain and suffering.
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/viruses-cause-skin-warts#1
 
zxcvbob, I want to be sure I understand your ratios. 9:1 is alcohol to castor oil, right?

Some time ago I made a mixture using 10% Lanolin "ointment", not liquid, in 91% Isopropyl alcohol. Lanolin is not soluble in water or alcohol but if shaken, it forms a cloudy solution that eventually separates again. I used it in a manual spray bottle. It worked really well on rifle cases, but it sat unused for too long and the lanolin stayed on the bottom in a mass that would no longer mix when shaken. So your Castor Oil suggestion sounds goodenough foe me to experiment again.
10% castor oil by volume to 90% alcohol. I don't think it matters what kind of alcohol as long as it's dry. I used 91% rubbing alcohol. But I don't know if that's the right mixture or if it should have a little more oil; I didn't experiment with it much.

The castor oil is fully soluble in isopropyl alcohol, and presumably in ethanol or methanol. It doesn't separate. The 9% water didn't hurt anything. Castor oil is also easier to find than lanolin; the stuff you get at the drugstore or a soap-making supply.
 
I was going to compare the viscosity of Liquid Lanolin to Castor Oil to see if that would offer a formulation plan. Unfortunately, this link

https://www.nowfoods.com/sites/default/files/7730-liquid-lanolin-oil.pdf

reveals there is no physical and chemical property information, specifically for viscosity, for Lanolin.

An approach I might consider is an application of Castor oil by hand, then sequentially dilute it with alcohol until it appears to produce coated cases that do not easily submit to resizing.

But another thought is to contact Hornady and suggest that they reformulate their product into a non-pressurized spray bottle to avoid potential pulmonary hazards associated with the more widely distrubuted aerosol product now available.
 
I've had a bottle of Dillon case lube for years. I don't lube every case; only every 3rd or 4th case. Then, after loading, I just wipe it off with a clean rag. Never had a problem.
 
You can mix lanolin 1:1 with Brylcream and comb it through your hair.
I have been using White Lithium Grease as case lube for about 5 years. Only every third piece, and a light film of it only. It seems to greatly reduce stroke effort in rifle brass. It does need to be cleaned off after sizing.
 
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Now that you mention it, Yes, they do look alike!. A 1:1 mix of WLG and lanolin, as a sizing lube, might not smell as nice. Regardless, I do believe they would be equally hard to remove from brass.
Brylcream also uses the same Perfume as Coppertone products.
Brylcream ingredients are mostly mineral oil, a small amount of beeswax, and a few other things, that wont attack brass. It is more expensive than WLG.
 
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I experimented with Castor Oil and 91% Isopropyl alcohol tonight. 4-oz of Castor oil and 16 oz of the alcohol cost $6.

I started with 10 ml of oil and 10 ml of alcohol, stirred, and mixed well. Resized two .270 cases without a problem, using my fingers to apply the mixture. I kept adding 10ml of alcohol and resizing cases until I reached a total of 60 ml of the mixture. Once I hit 70ml I found resizing was a bit tough, and feared I might end up with a stuck case.

I have a 4-oz (120ml) pump spray bottle, so I used 20ml of Castor Oil and 100ml of 91% Isopropyl alcohol, which is equivalent to the 10-50 (60ml total) used above.
I used a RCBS pad, sprayed and rolled the several cases and everything went smoothly.

For those who wish to try it, but don't have the measuring tools, just put 4 teaspoonsful of Castor oil in a kitchen measuring cup and add the alcohol until you reach 4-oz.
That's a 16.67% mixture. You should be able to make 4-120ml mixtures for $6. You'll have Oil left for 2 more but you'll need to buy another bottle of alcohol.
 
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