I'm a lanolin case lube convert!

What, nobody uses Mink Oil anymore?

bet if you had a analysis done you would find Imperial sizing wax and mink oil are awful similar. I played with the mink oil a few years back and it sure looks and feels a whole lot like Imperial. Lanolin/alcohol(heet) has me spoiled and I will never go back to anything that needs to be applied separately to each case.
 
Lanolin/alcohol(heet) has me spoiled and I will never go back to anything that needs to be applied separately to each case.

Ditto, unless I am talking about just a handful of cases.

Don
 
I just made my first batch of lanoheat. I was using One Shot but the price went fron $12 for a large can to $35. I lube 9mm brass because wet tumbling gets the brass so clean my old elbow likes it better. It was so eazy I had to check the sizing die to make sure it was screwed in right. It smells much better than One Shot also.
 
Go back to post 39. I have been using that Castor oil mixture since that post and I will never buy Hornady One Shot again, even though I never had a problem with it.

" just put 4 teaspoonsful of Castor oil in a kitchen measuring cup and add the alcohol until you reach 4-oz."

Use a manual 4-oz spray pump glass bottle.
 
" just put 4 teaspoonsful of Castor oil in a kitchen measuring cup and add the alcohol until you reach 4-oz."

What specific castor oil , do you have a link . I've been using the lanolin for a while and love it except I think it's just a tad harder to remove from the cases then I'd like . I do large batches of sizing . last month I did a 1300ct batch of LC- mixed cases and just finished a 700ct batch of LC-16 cases . I now have another 1400ct batch of once fired LC-17 cases I need to do .

I have enough lanolin and alcohol to last the rest of my reloading life . I am however willing to give something else a try .

Would this work
https://www.amazon.com/Castor-16oz-...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
 
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I've been using the lanolin for a while and love it except I think it's just a tad harder to remove from the cases then I'd like .

Mg,

I toss them in the tumbler with a "dash" of mineral spirits and run them for 20 minutes. Works well.

Don
 
If you search "bulk lanolin" on e-bay you will get results. (Beeswax,too,if you need some)

The spray lanolin lubes work well for me.

A relatively disgusting fact: Lanolin is sheeps sebum. Sebum is the stuff that builds up in a zit and squirts out when you squeeze it. So,if you have a teenage kid.....(just kidding!)

Castor oil?? I was a dirt biker long enough ago I used Castrol Castor Bean oil for my 2 stroke premix fuel in my Montessa. At that time, Husqvarna motorcycles warned your warranty was void if you used anything but bean oil.
Back then(late 60's,early 70's) as I recall I bought Castrol Castor bean oil at Jax Surplus for about $4.50 qt.
The bike seemed to run snappier on the stuff.

I have not used it for case lube,but toolmaking/moldmaking the lube I relied on for pressing in dowel pins was a bar of cocoa butter. Taught me by an Olde Guy. It might make a good liquid lube,dissolved in some carrier.
Last time I bought a bar at the drug store it was n the Baby-Momma section. Apparently nursing Mothers have use for it.
 
I toss them in the tumbler with a "dash" of mineral spirits and run them for 20 minutes. Works well.

Isn't mineral spirits a petroleum based product , Wouldn't I need to clean that off as well ? I know I don't want to clean them twice . I would think acetone or lacquer thinner or the like would be better . They would just dissolve or evaporate leaving nothing behind ? Hell now that think about it , I could just use the alcohol I'm already using . Poor it off and save it for the next bottle of lube I make ???

The funny thing I've noticed is the lanolin seems to wipe off the case with a rag pretty easy . Only problem there is I don't feel like wiping off 1400 case one at a time haha .
 
I just add cut up strips of used dryer sheets and odorless mineral spirits to the media in my tumbler and tumble for an hour to clean off the lanolin. It seems like the dryer sheets pretty much absorb the lube so the media stays fairly clean. I’ve thought about getting a gallon of lacquer thinner and just pouring it in a wide mouth jar, then dumping in the cases and agitating it to dissolve the lube off. Then pour it back in the can using a strainer/funnel combo and then just letting them dry off. Seems like it would work fast and easy with the right setup.
 
Mg,

Yes, mineral spirits/paint thinner is made from petroleum distillates. However, one of it's uses is to remove waxy substances from surfaces. It's a solvent - there is nothing to clean off after use.

Don
 
The reason I ask is I was/am-ish a professional painter . When cleaning our oil based brushes we would do the first rinse with lacquer thinner and the next or last rinse with paint thinner . You never do the final rinse in lacquer thinner because it drys out the bristles of the brush . Your final rinse is always something like paint thinner because it leaves an oily residue behind keeping the bristles hydrated and does not allow them to dry out over time in there sleeves . They will dry out eventually but it’s not uncommon to pull out a brush months later and it still has the paint thinner residue still on it . It’s my understanding the reason that is , is because paint thinner has oils in it that don’t evaporate as quickly unlike lacquer thinner or other products that do not and evaporate quickly.
 
Mg,

You're putting about a shot (1 oz) in a dry tumbler full of crushed walnut shell. I was processing 1,000's of brass a month commercially for a guy with a Type 6 FFL for several years. It helps remove the lanolin and there is no down side to it.

Don
 
MetalGod, sorry for the delay; I'm just catching up. Personally, I wouldn't spent $13 for the Castor Oil. I just used a bottle I picked up at a local Pharmacy, generally used as a laxative.

I had previously made a mixture from pure Lanolin and 91% alcohol, but it is poorly soluble and needs to be shaken each time. When not used for a while, the lanolin drops out and solidifies at the bottom. This did not happen with the Castor Oil- it stays in solution, remains clear, and does not feel "heavy" when applied to the cases. I use a RCBS lube pad, 5-10 cases,a single spray and roll the cases. I have not had a stuck, or even difficult, case when resizing.
 
cdoc42,

See my post #14. You have to use the 99% isopropyl alcohol such as found in the red bottle HEET or you will get the solution separation as you found.

Don
 
My current bottle using Red HEET is going on it’s second year and has never separated. Another thing about lanolin, it has to be anhydrous lanolin.
 
tangolima,

You're spraying the outside of the brass. What little that may get inside a case is removed when tumbling. Never had a cartridge not go off when doing this.

Don
 
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