Lube for case sizing

N

ninosdemente

New member
I have an RCBS Case Lube Pad that came with my press kit when purchased. Now I plan on using what came with my kit until its gone. Don't have a clue how long it will last but eventually I will be looking into other lubes. One that comes to mind now is Imperial Sizing Wax as I have been reading good reviews and haven't seen many bad reviews. It has come up quite often which has me to believe that it does work well for people.

Is the white label the same as the green label Redding? Did see there is a dry neck lube as well.

Also I have been reading on people mixing Lanolin & 99% Isopropyl alcohol. Does this work also?

Using it on 30-06 cases. If loading .380/9mm, is it true that no lube is required as these are straight wall cases? Only need lube on bottleneck cases?

What has worked for you?
 
That little bottle of RCBS case will last you many years and also...it's good stuff, stick with it.

.380 and 9mm are tapered and if you use carbide dies with them...no case lube needed.

Straight walled cases need lube also, unless you are using carbide dies.
 
I use Imperial sizing wax. I have tried a lot of different lubes over the years and am willing to try more. But right now, it's Imperial sizing wax.

For straight walled handgun cases, I buy carbide dies and I typically don't lube them. With straight walled rifle cases, I do; in part because the dies don't have a carbide sizer and also because the greater surface area obviously increases the amount of friction.

The Lanolin stuff is also good. You can buy it from Dillon (just one example).

I have the dry graphite lube and I use it for bottlenecked rifle case necks when I neck size. If I am using a full length sizing die, I use Imperial.
 
I use some hornady one shot for my pistol cases. No you don’t HAVE to use lube, but it does make sizing oh so smooth. I take coat the inside of a clean gallon zip lock bag with the one shot, dump a few hand fulls of cases in there along with a few more sprays and shake it up. Works wonders. For my bottle neck cases I’m still working on my first tub of the hornady sizing wax. I suspect it’s quite similar to the imperial wax as it does work nicely.


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Another good lube is Lee case lube dissolved in denatured alcohol , as much case lube as will dissolve into the alcohol, put in a little spray bottle. Spread cases out on a towel, spray them, roll around , spray again, let dry a minute . The Lee case Lube is a wax, the alcohol evaporates, cases are lubed and the stuff can be left on the cases or wiped off with a rag. The coating is not greasy or messy and a 2 oz. tube makes a lot of spray lube. Economical too.
Gary
 
I use both the RCBS Case Lube Pad and Hornady One Shot. I have gravitated to One Shot. Easier and faster on straight wall and bottleneck cases. I spray and shake the cases in a container and repeat. Has worked well for me. Makes sizing seamless. No stuck cases.


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nino demente asked:
Also I have been reading on people mixing Lanolin & 99% Isopropyl alcohol. Does this work also?
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Yes. There are probably as many home-brew resizing lubricants as there are reloaders.

I use Hornady Unique. You apply it to cases with your fingers, no pad needed. I paid $3.99 plus tax for a small tub of it. I've sized thousands of cases and I've still got more than 3/4 of the tub left! Given how easy it is to use, how convenient it is and how economical it is, I see no point in messing around with home-brew lubricants.
 
Second vote for Unique lube. Cheap and it works well. Or I use straight castor oil, rub a bit on my fingers, then on the case as I put it in the press.
 
ninosdemente,

When resizing just a few .30-06 or other bottleneck cartridges, it's hard to beat Imperial or Unique wax. Whatever you do, stay away from Hornady One Stuck aerosol lube, unless you order a stuck case removal tool. If you like to process a bunch of brass at one setting, then the homemade lanolin spray lube is the only way to go. I processed brass commercially for a guy with a Type 6 FFL for several years, and here is the recipe I used:

First, buy a 4 ounce bottle of liquid lanolin online (Amazon or eBay) for about $8. Second, buy a bottle of HEET fuel line antifreeze ($3), available at Walmart or any automotive supply store. Then buy a cheap plastic spray bottle at a local Dollar store. Heat some water on the stove, then turn it off. Place the bottles of lanolin and HEET into the hot water, BUT NOT WITH A FLAME UNDER THE WATER. Now pour 1/4 of the warmed up lanolin bottle (1 ounce) and all of the warmed up HEET bottle (12 ounces) into the spray bottle and shake to mix the contents. You now have one of the best lubes there is that will last for 1,000's of cases. To use it, dump your brass into either a box or large plastic bag, give it a couple of squirts, and shake and roll the brass around to distribute the lube evenly. You will be be amazed at how well this lube works and will never use anything else again. To remove the lube after sizing, dump the brass into your dry tumbler, add a shot of mineral spirits and tumble for 20 minutes. It's that simple. Hope that helps.

Don
 
I use the RCBS lube & pad when processing "once fired brass" in large quantities, no stuck cases yet. I usually roll/lube 10 or less on the pad, size a lubed case, then 1 or 2 non-lubed cases, then repeat.

If I have just a few I want/need to FL size, I use the Unique lube, works well, easy to apply. The RCBS is a bit messier, but not bad enough that I would not continue to use it at this point in time.
 
Thank you guys for the help. Very helpful information I can use. Will definitely look into other methods you guys mentioned. For the RCBS lube tube, how much am I really to put on the pad to lube cases?

I found this video (skip to 0:23) This even for me looks like too much. Then again its made by RCBS, the more I use the better for them as I would have to buy more sooner than later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biN7f_IHkZk

This one also (skip to 4:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLgcZU0lP10

People who use this lube, have their own method to apply, I get that, but I am curious more of how much to really apply. I ask as Smoke & Recoil mentioned this should last for a good amount of time. If I follow the first link above, it will not last very long. Lol.

Also reason for asking is because, as I am new to reloading I am following/buying industry equipment/accessories/items. Once I really start getting my hands dirty, I am sure I will too also have my own methods or making my own stuff to help me reload without spending too much, last longer or simply make things simpler for me.
 
Not to knock on anyone who uses One Shot, but I have read a lot more bad reviews on the spray than the wax (haven't seen much reviews on this product). But have read good things about the One Shot Spray also. Just that One Shot has more bad reviews than Imperial from what I have been reading.
 
I will repeat, Do NOT use Hornady One Stuck on bottleneck rifle cases unless you intend to buy a stuck case removal tool.

Don
 
ninosdemente said:
Thank you guys for the help. Very helpful information I can use. Will definitely look into other methods you guys mentioned. For the RCBS lube tube, how much am I really to put on the pad to lube cases?

I found this video (skip to 0:23) This even for me looks like too much. Then again its made by RCBS, the more I use the better for them as I would have to buy more sooner than later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biN7f_IHkZk

This one also (skip to 4:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLgcZU0lP10

People who use this lube, have their own method to apply, I get that, but I am curious more of how much to really apply. I ask as Smoke & Recoil mentioned this should last for a good amount of time. If I follow the first link above, it will not last very long. Lol.

Also reason for asking is because, as I am new to reloading I am following/buying industry equipment/accessories/items. Once I really start getting my hands dirty, I am sure I will too also have my own methods or making my own stuff to help me reload without spending too much, last longer or simply make things simpler for me.
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Wow! I would not put that much lube on the case's! Look's to me like a good way to dent case's!
 
I will repeat, Do NOT use Hornady One Stuck on bottleneck rifle cases unless you intend to buy a stuck case removal tool.
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It is not necessary to purchase a stuck case remover if the reloader has miscellaneous junk, old stuff and tools available.

And then there is lube, I use a no name lube for the toughest to size cases, I use RCBS for almost everything else, for the though stuff to size I have a difficult time making Imperial look good.

F. Guffey
 
I was watching a few video's on you tube about lubing case's. Few were sure they could make lube a lot less inexpensive than they could make it. One guy said he used to use One Shot but could only do about 2000 case's with it and a can cost $11! That come's out to $.0055 per case I think! How inexpensive is inexpensive enough?

Ya know, there are a number of sizing lube's made just for sizing case's on the market. They all work! I don't care for the wax lube as I'm never sure I have any on the case. Still got one of those little cans and it's regulated to lubing inside the case mouth. Now I put my case's in a loading block and spray down on them from both side's. That should get the inside of the neck also! But have to use the wax stuff for something and apply it with a Q-tip! Then discovered that lubing inside the case neck made trimming quite a bit easier! Not sure if it really makes a difference in sizing, get the same drag pulling a sized case over the proper expander as with only One Shot, but I need to use it up!

The older I get the more amazed I am that so many people want their own home made chemical's for various different thing's in reloading and it always seem's for one of two reason's. Either is is less expensive than the store bough stuff or it is better than the store bought stuff that was developed by professional's! Yep, I did some of that myself years ago. My most recent trial was adding something, don't remember what, to Lee bullet lube to make it better. Irony was Lee lube had never failed me! Never a sign of leading but, I made it better. Only cost me a tube of the lube and some kind of stuff, still don't remember what it was, and got the same result as using the Lee stuff as it was. Of course in the past I found you could make a good burbon better by mixing coke in it too! :)
 
Per S&R I won't quite say that one container of case lube 2 will last many years, especially with rifle cases, but, per S&R, stick with it and forget the Hornady One Shot. One stuck case can ruin the whole day if you do not have a removal tool.
 
I will repeat, Do NOT use Hornady One Stuck on bottleneck rifle cases unless you intend to buy a stuck case removal tool
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I have managed to stick a case or two without it.

I use it, I just learned how to use it.

I do 200 or 300 cases at a time and it works far better than roll padding one at a time, saving time is a big issue with me.

Seldom does anything have no downside (the off the shoulder case trimmers I think are the exception)

I preferred the Hornady when it came in a spray bo0ttle, it did work better, sigh.

Its my only lube these days.
 
Another vote for both Unique and Imperial sizing waxes. Both work equally well for me.

Unique may be a bit better value, as it comes in a much larger tub...
 
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