Shout out for lanolin mixture

L

locknloader

New member
Just want to give a shout out for the lanolin + Iso alcohol mixture for case lube, just resized my first 223 cases and went smooth as silk! Also like the fact that you can lube them up and keep them stored that way until you are ready to resize to help stop tarnishing.

This is the spray bottle i got, nice super fine mist from the nozzle.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XS4J8C1/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Currently using a 10:1 ratio.
 
I use Heet from Walmart , it's 99% alcohol . It comes in 12 oz bottles, so I just add one ounce of lanolin to it, for a 12 to 1 mixture. Works for me.
 
Can't melt lanolin in microwave

I found out that you can't melt lanolin in microwave!
Specifically, I had a years old tin of Bag Balm, which is high in lanolin. I was trying to melt it so I colud store it somewhere other than the metal tin, which was badly bent. I scraped a mass together in a plastic beaker, put it in the microwave, like I would heat water. Ran it awhile, and, . . . nothing happened.
So apparently microwaves don't heat oils???
 
I use Heet from Walmart , it's 99% alcohol . It comes in 12 oz bottles, so I just add one ounce of lanolin to it, for a 12 to 1 mixture. Works for me.
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I do the same.

Don
 
Got to be the red bottle. The yellow bottle doesn't use alcohol.
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Not true. The yellow bottle most certainly is alcohol. Its primarily ethanol,denatured so its poison to drink.
It is my alcohol of choice for an alcohol stove,such as a Trangia.

The Red bottles are a different alchohol,maybe isopropyl or methynol,I'm not sure. It does not work worth a darn in a stove.

My point,the yellow IS alcohol,and its better stove fuel.
But making lanolin case lube is another ball game. It may well be that lanolin is more soluble in the red bottle. I don't know.If concensus is that red is better for case lube,no argument from me.
 
HiBC, the reason most people use the red ISO Heat is that its an easy to get source of 99% ISO alcohol. Most stuff at the pharmacy tops out at 91%. You want as little water as possible so it evaporates quickly leaving a nice thin film of lanolin behind.
 
That's cool.I don't disagree.
But my comment was about yellow bottle Heet gas line dryer,not drugstore alcohol.
Maybe the red bottle Iso alcohol works better as a lanolin solvent.I don't know.

But Isopropyl alcohol is not the only alcohol. Ethanol is also alcohol,and the yellow bottle Heet is ethanol,just don't drink it because its denatured with methyl alcohol.

The topic was case lube,not stoves. Yellow bottle Heet alcohol is great stove fuel. Red bottle is not. I did test that.
 
Quote:
Got to be the red bottle. The yellow bottle doesn't use alcohol.

Not true. The yellow bottle most certainly is alcohol. Its primarily ethanol,denatured so its poison to drink.
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Sorry, I should have been more specific. The yellow bottle contains methanol, which will not mix with the lanolin. You want the red bottle which contains 99% isopropyl alcohol which will go into solution with the lanolin.

Don
 
Would someone explain the following?:

1. What is so great about the lanolin vs. other spray on lubes?

2. Why are we diluting it in the Heet?

3. Does it clean up better?

4. Is it bad to get into the cases?

5. Does it have to be cleaned out of the dies?
 
Steve,

I was processing range brass by the thousands for a guy with a type 6 FFL (able to sell reloads) and needed something that was REALLY good and affordable, so here is my take on it:

1. What is so great about the lanolin vs. other spray on lubes?
Excellent lube and very affordable. Just the opposite of Hornady's One Stuck spray lube.

2. Why are we diluting it in the Heet?
Liquid lanolin is thick. You need to dilute it to be able to spray it. The only thing that you can mix it with so that it stays in suspension is isopropyl alcohol. Heet (red bottle) contains 99% isopropyl alcohol. If you use isopropyl alcohol that is less than 99%, you will have to keep shaking your spray bottle to keep the lanolin and alcohol in suspension due to the water that is in the lower grades of isopropyl alcohol. Most pharmacies only carry 91% isopropyl alcohol, so it's easier to get the Heet.

3. Does it clean up better?
What I do after resizing is run the brass in my dry tumbler for 20 - 30 minutes with a dash of mineral spirits to remove the lube.

4. Is it bad to get into the cases?
See above.


5. Does it have to be cleaned out of the dies?
No. If anything, the little that remains inside the die helps ensure that you will never stick a case in the die.

Hope that helps.

Don
 
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With all of the spray lubes GIVE THEM TIME for the volatile carrier (alcohol) to dry out.
If you don't,you'll get stuck cases

Folks market bulk lanolin on e-bay.
 
I guess another positive is that it's a natural product (lanolin is oil derived from wool i believe) and it works as a skin softener, so no nasty chemicals on your hands.
 
Case lube? Hmmmm, I have been loading since 1955 and what I use is grease from the grease gun I grease the farm machinery with. Just a couple squirts of grease in a little cup and then you just rub a finger in it and get a little on a finger and pick up a brass and give it a spin as you put it in the shell holder on the press.
 
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