What do you put on dies to prevent rust?

Z

zanemoseley

New member
I've been metallic reloading for a bit over a year now and am starting to get a collection of dies going. The dies I use a lot get cleaned but still tend to get tarnished with a light coat of surface rust in spots from me handling them. I noticed an expander die I haven't used in almost a year has some surface rust as well. What do you guys put on them to keep them in good shape?

I have some spray on dry teflon coating I use for my press but it doesn't do much for rust as parts of my press are developing the same surface tarnish. Per the Hornady instructions I try to keep oil off of most of the press to avoid gumming up.
 
I use Birchwood Casy Barricade (used to be named "Sheath") on all my firearms and dies. http://www.amazon.com/BWC-33128-Bar...r=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=birchwood+case+barricade

A little goes a long way; do not slop on. Just dampen a cloth with the stuff and wipe on whatever you want to protect. A Q-tip works for inside the die. No need to clean out/off your dies before using them. It is non-gummy and will also protect your press from surface corrosion.

I did a rust test years ago cleaning large nails with acetone and then coating with all of the oils, etc. I had around. After four weeks out in the weather the only nails that showed no rust were the ones with Sheath (Barricade) and RIG silicone grease.

Should be able to find it at your local gun store or a gun show.
 
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Any light oil will do, but it really sounds like your hand oils are, um, toxic. Or where you store your dies is humid.
 
This was an extremely interesting test of rust resistance and commercial oils:

Results of gun care product evaluation

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=546316

I do believe that Marine oils (that is rust preventative oils found in boating stores) provide superior rust resistance than the average automotive oil. Because we don't run corrosion tests we become dependent on manufacturer claims, and they don't put out objective test results. That is too bad. I do know that additives can be put in oil to slow down oxygen migration. Oxygen and iron combine to form a lower energy state molecule which we call rust!

I am drawn, like a moth to flame, to products that claim miraculous rust resistant properties, so I have a good collection. Since I have not run any objective tests, I can say, they all seem to work. I prefer the smell of Ballistol to all the others, and I think that is as good a selection criteria as any.
 
I have a dehumidifier but naturally it is a bit more humid than in my house.
Click to expand...

FWIW (for what it's worth) I use Sheath (Barricade) to coat the pedestal stand on my drill press I keep in the garage. Keep the cars in there also. Cars come in wet from rain/snow in winter and snuggle up next to drill press. Summer heat in the closed garage can get up to 100F and still very humid if it has rained lately.

Drill press pedestal lasts about three years without rust before I need to re-apply a coat of Barricade.

Bet my unheated and non-dehumidified garage is a lot worse conditions than your basement!

Disclaimer: I have no connection to Birchwood Casey. Just have used the Sheath product for 25 years and never found anything better. Now retired, but was an IE for a snack food company for most of my involvement (incarceration?) with Corporate America :D
 
Are your dies out of the case or in the case the came with. I have my dies in the case they came in , I don't keep my dies in the basement but my tools are without rusting. Basement I also use a dehumidifier. What brand of dies, are the dies the only steel that's rusting.
 
I had read a article a few weeks ago on rust prevention. The top stuff in the extensive testing was break-free. That's it. Put it on and wipe it down.

I use (Rustguardit) by Beechwood on my rifles in the out doors. Just spray it on and give it a min. to set up like wax.

I like rig for long term gun storage.
 
Interested in this thread. My dies too have began to rust. Some after the first use, some have next to none on them.

Its interesting because I''m not in a basement, garage, or shop. Im set up in a conditioned room(used to be one of our guest bedrooms before I took up reloading) in my house that I do my best to control the humidity in.

Nothing else in the room rust or feels damp, but my die keep rusting on the outside. Its just cosmetic, but annoying none the less.
 
Ballistol seems to neutralize hand acids pretty well, and it doesn't leave a thick greasy coating. Most oils made for firearm use have rust preventatives in them.
 
"Have RCBS Dies for years & no sign of rust."

Some of us are lucky to have a more neutral body chemistry than others. :D
 
The most unpopular guy in a machine shop is the "ruster". I knew one guy that wiped everything he touched with CLP. Seemed to work ok, nobody killed him. Some guys would even loan him tools!

Does your storage area have large temperature swings? Condensation could cause your problem.
 
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