receipe for homemade case lube

[judgedelta]

I had the formula for spray lube saved on the site before the recent upgrade and don't remember the exact proportions. I have lanolin, caster oil and denatured alcohol (as well as several types of non-denatured alcohol).

As well as I can remember it was 80% lanolin, and 10% each of caster oil and alcohol.

I would appreciate qualified help. Thanks...

 

[JByrd]

I tried this for a while with varying ratios, it always felt thick and tacky once the alc. flashed off. I REALLY liked the savings though. I added no other oils as i only trusted lanolin not to contaminate if any residue was left somehow. You'll def be ok with 1/10 ratio

 

[Joe Perlo]

10% liquid lanolin and 90% isopropyl alcohol (iso heat gas line dryer). I've been using this for years with great results. Good luck, Joe

 

[former naval person]

Me too...but on the advice of a master tool and die maker friend I added the castor oil. Slicker than snot. Use a zip lok bag and spray into the bag about 1/4th full of cases. First time about 3 to 4 sprays. After that, with the residual on the inside of the bag, 2 or so sprays usually enough. Depends upon your sprayer, of course. Some put out more volume than others.

 

[judgedelta]

So, what is your final receipe FNP. 5 and 5 and 90? or 10 and 10 and 80...?

 

[GhostFace]

Do yourself a favor, go to Walmart and buy their version of Pam cooking spray. It costs about $2 a can and little goes long way!

 

[useabow]

+1 on the pam work's GRRRREAT

 

[gunsnjeeps]

Haven't tried cooking spray yet. I have a can on my bench for my next sizing batch.

I use 4 ounces of Liquid Lanolin and 32 ounces of isopropyl alcohol. 99% is recomended but 91% works fine. Shake before use. I put about 100-150 cases in a gallon bag spray the bag once and shake fora few minutes. Then pour out in to a pan to dry.

 

[former naval person]

Judge delta....10, 10 and 80. Not any petroleum products to inert primers. i do tumble the brass before and after sizing. And I check the primer flash holes. Lizard litter I find will stick in the flash holes. Lyman is sized right to almost completely avoid that. Repeat...almost completely. Gotta check. If you can get 99% isopropyl or methyl/ethyl...those work best. Least amount of H2O is way to go. Liquid lanolin is best as gunsnjeeps says. Get it at a health food store. Castor oil at the pharmacy. Don't lick your fingers clean. JMHO

 

[1lnbrdg]

The cooking spray works great but it's easy to over-do. Go sparingly. If left overnight, the cooking spay tends to dry out a bit and a slight re-application is needed. Very slick stuff though.

I tumble before and after sizing and haven't ever had issues with powder or primer detioriation and shouldn't as most of the sprays are olive oil based.

 

[Pinecone]

And the butter flavored makes your cases taste good.

 

[former naval person]

The butter flavor has SALT in it. Rusts steel.

 

[Juma]

50/50 anhydrous lanolin and vaseline [think you blokes call it petroleum jelly] Warm them up and mix together. Alternatively go into the wild and pluck some wool off a sheep and voila you get a natural green lube alternative.

 

[JByrd]

as an update i still do the 1/10 ratio. i have 2 quart jars of it. i had a one shot hand pump spray bottle that was half full, i split it between the two quart jars. i did my first run these last couple days. 700-260 fully processed. headspaced consistent and smooth and stainless tumble cleaned lube off squeaky.so this is what ive settled on. i wont be buying lube for a while i hope. as a further note for those trying this. LIQUID lanolin off ebay. its easy to miss the liquid part. but its cheap so no big deal.

also the petrolium products have been said to effect primer/powder consistency so i would steer clear of those, but thats just me.

 

[colt933]

I've used former naval person's for a couple of years and have not had a single stuck case. I'm sold. My first small batch (6 oz alcohol I think) lasted 2 years and I just recently made my second batch. For about $25 in materials, I'll have enough case lube to last more than 10 years.

If you use the liquid lanolin, the lube is more like Dillon brand - it won't settle out much from storage. If you use the not-quite-liquid lanolin which is like Midway brand, it settles out and you have to shake it - but it's good to go!

My $25 would have bought about 3 bottles of Midway lube and will make 7-8 bottles of home-made.

 

[BuzzBoss915]

Being a dinosaur, I have used the same RCBS case lube for at least thirty years. I dribble it sparingly on an ink pad, let it sink in and lightly rub two fingers across the pad before picking a case from the loading block and placing it in the shell holder for sizing in a single stage press.

Many years ago, in my club, there was some chatter about using STP as a case lube. I'm pretty sure one can would supply a Regiment for a very long time. Do they still sell that stuff? BB

 

[former naval person]

For Very Difficult Resizing...or just a few cases...50/50 anhydrous lanolin and STP. About as thick as petroleum jelly. Nothing sticks with that stuff. My jar of that is 25 years old and I still have half of it left.