imperial wax

[canuck4570]

bought some about 2 years ago, resized some 2000 cases with it 30-06 and this year had to resized them again
got the imperial wax and to my surprised the casing where extremely hard to get out of the die, was close to getting stuck cases

got some ordinary resizing lube and could resize normally

so my question is does imperial wax has a self life?

 

[wilecoyote]

Re: imperial wax

...not in my experience:I'm just finishing a round box opened ten years ago,and perform well as the first day, if used sparingly an keeped inside home_I must admit I wash rifle cases with cheap winegar before,second step with dish liquid soap and hot water ,to not contamitate dies/lube with any grit_I only hope the quality of original I.W. has not changed lately_

 

[DocB]

Re: imperial wax

C,

I've got a very old tin of white, a smaller tin of green from after Redding purchased them, and use either interchangeably. Got any crud on the inside of the dies? Something going on with the expander?

HTH,
DocB

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: imperial wax

With any lube, first clean the old residue out of the die after a long break. Lube the first case well, especially down near the head, and insert it in short steps to allow the lube to spread around evenly. After that, the rest should be normal.

 

[canuck4570]

Re: imperial wax

mystery

my cases are cleaned whit a tumbler (more than clean)

buy some new one its to good

even with half the can I still did thousands of cases

thanks guys

 

[lal357]

Re: imperial wax

kind of a hijack question about I.W i see where alot of shooters are using it i have been using hornady's 1 shot how does it compare? the last time i use a liquid/paste was back around 1990 and it was rcbs lube in a tray.

 

[mtrmn]

Re: imperial wax

Some people have good luck with One Shit--I'm not one of those people. I could not make it work with one of it's biggest fans standing there coaching me on it's use. So from my point of view, there's no comparison at all-the wax wins hands down.

Let me say also that I do not use my progressive press to re-size rifle rounds-only pistol. The measuring/trimming operation disrupts progressive operations. Therefore the use of spray lubes is not necessary in my operation.

 

[Deadshot2]

Re: imperial wax

I've never had any experience directly with Imperial but all waxes can deteriorate under the right conditions. Essentially they oxidize and become rather hard. Could be that the stuff you have isn't spreading as easily as it did previously and you don't have a fully lubed case. Who knows?

As for the One Shot, I would rather use the Dillon spray lube for by bulk loading sessions of .223 on my 650. It works great, no stuck cases. It's not terribly expensive when compared to the One Shot and the Dillon Lube can be "home brewed". Pure lanolin from the "Vitamin Store" mixed with the undiluted Isopropyl Alcohol from Costco.

For my single stage loaded .308 I really like Hornady Unique.

 

[canuck4570]

Re: imperial wax

think will go back to my previous method of lubing

I cut cloth strip of 1 inches by 12 long and rub lube on them
put everything in my tumbler and after 5 minutes they are all lube

this is for big amount of case....

 

[SMH]

Re: imperial wax

I use Hornady 1 shot and Imperial.
I have stuck a few cases with the Hornady but never with the Imperial.
I am having better luck with the Hornady now that I use more of it and let it sit longer before sizing.

 

[lal357]

Re: imperial wax

i think i might pick up a can and see for myself whch is better i've never had a stuck case using one shot but i'm always open to trying something else.

 

[Rob01]

Re: imperial wax

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SMH</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I am having better luck with the Hornady now that I use more of it and let it sit longer before sizing. </div></div>

That's why people get stuck cases with One Shot. They don't follow the directions to let them sit after spraying and let the propellant dissipate before trying to size. As I have said many times before when the subject comes up, I have literally sized tens of thousands of cases with One Shot and never had a stuck case.

 

[Deadshot2]

Re: imperial wax

The big downside of spray lubes is the overspray on the loading block (unless you use a separate one for lubing) and the placing of lube inside the neck.

For my spray lubed cases, I spray some Dillon into a Zip lock bag , add some cases, and tumble them around like I would a pork chop in a bag filled with seasoned bread crumbs. Dump them out on a cookie sheet, let dry, and then into the case feeder.

For any "smear on" lube, the hands make the best applicator of all. Pads are like flypaper and collect all kinds of trash. Just a little of the wax or other paste lube on the finger and thumb will lube several cases as you feed them into the sizing die. A quick wipe of the case with a quick dab into the container every few rounds.

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: imperial wax

"...all waxes can deteriorate under the right conditions. Essentially they oxidize and become rather hard."

Well, the liquid softeners in them can dry out, that's part of why Imperial/Mink Oil is sold in wide mouth metal cans. It takes a lot of years for them to get hard enough to affect their use in reloading tho, I know my original cans of each are well over ten with no apprarent change.