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Lanolin/Alcohol Sizing Lube Recipes?

Strykervet

Strykervet

ain'T goT no how whaTchamacalliT
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    • Jun 5, 2011
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    I need a good recipe for a lanolin and alcohol sizing lube. It's basically what Dillon sells, that's what's in it. I suspect I can get alcohol and lanolin at the local pharmacy, but I don't know the proportions for a good one. Too much alcohol and it won't lube well, too much lanolin and it won't spray or spread well. Imperial sizing wax is best, but it's costly and I don't have time, I need to lube hundreds of cases at once.

    So does anyone do this? Does anyone have a tried and true recipe? I need to save money where I can and as much of that stuff as I'm going through, it'd be a good place to start.

    Also, if anyone knows of a good DIY bullet lube that'll work for resizing pulled .50 BMG bullets, that'd be great too. Same problem with the Lee lube --I just go through too much of it loading and belting .50.
     
    10:1 here, bought the same stuff off amazon that 6.5 guys had linked to. One spray bottle has lasted me maybe 7500 rounds, and to mix that up it was less than half a bottle of lanolin and only 1 bottle of 99% alcohol. Need to mix up another one here soon.
     
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    Sheldon N said:
    10:1 here, bought the same stuff off amazon that 6.5 guys had linked to. One spray bottle has lasted me maybe 7500 rounds, and to mix that up it was less than half a bottle of lanolin and only 1 bottle of 99% alcohol. Need to mix up another one here soon.
    Click to expand...

    HMMM, cheaper and safer than One Shot. You guys talked me into it. I ordered the stuff yesterday. 10;1 is a nice easy ratio to remember.
     
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    I tried the pharmaceutical lanolin in a 10:1 ratio after seeing the 6.5 guys video. I found it was too slippery and the lanolin didn't dry fast enough for me. I should probably try it with a 20:1 ratio, but for now I am going back to my Lee lube mixed with alcohol. I don't know the ratio, I just empty a tube of the Lee case lube with 99% or 91% isopropyl in a spray bottle and shake it up. 1 tube and around 12oz of alcohol seems to last about 2000-3000 cases for me, been using this method for 7 years now.

    I like the lee lube because it seems to dry faster than the pure lanolin, and leaves a tacky residue on the case which helps later on with trimming, deburing and primer pocket cleaning. Using the pure lanolin the cases would spin around in my hand. The grip that the dried lee lube provides really helps when processing 100-200 pieces of brass at a time, and polishes off with less than an hour in the tumbler. Also the pure lanolin seemed to attract a lot of dust in the tumbler, I had to let the cases tumble longer than normal before all the lanolin and caked on dust was off the cases.

    FWIW: I know the Lee stuff is also a lanolin base, but whatever else it's got in it seems to be working well for me so I'm sticking with it. At also works out to virtually the same cost as the pure stuff and has the same availability for me (both amazon orders).
     
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    I use RCBS case lube 2 mixed10:1.
    It's water soluble and cleans up easier. When resizing I can't tell a difference between it and the lanolin based lubes
     
    Uncle Ed said:
    I have never had a case lube that was too slippery, and when the alcohol evaporates you should have a very thin coat of lanolin left on the case.

    And you can tumble the cases in a vibratory tumbler to remove all the lube.
    Click to expand...

    My reloading process I don't tumble the lube off until all case prep is complete. The pure lanolin even when dry was quite slippery in my hands when trying to debur. The lee stuff is more tacky and helps grip.

    I could tumble after sizing and before trimming but I also use the tumbling process to ensure my cases are clear of brass shavings, so leave all tumbling for the last stage.

    Not saying anything else is wrong just sharing my experience and what works for me.
     
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    ZEROGUY said:
    My reloading process I don't tumble the lube off until all case prep is complete. The pure lanolin even when dry was quite slippery in my hands when trying to debur. The lee stuff is more tacky and helps grip.

    I could tumble after sizing and before trimming but I also use the tumbling process to ensure my cases are clear of brass shavings, so leave all tumbling for the last stage.

    Not saying anything else is wrong just sharing my experience and what works for me.
    Click to expand...

    Just dump out the shavings. They wont stick to your case if you remove the lube before trimming.
     
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    If you don't want to tumble after sizing, then put the cases in a tub cover them with lacquer thinner. Swish around, and drain the thinner back into the can. You can reuse it over and over. The cases come out cleaned of all lube.
     
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    supercorndogs said:
    Just dump out the shavings. They wont stick to your case if you remove the lube before trimming.
    Click to expand...

    That's what I found works the best. About 45 minutes in the tumbler and the lube is gone, then the trimmings fall straight down into the giraud. I tried tumbling after but the case mouths get dinged up a little the way the Giraud trims them.
     
    Bradu said:
    That's what I found works the best. About 45 minutes in the tumbler and the lube is gone, then the trimmings fall straight down into the giraud. I tried tumbling after but the case mouths get dinged up a little the way the Giraud trims them.
    Click to expand...

    It only takes about 15 minutes to remove One Shot with corncob media in a tumbler. It sounds like the lanolin might be a little harder to remove. Will it effect powder or primers if not fully removed?
     
    Thanks big time for the info and I'm glad to hear it's pretty much standardized. "Too slippery" isn't a concern for me because it's either this or Imperial sizing wax, which is basically a solid lanolin you smear on and works better than anything else but it's too time consuming and expensive with large quantities of .50 cases. Spraying 'em down with the Dillon stuff works great but I'm going through too much and every bit I can save in this project helps.

    99% alcohol may be hard to find, I've seen it but denatured and 91% is more common. If you leave the Dillon lube on there for too long it'll also become tacky after awhile. It does take it a little while to dry but it's not too bad. I probably don't let it dry 100% but it's certainly dry enough it doesn't gunk up the dies (I was surprised how clean they were) and doesn't leave hydraulic dents.

    I usually clean the brass twice in a cement mixer with steel pins. Once after decapping so it doesn't gunk up the sizing and trimming dies and after sizing because they become sticky if you don't. I may try using the ultrasonic for the second cleaning if it can keep up during loading. This ultrasonic company got back to me and are willing to clean 110 gallons of brass but I haven't called to see how much it'll cost. Hell, if it's cheap enough I may just go that route for both cleanings

    Now if I could just figure out an easy way to get all the gunk off the brass when wet tumbling --it seems the lanolin mixes with the gunk and sticks to the brass no matter how well you try to clean it! May substitute Simple Green for the dish detergent.
     
    Use a water soluble lube, I had the same problem with liquid lanolin.
    The people at STM told me to switch to RCBS case lube 2, it is water soluble.
     
    supercorndogs said:
    It only takes about 15 minutes to remove One Shot with corncob media in a tumbler. It sounds like the lanolin might be a little harder to remove. Will it effect powder or primers if not fully removed?
    Click to expand...

    If I pull it any sooner the media is stuck to the cases and is a pain to remove. I thought it was done the other night but it was still stuck in a few places. I started to wipe it off and said hell with it and tumbled some more.
     
    velvetant said:
    Use a water soluble lube, I had the same problem with liquid lanolin.
    The people at STM told me to switch to RCBS case lube 2, it is water soluble.
    Click to expand...
    Can you thin the RCBS lube? So it can be sprayed. I use the Dillon lube also and it works very well. It's just a pain to wash it off.
     
    With Lanolin/alcohol- throw mine in the tumbler with rice for 1 hour... blow them out with the compressor just on case there may be something stuck inside. Every now and then I'll get a few pcs from inside the case come flying out and bounce around the garage at 9000FPS... Keeps it interesting.
     
    I run my lanolin with 100% isopropyl alcohol at 12:1 and use micro fiber clothes and 70% isopropyl alcohol to clean the lube off...for me it’s been faster to just wipe it off than to tumble it off.
     
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    My lube formula is 1 part of Hornady Unique case lube and 10 parts of Heet Injector cleaner. Super cheap. Unique case lube is lanolin and Heet is 99% Isopropyl alcohol. $7.00 total for at least 10,000 cases lube.
     
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    The_Count said:
    If you don't want to tumble after sizing, then put the cases in a tub cover them with lacquer thinner. Swish around, and drain the thinner back into the can. You can reuse it over and over. The cases come out cleaned of all lube.
    Click to expand...

    Yep, I started reloading in the early 70's and Lacquer Thinner was the only way to remove the case lube used back then. A five gallon bucket with a basket and a funnel and a gallon can of LT doesn't take up much room. Lacquer Thinner is my go to cleaner of damn near everything.
     
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    I've been thinking about trying the 6.5guys stuff too although I haven't had any issues with One Shot spray. What are the issues that people are having with One Shot ?
     
    LA260 said:
    I've been thinking about trying the 6.5guys stuff too although I haven't had any issues with One Shot spray. What are the issues that people are having with One Shot ?
    Click to expand...
    I think its user error as much as anything, not spraying enough or not letting it dry completely. I cant tell a difference between them when Im sizing brass. After I clean dies I still give them a spritz of one shot even though I lube cases with lanolin. The one shot just gets more expensive at 10 bucks a bottle.
     
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    Strykervet said:
    Thanks big time for the info and I'm glad to hear it's pretty much standardized. "Too slippery" isn't a concern for me because it's either this or Imperial sizing wax, which is basically a solid lanolin you smear on and works better than anything else but it's too time consuming and expensive with large quantities of .50 cases. Spraying 'em down with the Dillon stuff works great but I'm going through too much and every bit I can save in this project helps.

    99% alcohol may be hard to find, I've seen it but denatured and 91% is more common. If you leave the Dillon lube on there for too long it'll also become tacky after awhile. It does take it a little while to dry but it's not too bad. I probably don't let it dry 100% but it's certainly dry enough it doesn't gunk up the dies (I was surprised how clean they were) and doesn't leave hydraulic dents.

    I usually clean the brass twice in a cement mixer with steel pins. Once after decapping so it doesn't gunk up the sizing and trimming dies and after sizing because they become sticky if you don't. I may try using the ultrasonic for the second cleaning if it can keep up during loading. This ultrasonic company got back to me and are willing to clean 110 gallons of brass but I haven't called to see how much it'll cost. Hell, if it's cheap enough I may just go that route for both cleanings

    Now if I could just figure out an easy way to get all the gunk off the brass when wet tumbling --it seems the lanolin mixes with the gunk and sticks to the brass no matter how well you try to clean it! May substitute Simple Green for the dish detergent.
    Click to expand...

    I ran into this problem and started to use a product called “Awesome” from the dollar store. I pour a few oz.into the SS tumbler when cleaning my 10:1 lanolin mix off. Works well. The other thing I do sometimes is drop my brass into an old plastic coffee can with hot water and awesome cleaner after chamfer and debur, which is my last step before tumble. This is just a pretty rinse before going into the tumbler.
    Every once in a while I will put a few oz in and just run the tumbler with no brass and the degreaser. This is really helpful as it removes the extra crap that builds up on the SS pins and the inside of the tumbler. First couple batches that come out after that are the best looking brass you can make.
     
    19dsniper,

    I keep a bucket with a gallon of mineral spirits handy to cut the sticky gunk and lube off the cases and SS media, then run them through warm water/dish soap bath followed by rinse and dry before the separator. The mineral spirits can be poured off and reused after cleaning the settled heavy gunk off the bottom of the bucket with a paper towel. I just keep the buckets nested with a lid on the top one to keep down the evaporation and odor of the mineral spirits. On warm days I can lay the brass with media on old towels outside. In the winter I lay the towel across a heavy shallow cookie pan in the oven (set at 225F) with the door cracked. I need to buy a dehydrator/dryer, my wife isn't keen on me invading her space and using her cooking equipment/utensils for industrial activities. Also, towels/combustibles shouldn't go in the oven. In fifty years of reloading, I haven't had to use the fire extinguisher, I may be pushing my luck! Best recommendation would be to pick and choose from the various ideas for what will work best for you. Most old reloaders have done it three or more ways before settling on one or the other.
     
    Mike Casselton said:
    Accurateshooter.com had a discussion on this recently.
    Click to expand...

    Sheldon N said:
    10:1 here, bought the same stuff off amazon that 6.5 guys had linked to. One spray bottle has lasted me maybe 7500 rounds, and to mix that up it was less than half a bottle of lanolin and only 1 bottle of 99% alcohol. Need to mix up another one here soon.
    Click to expand...

    Did exactly the same thing. mixed up the first batch (10:1) yesterday, worked as I had hoped. The "Chemical Guys" bottle leaks around the threaded neck :(......not the end of the world I suppose.

    Was loading 9MM. I lined a shallow pan with a layer of paper towels and lightly sprayed them with the mist setting to "fine". Then dumped in the brass, knocked them over on their side and spayed a couple of trigger pulls and swirled them around for 30'ish seconds. So far, so good. I then ran them through the XL650. Noticably smoother and quieter, less effort. Once all the rounds were completed, I put fresh paper towels in the bottom of the shallow pan, dumped the completed rounds into it and swirled the rounds around for 30 to 60 seconds. Seemed to have removed most of the lube, which was very light to begin with.

    I did notice that when the charged case came out of the powder drop station, there were some flakes (WW231) attached to the interior sidewall of the 9mm brass, just above the horizontal top line of the powder. The flakes didn't go all the way to the neck, just slightly above the top of the charge. That tells me the flakes were adhering to some lube that was inside of the neck(s). I don't see any real way to prevent any/all lube from getting inside the case.

    The one thing I did notice and I wanted to ask you guys about is this; Is there any reason to be concerned (mostly in terms of long term storage) about the powder being "contaminated" by the case lube ? I'm thinking that what I experienced is normal and because lanolin is inert, there is nothing to worry about.

    All in all, I was very happy with how everything worked and about the only thing I might change is the "Chemical Guys" bottle to one that doesn't leak when you shake it.
     
    Last edited:
    Okay, I got my box of 12 16oz. 99% Isopropyl (UPS of course left it by the fucking road again, box was wet when I found it by accident next morning, luckily nobody stole it). The 1lb. or 16oz tub of organic solid lanolin came in the mail. I understand you want to use the solid lanolin, not the liquid. Total cost for it all on Amazon prime was around $45 (I have to pay tax in WA). I mixed up 1 half cup of lanolin and 9 half cups of alcohol for a 9:1 mixture --it just worked well because that's a half cup of lanolin and two 16oz. bottle of alcohol. Next time I may use a bit less lanolin, we'll see. I had to heat it up in water on a pan on the stove with the lid not tightened down in order to melt the lanolin and mix with the alcohol. It took a bit of shaking and reheating, repeat, etc. Eventually it all dissolved and I funneled off enough to refill one of the Dillon bottles. Which I noticed something doing so:

    Older Dillon bottles say "special lubricant" and alcohol as ingredients, and the newer ones say lanolin and alcohol.

    I also can make Imperial Sizing Wax on my own now too, I've got experience mixing beeswax with oils in the past so I could easily make a wax lube too. I was considering maybe making my own line of lubes if anyone was interested. It'd be cheaper than usual and you wouldn't have to mess with doing it yourself or ordering massive qualities. I needed to do so for .50 brass, it was killing me. I may make some up and put 'em in the sale section and see if anyone bites. I go for quality and what works so they'd be as good or better than what's available.

    Really appreciate all the assistance in recipes, given the difficulty of .50 brass I figured 9 to 1 to be a good start to see how it worked.

    Only problem now cleaning off the lanolin is that I'd need a LOT of mineral spirits. How/where can you obtain a five gallon bucket with a basket? That would probably work for me. Dry tumbling .50 brass is out of the question. Cleaning the pins is something I need to do. This cement mixer worked gangbusters until I started trying to clean damn lube off. Even hot water didn't work well.

    Thanks, in the meantime I'll try calling around for buckets of mineral spirits. If anyone has recommendations on where to find that for a good price, I'd be grateful. The ultrasonic cleaners got back to me BTW, $1000 to clean 2 55gal. drums of brass. If it wasn't for the damn lube and second cleaning, I'd probably do it to be done with it.

    I tried cleaning one at a time while loading, but it was hurting my hands and taking too long. Smaller brass wouldn't be such a problem but this .50 is just kicking my ass.
     
    i've had great luck with the liquid lanolin and alcohol mix in a spray bottle...10:1 proportion.

    I take a gallon zip lock bag, insert an old microfiber cloth, spray a little of the mix into the bag onto the cloth.... then drop in the cases and shake the bag. I don't make it too wet or greasy.

    This seems to work very nicely.
    When i first started to do this i read that some advocated after sizing to run the cases in the vibrating case cleaning medium but to be honest with you i rarely if ever find i need to add this step.

    Locally our Tractor Supply Company sells larger volumes of mineral spirits as does our aviation parts supply store....probably that would be the same by you as well. Might be worth a phone call.

    hope that helps a bit
     
    Last edited:
    I started with 8:1 using 91% alcohol. Found it heavy. Cut it to 16:1. Works well. I put a couple hundred cases in a gallon bag spray the bottle a couple of times and shake well. Dump into a pan for the alcohol to evaporate. I also use the same bag for awhile.

    If you leave it sit for too long, clean your pick up tube before you use it.
     
    Sportin Wood said:
    Anyone find a spray bottle that won't leak all over?
    Click to expand...

    look up the local industrial cleaning supply place in your area and get the commercial grade bottles they are a more but worth it...ive been using this same bottle for about 7yrs
     

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    Yerman said:
    Anyone else have trouble getting the lube off after sizing. It’s really sticky when it dries
    Click to expand...

    Not really i just put them in the tumbler for a few hours. I used the liquid lanolin as well. Mixed some up the other day and did 4-600 223 cases. I was surprised with how little lube it took.
     
    Yerman said:
    Anyone else have trouble getting the lube off after sizing. It’s really sticky when it dries
    Click to expand...


    70% alcohol and a micro fiber rag wipes right off...i run 600 cases at a time so i will tumble and size on a sunday afternoon and then do the rest of my prep work during the week so my cases will sit up to 4 days with the lube on them.
     
    So far using a rag and 70% like fellow above... Gonna get an odorless mineral spirits parts washer next month, that or at least 4-5 gallons of odorless mineral spirits and use a five gallon bucket nested in another, the first drilled with lots of 3/16 holes to drain well. Then I can dip it and swish 'em around and pull 'em out and it should come off in there. Then a quick rinse in hot water and dry and they'll be good to go. I read this on another forum searching for solutions and it's what they were doing.

    Problem with lanolin is it's not soluble well even with 99% alcohol. Before I get the mineral spirits though, I'm going to look up lanolin's info and find out exactly what it does dissolve best with.

    Can't wait to see how it works out, but I just swapped .50 over to load and I'll be doing that for a while now. Maybe I'll have some brass to work on the 650 soon.
     
    Strykervet said:
    Problem with lanolin is it's not soluble well even with 99% alcohol. Before I get the mineral spirits though, I'm going to look up lanolin's info and find out exactly what it does dissolve best with.
    Click to expand...

    Any chance you;d report back when you find this info?
     
    Strykervet said:
    Problem with lanolin is it's not soluble well even with 99% alcohol. Before I get the mineral spirits though, I'm going to look up lanolin's info and find out exactly what it does dissolve best with.
    Click to expand...

    just curios what you mean lanolin is not soluble with 99% alcohol? lanolin stays suspended in 99% alcohol and does not separate...also do you have a link to the mineral spirits cleaning? i believe mineral spirits is an oil based solvent and i dont think hot water will clean it off.

    i bought a can of acetone but never tried it ive also heard from some old guys that paint thinner works to remove sizing lube never tried it though.
     
    Last edited:
    Up to my last brass prep my brass spent 18-24 minutes in an ultrasonic cleaner with Dawn and Lemishine in the water. I prep brass for a year at a time but the past couple of years work has cut down my shooting time. I bought a Frankfort wet tumbler but haven't got to use it yet.
     
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