I am sorry if this has already been discussed but I was unable to find anything on this so far. I was kind of interested in finding out what those of you out there do to maintain your reloading equipment? How do you lube your presses and such? Do you clean your dies and how? so on and so forth. For those of us that are still fairly new to this i think that information would be helpful. Thanks all.

Lubed my presses with graphite.
Clean my dies using bronze bore brushes slowly spun on a drill press after uses.
Plus now and then I dunk the whole lot in my ultrasonic bath, press, dies and all (disassembled).

It's good you bought this subject up TLO...it's not something that is really talked about much. We all keep our "tools" clean and serviceable, but usually it is trial and error when it comes to cleaning/maintaining etc.

Like Gelan, I lube my presses with graphite...nothing better. It's not messy or greasy so it doesn't collect dust etc.

On Dies I use a little Brakleen on a piece of flannelette, it takes off all case lube and grime and leaves the die nice and clean. I also ensure that the dies are stored in their original container , along with a little sachet of desiccant to deal with moisture.

Cheers, Vince

I might add that if loading cartridges with cast bullets, the seating stem should be pulled and thoroughly cleaned periodically. Lube has a tendency to build up on the seater and, in extreme cases, cause bullets to be seated deeper than intended. With some of the smaller cases or maximum charges this could create unwanted pressure spikes...plus not doing a whole lot for accuracy!

I reload in a damp basement and keep a thin film of gun grease on all reloading presses and dies. I wipe the dies before using them and grease them when I am finished reloading. After twenty-fie years there is no rusting at all. take care...
Joe

I use hair-spray on just about everything, its a good water-proofer. My bottle neck cases get lip-stick lube, I like Sheer Shimmer and Shine because it lasts 5x longer, haveta use cold cream to get that stuff off. A good bundle of tampons and baby oil for the lube makes everything smell baby-fresh. You can shove a tampon into the dies to clean out the insides but don't let them swell up (string side in) or you'll have a time of it. Next we should discuss what to wear, I have some great outfits....


Suz

Ok Suz: you sure know how to bring a smile to these forums.

Well I was going to comment on this thread until Suz came along...

I keep my presses and dies wiped down and lubricated with ATF. Same as with my firearms. About once a year I disassemble everything, clean and start over.

Outfits??? Not a bad Idea Suz. I think I'll get my wife a Reloading Outfit. Now if I can only find that Victoria Secrets catalog…..

Outfits??? Not a bad Idea Suz. I think I'll get my wife a Reloading Outfit. Now if I can only find that Victoria Secrets catalog…..

I agree with Joe and use gun grease to preserve my presses and dies. All the best...
Gil

Im a bit unconventional. I use to use Breakfree for parts that were good with lube, and graphite for other parts, but the last 7 years or so I went to using ACF 50. www.wicksaircraft.com/...2ca075bddf
ACF 50 dries completely , penetrates the pours and seals out all moisture. In fact, a friend of mines father , no retired from the Pentagon, was in charge of helicopter repair for the US Gov,and he turned me onto ACF 50 years ago. He said they even tested it by using an older Army Chinooks helicopter, sprayed the whole thing with it, dropped it in the gulf of Mexico for over a year. When they pulled it up to inspect it, everything was still fine. Its Amazing stuff, I think, has had complete vetting by the US military/ Pentagon, and its not expensive at all. A can from Wicks aircraft supply where I get it is $13 bucks and will last years if you just use it for reloading, or , as I do, on the tools on my jewelers benches. Spray once every year and your pretty much set to go. Also works on guns, cars, bikes, anything with metal or even electronics. In fact, once saw a video with a color tv emerged in a clear box filled with ACF 50. The TV was on and playing fine. It was the ultimate corrosion protection as nothing could get to the tv with that set up!

Side note : I did once purchase some used jewelers equipment from a retired jeweler. Many of the burs and other steel tools have surface rust on them. I mixed a batch of Citric Acid and water [ 3 tsp citric acid on quart warm water] dumped everything in for about an hour and then just wiped the rust off like it was butter. It will turn steel black, gives it an almost silky feel, and , I believe the acid actually etched the edges of the burs and sharpened their cutting edge. Similar, but not nearly as fast as the old timers use to sharpen burs and files in nitric acid solutions. I think it would work fine on reloading equipment with surface rust, it would however turn any steel a flat black. Which would be kind of cool really. Not sure what Citric Acid would do on Tampons though Suz, so you might want to be careful. Could cause an itch or a rash!! LOL It is however not only super cheap and available at most natural or whole food stores, found in millions of food products and you can even eat it in small quantities [sour sweet like pixie sticks ] but it’s THE BEST case cleaner Ive ever used. A 3o minute bath in room temp H20 Citric acid solution, or a 3 minute dip in the same mix in a $10 fondu crock pot from wallworld like I use. (citric acid is also a safe pickle for fire-scale remove in jewelry, and the little cheap crock pots speed up the process a lot. )

The link below may be helpful regarding rust prevention for reloading equipment. All the best...
Gil




www.brownells.com/.asp...ventatives

Cool article Gil, I'm glad they included WD-40 too. I remember spraying it into a plastic bag with some wood screws in it and they all rusted. Their test proved otherwise. I think I'd go with the T-9, and what dan1dad mentions, the ACF-50. I know how maintenance is on aircraft and inspections for corrosion are pretty intense. Must be good stuff.

I've been hunting in the rain now for 20yrs and my Marlin 30-30 is the most used gun, but the only part of it that's being effected by the rain is the finish on the wood. I don't use any special lubes or preservatives on the metal, except for a thin wipe of Hoppe's. I put it in my coffee too.

Suz

Tampons make great 12ga barrel cleaners.