|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 16,000
Campfire Ranger
|
OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 16,000 |
i have a bunch of them that are pretty loaded up and need cleaning. Kind of curious what various methods people use other than throwing them in a can of gasoline.
THE BIRTH PLACE OF GERONIMO
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 26,524
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 26,524 |
I boiled some in water with dawn soap.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755 |
I use a heat gun on them till most of the wax runs out, then clean them with solvent. Laquer thinner, acetone, etc.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 21,317
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 21,317 |
I just zap em with a heat gun until all the old goo runs out. I've never tried to get them spotlessly clean, a heat gun gets em clean enough to put in service for me.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,519
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,519 |
I just use hot water straight from the faucet. I don't use the hard lubes, so I can't say what would work if that is what you have. NRA formula 50/50 and LBT blue/soft clean up fine with hot water, then wipe clean and dry. Works for me...........
If we live long enough, we all have regrets. But the ones that nag at us the most are the ones in which we know we had a choice.
Doug
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17,491 |
I boiled some in water with dawn soap. For those who care about such details, I will only add that using hot water and Dawn, Joy or other strong oil/grease detergent will get hot steel perfectly clean and can expose the drying metal to oxidation. (I discovered this by slathering freshly honed, iron-sleeved cylinders with Joy- to remove the honing oil and grit- and rinsing them in hot water. As they are removed from the water, the heat drives the moisture away and a faint orange haze is immediate on the drying surfaces; you can actually watch the oxidation process.)
Last edited by Klikitarik; 08/12/15.
Sometimes, the air you 'let in'matters less than the air you 'let out'.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 4,755 |
As a side note to this, when you get the die cleaned up (and this is why/when I use solvent on the rare occasion I clean them), take this opportunity to polish the mouth of the die.
Most of them can benefit from a little more taper or chamfer in the mouth, and/or polishing of the existing chamfer. This can make an amazing difference in how easily bullets are sized.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 21,972
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 21,972 |
Set them all standing in a cast pan on a hot plate or on top of the casting pot. Use enough heat to melt the lube off, take out the plug if it doesnt slide out and wipe down.
|
|
|
|
429 members (10gaugeman, 12344mag, 1minute, 204guy, 1beaver_shooter, 160user, 58 invisible),
2,584
guests, and
1,264
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,193,204
Posts18,503,784
Members73,994
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|