Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Case Lube

I should have said over lubing. I resized 40 pieces of brass last night. Using a RCBS Lube pad and RCBS Case Lube 2. After 20 Remington and 20 Winchester, both were lubed the in the same fashion. But 19 of the Winchester's had dents in the shoulder/neck after resizing.

There seems to be a fine line between too much and just right. Is there a better product so I don't keep wrecking brass? Or do I just need to use less?

I recently tried the Hornady wax lube that comes in the small tub. Some say it is very similar to Imperial that I've never tried. A little goes a long way, and it worked great.

Imperial or similar is still my favorite way to roll, after trying One-Shot and the RCBS Lube pad as alternatives. A little on the fingertips goes a long way and no more dents.

Just rub it on the cases?

Put a bunch of casings in a zip loc bag, add a good spray of Hornady One Shot, shake, rattle and roll, resize. Simple as that.

I haven't used the Hornady in a long time, but I remember it as feeling like softened butter. The Imperial feels like Kiwi shoe polish.

You're using too much & your technique might be making it worse also.

When you apply the case lube to the pad, you need to take a finger & rub it well into the pad; less & more frequent re-lubing is better.

Also, when you roll the cases (when I was using the RCBS pad, I would usually from do 4-6 cases at a time), apply most of the pressure to the rim/base area of the cases; applying the finger / hand pressure too much to the neck half of the case can easily press the shoulder into the pad too hard & over lube that area.

For all but the most demanding cases today, I mostly use Hornady One Shot & if I need more oomph, I use Imperial.

One shot is for all my high volume reloading & I just put the cases in a loading tray & spray from all 4 sides on about a 45-60 degree down angle.

MM

Yep, the upper half of the case anyway. And if an expander ball is dragging and making sizing difficult when lowering the ram on the press, a q-tip with a very light coat of wax can be run around the inside of the neck of the occasional case and it will reduce the friction.

How about the dry lube on the inside of the neck?

For sure I used too much. I put 5 at a time on the pad and rolled them on the pad.

I suspect you're right. I probably pushed too much near the shoulder. I just put my hand on them and rolled em on the pad. I'll use less pressure next time and put it towards the rim.

I use the Imperial dry lube inside the neck, but I don't size with an expander ball. I expand the necks in a separate step using a mandrel holder die.

Dry lube on the neck doesn't work well for me, I get a lot of friction on the exp and concentricity shows it. The best method I've found for lubing cases is imperial on the outside and Lee's lube inside the neck. I personally don't like petro based lubes inside the neck, which is why I use the water based Lee lube. I take a dab of the Lee lube and coat a Qtip well, then make a couple rounds in each case(Usually 4-5 cases then reapply a little lube to the Qtip). A tube of Lee lube will last for many thousand cases. The Lee actually works well on the entire case as well, but imperial is easier with a more slicky trip through the die.

That's what I'm avoiding by pushing the mandrel into, rather than pulling the ball out of, the neck during expansion.

I can see that working fine. On dies that decrease the neck too much with certain brass thickness, I expand in a separate step and it greatly helps concentricity. When you say mandrel, are you referring to Lee's collet mandrel? I haven't tried my Collets for expanding, but man do they produce straight necks(Heck of a combo when paired with a Redding Body Die for an occasional bump). When the die/neck thickness/exp Dia all jive well, the Lee lube does quite well for concentricity. Definitely more lubricity than mica.

I use Lyman M-dies or a mandrel holder die from a neck turning set.

The Imperial dry lube beats mica to death too.

Imperial sizing wax is the best, just put a little on. RCBS lube is too thick. I had dents with it too, but they disappear when you pull the trigger.

Is it safe to do that? Cool if it is!

Yes it is safe, they blow right out.

I suppose it might be possible to have dents that are so large they cause headspace. But I doubt that is possible since I've never managed to do it.

And Imperial or Hornady Unique are infinitely superior to the STP clone lubes.

I could never avoid dents,no matter lube or technique, until i tried Imperial.

A little on my pointer finger, spin the case. After your finger and thumb get
coated, you can do about 3 cases per wipe in the wax can. If you start stretching
it too far, you will feel the friction increase in the die. That will not be close to sticking

This ^^ Works well with any liquid lube and none is wasted.

+1

A little Imperial on my thumb and forefinger, give easc case a roll between my fingers on the way to the shell holder and no more problems.

Just a light film of lube will save you a bunch of grief, I've switched to lanolin and alcohol almost exclusively.
Imperial is still great for case forming 6mm up to .30 or 6mm down to .22. I've got a couple oddball cartridges...

I've used a pad and RCBS Case Lube 2 with mica for the neck ever since the lube was updated to the -2 formula. A quick rinse in water to remove the lube and a few hours in the sun or a low level heat source and they are ready to fill again.

As mentioned, a little bit of lube rubbed thoroughly in the pad goes a long way. Little pressure is needed when lubing the first cases. Pressure is increased as the lube is used. That little bottle will work on thousands of cases. It's been many years since I had a lube dent.

Imperial Sizing Die Wax.

Regardless of what you use, there can be a fine line before over lubing and denting case shoulders. It also depends a LOT on the dies being used. Love my Redding sizing dies but they are the touchiest about denting shoulders, RCBS are the easiest to use,, most other brands of dies are somewhere between. If Redding would just drill a damn hole in their dies like RCBS..............


Casey

Just used Lyman Quick Slick for the 1st time. Very pleased, cases sized easy without any buildup in the sizing die. Up to this point I had used the LEE stuff in the tube and Unique both seem to work equally well, Lyman stuff in the "windex" bottle is a bit less work.

To be fair, I used this on some 8x57 brass(made from GI DEN 42 milsurp, tough stuff). I used the hardest brass I had to size(seems to take a little more effort than commercial 8x57), a Lyman Orange Crusher(less leverage than my LEE Classic Cast) and Lyman AA sizer(takes a bit more effort than the LEE sizer).

Anyway, only tried it 'cause it was 75% off when Gander Mountain went out, but I'll probably buy it again...if nothing else to hit the dies before and after sizing. Not really all that scientific of a test, but it smells like good oil.

Still using a foam pad and a tube of RCBS stuff I acquired in about 1963. A little bit goes a long long way. Just a roll across the pad of the cartridge or just the neck if that's all I'm sizing. I typically do every other cartridge. I can feel the lube's presence, but there's never enough to see.

Never had a dented or stuck case either.

Hornady Unique Case Lube. Very light amount good for three or four cases. Reapply to fingers, do a case, sometimes skip a case, do three or four more.

Imperial wax if sizing a small number of cases or if I’m in a hurry. Fantastic stuff! If sizing large quantities, I use One Shot just like MM describes. Three pieces of advice when using One Shot: Shake the can well before spraying, don’t spray too much, and be sure to let it dry well before sizing. Works for me.

Works like a champ for me too.

If you are using a lube pad it can be hard to get the right amount of lube on a case. When I used a pad I would keep a rag in my right hand and wipe the neck and shoulder area off to avoid dents. Don't worry, enough lube remains to do the job. Now, I tend to use a spray lube like Dillon and a gallon ziplock bag.

I use the hornady case wax on the outside.
I have never lubed the inside of case necks during regular reloading, only when reforming cases do I lube inside the neck.

Imperial Die Wax outside
Graphite Powder inside

I use a dab of Mink Oil for my boots. Was having issues with the spray lube, got a case stuck once in my resizing die and wrote that off. If you have some, give it a try. Never get dented shoulders, either. Good luck!

A can of imperial will last a long time!!!

Tag

I use Neats Foot oil for full length sizing cases. It's a leather oil for saddles and such for the young chaps that may never have heard of it. An old fellow put me on to it years ago when I started reloading. I bought a one litre bottle in 1998 and have used about 100ml in all that time. It will last the rest of my life. I tend to neck size mostly. But it will still dent case shoulders if too much is used.

Imperial is the poo for rifle cases. Bulk pistol I use one shot in a ziplock. Using one shot on rifle cases is a good way to stick a case in your die.

For heavy-duty work I like STOS by Ponsness-Warren. It is a transparent grease that wipes off easily. Smear a tiny amount on the case body with your fingers. Used to use for everything but found a case-lube pad more efficient for large batches.

Recently started using Royal Case & Die Lube from Sharp Shoot R, the makers of Wipe-Out. Got a new RCBS case lube pad to give it a fair trial. Spray a sparse coat on the pad as needed. Do the spraying outdoors because it has a strong, sweet odor that can fill up your house. Works better than anything else I have tried. Can also be used as a spray-on lube as described by others.

Cheers,
Walt

I don't find lube pads to save any time, and when I apply using my fingers, it's quick and I know by feel exactly how much lube I am applying to each case. I don't think it's a question of lube but more how it is applied that matters more.

RCBS case slick. Couple of sprays with 10 or so cases in a plastic tub, shake around and go.

I use a Blue Tin Camp Frying Pan....bought for about $6... new 20 years ago or more...

hang it off the reload bench....

Spray Amzoil Synthetic spray lube on it...

let it hang, the excess runs off..

when I need to size brass... put about 10 pieces in the pan at a time..
and shake them around like Jiffy Pop....

When I run cases thru the die... use one lubed one... which leaves enough lube in the die
to run the next one unlubed thru it...so no dents on the cases...

cheap and simpler than plastic bags etc...

doesn't wear out camp frying pan either...

I've had more stuck cases using Hornady OneShot so now only use Imperial Sizing Wax. It takes a little more time but the results are worth it.

Imperial for the outside and a nylon bore brush with a small case soldered to it for a handle for applying moly in the necks, stops the stretching and lopsided necks on large cases...and I have about a kilo of moly to use up.

After brushing the inside of the necks I place the brush end in to a larger case so that I don't get black everywhere.

Lube pads quickly attain a nice veneer of powder residue.

Hornady One Shot is junk, the RCBS roller pad is right there with it. 90% of my sizing is Imperial Sizing Wax.
The only time I don't use Imperial is if I'm doing large ammounts of 223 for my AR's then I use a product called Brass Guys Brass Butter

Tzone: THROW that rcbs lube pad and all accessories related to it AWAY (if you haven't already!)!
Get some Imperial and don't look back.
Have had extensive experience with the rcbs junk starting several decades ago and wish I hadn't.
Since switching to Imperial (quite some time ago) ALL lube related "problems" have "evaporated"!
I mean this sincerely, THROW that rcbs crap away so no one else will be troubled with it.
Best of luck to you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I think they all probably work pretty well as long as you read and follow the directions. I had some trouble with brass sticking using Quick Slick until I went back and reread the bottle. Evidently, you need degrease your dies before applying it. I had been just wiping the old lube off after use. A little brake cleaner(it was on the bench already) and everything worked great the next time I used it.

I think a lot of products get a bad reputation from people not following the directions.

I use Imperial size die wax. I just use my fingers or a clean rag to apply a min amount to the lower. 1/2 - 2/3 of the case. Less is more. If you use to much pressure on the reloading press handle in the resizing stage, slither a bit more Imperial size wax on the case. The amount of lube depends on the case’s history ( or lack there of). When I full length resize recently purchased “1x fired brass”, then I use a little more lube, as I will fully resize those cases “ 100% full-length”. ( max resizing) to uniform them. I don’t have any semi-auto centerfires anymore. When I did, I would slither a bit more Imperial size die wax on the lower 1/4 of the case when I used a small base resizing die.

For cases I have loaded, and will reload, I use full-length resizing dies, but do not set the resizing dies to full length resize. I set the resize die to “ just chamber”, them I turn the die in another 1/2 turn, then lock it with ring/ set/set screw.
( “ partial full length resizing”?). I don’t apply sizing lube on the shoulders or neck- just to avoid dents in the case shoulders.

I also use a #2 pencil and run the tip of the lead 2-3 times around the inside of the case neck.
It reduces expanding ball drag on bottle neck cases.

I am not a volume reloader.

I got stuck cases with the Hornady One Shot and threw it in the trash. Now I use Imperial Sizing Wax on the exterior and RCBS lube on a Q-tip to lube the inside of the neck. No stuck cases and they just glide in and out of the sizing die, a little acetone wipe removes the lube and I'm good to go.

^This^. Before I got the Imperial,I used Vaseline.