need to clean and lube bullets

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  • Last Post 13 November 2009
jimkim posted this 21 July 2008

 The bottom of the box I was carrying fell through. I now have 1000 240gr LSWC's  covered in dirt and sand. What can I clean them with? I thought about using diesel or mineral spirits. After cleaning I was going to put them in a plastic tray and pour liquid alox on them to relube. Any ideas? Jim

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canalupo posted this 21 July 2008

Alcohol usually works for me. Slosh them around then use an old paint brush or chip brush. Pick up a handful hold them under the liquid and brush off. Most of the wax and lube should come off. Try not to beat them up to bad.

The alcohol can air dry and be easier than trying to clean off fuel oil. The really stubborn stuff may take a rag in alcohol.

Last resort hit with propane torch hot enough to melt lube but don't melt bullets and wipe off. Be careful those little suckers are hot.

Bob D

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runfiverun posted this 21 July 2008

sounds like you need to clean the liquid alox off them not the dirt.

mineral spirits will thin out alox. but you may be spending a bit of time with a rag.

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Brodie posted this 21 July 2008

I would try mineral spirits and xylene or xylol or toluene.  Those three dissolve waxy substances better than any thing I have used.  Wear rubber gloves land use good ventilation.  Let air dry after cleaning.

B.E.Brickey

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jimkim posted this 21 July 2008

I have an old tray and carb cleaner can. Could I use acetone and just soak them in the can? It has a seal-able lid.

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linoww posted this 21 July 2008

I did the same"stunt” with some RCBS green lubed bullets. I used very hot tap water and put the bullets in a colander.I just let the water run over them and agitated them once in awhile.i tried solvents and it never seemed to do anything more than gum them all up.I also use hot water to Purge” my Lubrasizers for lube changes.

George

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cityboy posted this 21 July 2008

I had a bunch of scrap lubed bullets that I wanted to melt but wanted to get the lube off first to avoid the smoke.  I did this by dumping them in an old pot I picked up at a garage sale and then added water. The pot was placed on a hot plate and the pot was brought to a good boil.

The lube, a tough red commerical lube, melted and floated to the surface. This was skimmed off and the bullets dumped into a collender. There was still a film of lube on them so I repeated the process. It was a painless way of getting rid of the lube.

Jim

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303PV posted this 25 July 2008

Yes, I did the same. Because there were different caliber bullets in the box I also had to sort them.

Liquid alox dissolves in acetone.

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CB posted this 30 July 2008

This is only a thought, but try Dawn dish washing liquid and then let the bullets air dry on an old cookie sheet.

Jerry

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dardascastbullets posted this 30 August 2008

jimkim wrote:  The bottom of the box I was carrying fell through. I now have 1000 240gr LSWC's  covered in dirt and sand. What can I clean them with? I thought about using diesel or mineral spirits. After cleaning I was going to put them in a plastic tray and pour liquid alox on them to relube. Any ideas? Jim

I just came across this post and thought I would make a suggestion......if your boolits ended up on the floor which was covered in dirt and sand, I would highly recommend that you recast all of the bullets. Dirt and sand have become embedded into the alloy and no amount of cleaning will expel that. You take the huge risk of damaging (scoring) your barrel's rifling by shooting those contaminated bullets. Any bullets that fall to the floor in my shop go back into the pot.

I trust that this post will find its way to you prior to your loading and shooting those contaminated boolits!

Matt

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Pepe Ray posted this 03 November 2008

Very Hot Water

Pepe Ray

Only in His name.

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JDNC posted this 27 April 2009

jimkim wrote:  The bottom of the box I was carrying fell through. I now have 1000 240gr LSWC's  covered in dirt and sand. What can I clean them with? I thought about using diesel or mineral spirits. After cleaning I was going to put them in a plastic tray and pour liquid alox on them to relube. Any ideas? Jim

I use carb cleaner..the kind you put the whole carb in.   You can get a gal from Advance Auto.  It has a little pail with holes and handle inside the gal metal container.  Just put about a hundred  bullets in and dip for about an hour..they come out clean no brushing.  Just wash off with water.  I'm always trying some new lube and this will take off liquid alox in minutes.

JD

 

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Dicko posted this 13 November 2009

I tend to agree with Matt Dardas.   It has only happened to me once.  It was a lot more than 1000.   But I felt that the effort of recasting a few thousand was better than risking barrel abrasion, especially as the barrels were my customers' not mine.

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