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Old January 6, 2013, 09:40 PM   #26
FrankenMauser
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I don't understand the complaints about the price of Imperial.

I paid about $5 for the 2 oz tin, in 2008. I've sized about 6k cases with that tin.
I might have to buy another tin in about 15-20 years, when there's still 3/16 oz left, but it's all in the corners.
So, it's costing me about.... $0.20 to $0.25 per year.

You don't need much. A little goes a LONG way. Quite often, when I'm sizing large batches of brass, I won't even lube every 2nd or 3rd case. The little bit of residue in the die is enough.


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No wrinkled shell shoulders or excessive amounts of resizing wax seen built up over time on my dies de-capping stems.
Excess lube is excess lube. It doesn't matter if it's wax, 'goo', glycerin, oil, petrolatum, or an aerosolized lanolin-alcohol solution -- too much is too much; and they all show it in their own ways.
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Old January 6, 2013, 09:43 PM   #27
BigD_in_FL
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+1 frankenmauser, too many take the typical US mentality, if a little is good, a lot MUST be better.............
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Old January 6, 2013, 09:49 PM   #28
Tim R
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I use RCBS case Lube 2 on a lube pad. It wipes off with a damp rag. I tried the Imperial and found the RCBS case lube 2 works better. No need to tumble after sizing.
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Old January 6, 2013, 10:22 PM   #29
old roper
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I use Imperial for neck turning odds and ends never used it for sizing. I still have some when LE Clear was making that stuff.

I normally use FL body die for sizing so I try have maybe 50 cases per rifle for sizing so I may size 150 up to 300 cases at one time. I have extra drum for the sidewinder and I use pad RCBS lube. My varmint rifles do the same thing.
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Old January 7, 2013, 03:39 PM   #30
hounddawg
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Being retired means I am easily amused and have way too much time on my hands. So I just tried a experiment with some .223 range brass. First tried some Kiwi au natural shoe polish (clear) and some Harley Davidson leather treatment ( mink oil ?) both worked like a champ for 20 cases each. Then stepped up to .308, which is the largest cartridge I load. Of the 2 the what I think is mink oil worked the best but both did work. If my Imperial tin is ever empty I think I might just get the tin of mink oil back out
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Old January 7, 2013, 06:22 PM   #31
5R milspec
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For me its not really the cost,it was just an idea and something I use.My good friend showed me imperial and I asked him about the shoe polish.A few days later he called me and said to run with it,that it was a really close mix to imperial wouldn't hurt a thing.I just like passing on the cost saving use of the mink oil.Plus I support the local with me buying it here at home.

I too have a large can of Minwax floor polish I think might work,but haven't tried it yet.Just might next time I need to FL a few cases.If it works I'll be good till the cows come home,and I have no cows that need to come home.
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Old January 7, 2013, 06:26 PM   #32
hodaka
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I switched to Kiwi when my last can of Imperial ran out. I can't tell a difference. The hardest case to size that I have is the Swiss 7.5x55 and the Kiwi works fine. Besides, they sell it at the grocery store which is open 24 -7.
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Old January 9, 2013, 05:50 AM   #33
Mike / Tx
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I have used Imperial for years, don't even remeber when I started but I know what I started using it with, and that was a 1K batch of .308 brass which had been fired through MG's. I tried everything I had on hand, spray, pad lube, you name it I stuck a case with it. After getting the ISW I ran through the rest of those cases with nary a one sticking.

Also used the Kiwi as well. We were out of town for a week, and I had brought my loading stuff to work up a few loads in a couple of rifles. I brought everything but case lube. Did a quick (relatively speaking for he dial up we have there) search on the net and had the wife pick me up a can of Kiwi when she went to town. It worked like a charm.

I have tumbled mine clean and also used a plastic paint bucket with denatured alcohol in it both to remove the lube. With the alcohol, I simply dumped in half a bucket of cases and poured in enough alcohol to cover them. Put the lid on and give a few shakes, and a roll or two, then pour off the alcohol into another container. The alcohol can be used several times before you might start to see a residual film on the cases from the lube. Once there I have added in about a small marble sized dab of either the Kiwi or ISW to it and used it for spray lube in one of those hand pump squirt bottles. I only use the spray on large batches of pistol cases though, I am sure if the concentration was right it could be used on rifle as well. I just cannot bring myself to stick a case just to find out.
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Old January 9, 2013, 08:31 AM   #34
howlnmad
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Love the stuff but when this can runs out I'm going to give the kiwi a try.
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Old January 9, 2013, 10:55 AM   #35
DFrame
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I've been using Imperial since sometime in the 70s. Never found a better product.
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Old January 9, 2013, 11:12 AM   #36
schmellba99
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Never used it.

I use the Dillon case lube that comes in a spray bottle. I commandeered and old cookie sheet from the wife several years back strictly for case lubing. Lay the cases out flat on the sheet, give a couple of sprays of the Dillon case lube, roll the sheet around to get good distribution and wait about 5 minutes. After that, load away.

In that waiting period I'm usually filling up the primer tube for the progressive or setting up dies on the single stage. I've never had a problem with stuck cases, the lube is cheap and lasts a long time and is easy to do.

Once I'm done loading, loaded rounds go on a towel and get a shot of non CFC brake parts cleaner. Wrap the towel up around the rounds, roll them around a bit and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Shiny, clean and completely devoid of any lube on the surface and ready to shoot.
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Old January 9, 2013, 12:39 PM   #37
medalguy
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I'm thinking about buying a bunch of Imperial and dumping it in a crock pot so I can heat it up and just dip the cases in there to lube them. As BigD says, if a little works......

Seriously, I've been using Imperial about 20 years now and it's the cat's meow. I don't see any need to use anything else.

My "formula" when I'm loading a lot of 5.56 or 7.62 is to put about 200 pieces of brass in a 9 x 13 baking pan I "liberated" from the wife's kitchen, smear a generous amount of Imperial on my hands, and just rub the brass pretty thoroughly, then move on to the next pan. I can usually do 2 pans, maybe 3, without having to go back for more lube, and this way it's faster and easier for me. Not every case gets lube, but it's only necessary to hit about half of the cases anyway. And I never stick a case any more.

I'm on my second tin of Imperial in those 20 years, and I've probably reloaded somewhere north of 100,000 rounds with these 2 tins. Economical enough for me.
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Old January 10, 2013, 01:46 PM   #38
Kevin Rohrer
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I'm on my second tin of Imperial in those 20 years, and I've probably reloaded somewhere north of 100,000 rounds with these 2 tins. Economical enough for me.

Congratulations, you have officially impressed me.
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Old January 10, 2013, 05:27 PM   #39
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'Bout all I'll use. A little tin goes a long way.
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Old January 12, 2013, 01:28 PM   #40
Eppie
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ISW is what I use, but its good to know about mink oil.

It's even better to know that Harbor Freight and pet stores sell walnut media. I assume it's better priced there than at the gun store.
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Old January 13, 2013, 12:06 PM   #41
marvintm1
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Mineral Spirits is a known solvent for wax based products. Low odor versions available - really cheap. I wrap a bunch of cases inside a towel dribbled with spirits - looks like a hobo's shoulder bag. Then just scrunch them around inside it. Or open it up and roll the cases on the soaked towel with a flat palm.

I just dont like to coat my tumbler media with wax. Media is supposed to be mildly abrasive... coating it with a lubricant seems silly and wasteful to me.

Another way would be to put a spirits dampened chunk of towel and brass inside a rotary tumbler (thumblers) and let it spin.

The point made about firing lubed cases... I dont know of any centerfire factory ammo that has lubricant on the brass (intentionally). That should tell you something.
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Old January 14, 2013, 07:52 AM   #42
stubbicatt
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I too really love Imperial. Have a tin I bought sometime in the early 90's. I don't use it so much anymore, even though in many ways it is superior.

I take a toothpaste tube of Lee Sizing Lube, mix it with 90% ISO alcohol, and put it in a small, like 1 cup, atomizer bottle. Shake it up really good, squirt 6 squirts or so into a large freezer bag, add cases, roll 'em around in there, pour them out onto a screen to dry, repeat as necessary.

Gets a little lube down inside the necks which is really swell, and they size right up. Take another towel with a bit of 50/50 ISO and water and wipe them down when done.

So much faster, and better IMO. Certainly it is as good. Probably not cheaper though.
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