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Old October 16, 2012, 11:53 AM   #1
browninghunter86
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Best Way to protect dies

I reload in my garage and the weather in South GA is humid and hot. Dies get surface rust easily, so I used steel wool to remove it all now what should I do to help prevent it? I wiped the outside of them down with my silicone rag will that help? Prior I just put light coat of rem oil and that didn't seem to help that much


*** I was thinking about getting a Forster die box and getting some of the rust paper strips to put in the die box to help along with wiping them down with the silicone rag***

Thanks
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Old October 16, 2012, 12:23 PM   #2
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Get a pelican box (one that has a gasket) and buy yourself like 10 silicon gel packets on amazon
Wrap the dies in rust paper and put them on the box with the silicon gel packets
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Old October 16, 2012, 12:36 PM   #3
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Mastergunner has a great idea. I just useTupperwear containers for stuff I wanna keep away from moisture. Also I have a "soak" of Marvel's Mystery Oil, Kroil, and mineral spirits that lives on my bench. I clean my dies in this mix and don't wipe the dies completely dry afterwards. I then can put them in a "sealed" container and not worry about rust, at least here in rainy Oregon coast...
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Old October 16, 2012, 12:46 PM   #4
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where can I get rust paper in small quantity? Sites I saw were all industrial ammounts

Thanks
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Old October 16, 2012, 12:58 PM   #5
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This may be a hassle and I'm not saying you HAVE to do it, but if I were in your shoes, here is what I would do:

I would keep my powder and primers in the house and grab what I needed, each time that I needed them.

Furthermore, I would put all my die boxes in a nice Rubbermaid-type tub of appropriate size (just big enough to work, but as small as I could get by with) and I'd be bringing my box of dies to the bench for each session, and leaving with that box when I'm done, storing them in the house.
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Old October 16, 2012, 01:40 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sevens View Post
This may be a hassle and I'm not saying you HAVE to do it, but if I were in your shoes, here is what I would do:

I would keep my powder and primers in the house and grab what I needed, each time that I needed them.

Furthermore, I would put all my die boxes in a nice Rubbermaid-type tub of appropriate size (just big enough to work, but as small as I could get by with) and I'd be bringing my box of dies to the bench for each session, and leaving with that box when I'm done, storing them in the house.
That's a good idea, I was going to mention the powder and primers but i didn't
Also, the Tupperware is a better idea than the pelican case, I thing you can get the with vacuum seal, that way you can take all the air = less moisture!

And I'd say call up some of your local gun shops and sporting goods stores to find rust paper.

Maybe try amazon?
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Old October 16, 2012, 02:44 PM   #7
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/VCI-Protecti...item4ab92b9c2d

I found this on ebay
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Old October 16, 2012, 03:03 PM   #8
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That'll help. You can also put any kind of rust inhibiting oil on. LPS-2 or Birchwood Casey Sheath for short term (under six months). LPS-3 or Boeshield T9 for a year or two. The latter two evaporate a carrier off to leave a soft waxy coating, so you need to be prepared to clean the dies before using them again.
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Old October 16, 2012, 03:15 PM   #9
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Sevens that's exactly what I do and seems to work well. I keep it all in my gun safe so it helps justify a bigger safe. :-). I also store everything else, spare parts, brass, bullets, in the garage in sealed Tupperware. Electronics are keep inside.
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Old October 16, 2012, 05:10 PM   #10
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Silicon doesn't do a lot against rust. VPI paper is good but it has a shelf life and it's difficult to keep the stuff around all the time. My answer is oil.

The best 'gun' oil I've found is Automatic Transmission Fluid from Walmart's auto lube dept. It spreads easily, penetrates great and has excellant film strenght to protect from rusting but it wipes off my dies very well for use. All oils eventually evaporate, most - such as WD-40 - leave a gummy, varnish-like film but ATF does not.

I oil my dies after each use, put them away and clean them before the next use. Cleaning is with a custom made swab of toilet paper wrapped around a pencil and dampened with cheap mineral spirits/oderless paint thinner; couple of spins inside and the die is ready to use.
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Old October 16, 2012, 05:26 PM   #11
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bh. 10/17/12

I live in the tropics and have the same problem with dies rusting. The simplest answer was to get some tupperware and fill them with about an inch of WD-40 (bought by the gallon from the hardware store for about $20) and just leave the dies submersed. When I need the dies I pull them out, give them a quick wipe with a paper towel and they're good to go. Good luck.

best wishes- oldandslow
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Old October 16, 2012, 05:37 PM   #12
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thanks for the help. don't know why lee die box has a hole in the side where air goes right into the box. The other brand die boxes all appear to close with no direct air getting in
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Old October 16, 2012, 06:40 PM   #13
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The hole is to let the moisture out.
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Old October 16, 2012, 07:34 PM   #14
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I have just started using FrogLube on my firearms so I cant speak to its effectiveness as a lube, but others at my range have been using it for a while and rave about its effectiveness as a protectant. It is a little pricey but it will not run off your dies like an oil will.

The nice thing is when you are ready to use your dies you can just wipe them down with a cloth and reapply a little more FL when you are done. No mess, no fuss.
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Old October 16, 2012, 08:04 PM   #15
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No fan of WD-40 here. It leaves a varnish type residue behind that is gummy and very difficult to remove. Tests show it works poorly as a rust preventative.

I suggest giving them a coating of your favorite rust preventative that you use on your blued firearms. Inside and outside. For the outside I use a chip brush to evenly coat all surfaces. I use Breakfree CLP, but almost any will work just fine.

If I were going to store them for over a year, I would suggest coating with Rig grease. But for more often use, the normal rust preventatives work just fine.
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Old October 16, 2012, 09:12 PM   #16
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Brush a thin coat of Breakfree Collector or Eezox on them. My reloading tools live in my garage and it's worked well for me.
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Old October 16, 2012, 10:01 PM   #17
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I use a lanonlin oil for my dies. "lano-lube" is what its called. (it comes from sheep, baaaaa)

When I get new dies, I rub them down with lano-lube, and then never have to think about it again. Gun oils will eventually need to be re-applied, but lano-lube has yet to let me down, and I keep my dies on a shelf in my unheated basement. One set I forgot to apply it too started to rust, so I rubbed some steel wool on and lano-lubed em and that was that...

BTW, this lano-lube is what I use on my tool at work, so thats why I use it at home. Supposedly, no matter how hard you wipe after applying, a thin film remains, and its not a liquid so its not going to run down the die, it stays put.
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Old October 16, 2012, 10:14 PM   #18
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Good call on the lanolin.
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Old October 16, 2012, 11:16 PM   #19
browninghunter86
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lano lube stuff sounds interesting. I am glad there are people who have experience using stuff in their real jobs to verify what works and what might not be so good to try
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Old October 17, 2012, 03:44 AM   #20
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The lanolin option sounds interesting.

For a followup on the WD-40. It works great as a water displacing agent (that's what the "WD" stands for, formula number 40). It works poorly as a lubricant and if left to dry on metal it attracts dust. When dies are placed in an enclosed container immersed in WD-40 there is no evaporation or dusty-grime residue. It's worked for me for years.

best wishes- oldandslow
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Old October 19, 2012, 09:54 AM   #21
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Rust preventitive paper

I got some of the rust perventive paper that browninghunter86 linked to and cut it to fit snugly inside all of my die boxes, lined the top and bottom of the boxes with it. It's working great, I also am in wonderfull Wet Oregon. I just sprayed the back of the paper with a spray adhesive.

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Old October 19, 2012, 10:45 AM   #22
browninghunter86
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ecellent. I am waiting on mine to come in. Some great guys on another forum actually had extra and are suppose to be mailing me a few small pieces to fit in the die box like above picture
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Old October 19, 2012, 01:11 PM   #23
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Would ACF50 be an option?

It's O-ring kind, spreads evenly and is an anti-corrosive...
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Old October 19, 2012, 08:48 PM   #24
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RIG on whatever it is that you dont want to rust.
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Old October 19, 2012, 10:50 PM   #25
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I've saturated old t-shirts in oil and wrap whatever I need to protect completly inside it. Every once in a while I pick them up and drip a bit more oil on the rag and work it in. Works good on tools and such that are stored out in old sheds or storage bins. They get put in plastic containers(when possible) so there is also a first line of defence.
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