What do you clean your dies with - Page 2

condor bravo · June 13, 2016, 04:31 PM

I didn't know you were supposed to clean them. Well maybe seating dies when using lubricated bullets and the lube starts to build up inside. Then anything handy like WD40 with a cleaning patch on a dowel rod. Remove the seating stem first. Rifle sizing dies seem to be self cleaning enough since case lube during sizing seems to keep them sufficiently cleaned out. Or maybe I'm missing something here.

Rangerrich99 · June 13, 2016, 11:25 PM

I clean my dies mostly because of my OCD tendencies. So, a couple of weeks before fishing season starts (there's no legal start or end to fishing season here, it's just the break I give myself every year), and after the end of quail season I disassemble my dies and shoot them all with WD-40, run a nylon bore brush through them, wipe them out with a cotton patch, then shoot them all with Hornady One Shot. Some of the dies seem to have quite a bit of dirt in them, some not so much. I've only got 8 sets of dies, so this entire process takes less than an hour. Allow them to air dry, then reset them all back on their respective turrets and I'm back in business.

I do about the same thing to my presses.

Pathfinder45 · June 14, 2016, 01:47 AM

I rarely ever clean most of them. But my 45 Colt seating die gets a lot of hand-lubed, cast bullets that leave a buildup of excess lube that has to be cleaned out regularly. Boiling water or cautious use of a torch melts it out quickly, followed by a soft cloth while it's still warm and it's good to go again.

pete2 · June 14, 2016, 10:08 PM

I use paper towels and acetone. The seating dies build up with bullet lube occasionally.

Clark · June 17, 2016, 01:09 PM

I read this 14 years ago

http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm
POLISH THE DIES.... I polish the inside of my rifle reloading dies. Most die manufacturers leave the die bores smooth but not polished. A polished die will resize with much less axial force than one in the as-received condition. I disassemble them and put a little Flitz on a cotton bore mop held in a drill motor and polish each one for 30 seconds or more at a 300 to 600 rpm speed. Sometimes I have to wrap a paper towel around the swab to get a good fit. Then I clean all the polish out with hot water and dry with a paper towel wrapped around a clean cotton swab. The polishing process does not remove a measurable amount of material, but results in smoother operation, minimizes the scratching or scoring of the brass, and minimizes crumpling problems when I use them while forming wildcat brass.

For the 14 years since then I have pulled the decapping stem and put the die in the mini lathe chuck, spun it, and poked inside with a Q tip with Flitz on it.
Then I poke it with a clean Q tip.

Cleaning does not seem to be needed for sizing dies that only see clean brass.
But if you want to see really dirty dies, buy used dies off Ebay. Some of those dies are very dirty.

RC20 · June 17, 2016, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Clean them the same way you'd clean your gun...

I found that the cases work better if not polished first (I used Hornady spray lube)

So I do get crud in the chamber from the bit of carbon.

So I figure that that is what gun cleaning solvent is for and when I clean them that's what I use.

Oil when done and clean out residue.

F. Guffey · June 18, 2016, 10:18 AM

Quote:

I found that the cases work better if not polished first (I used Hornady spray lube)

And I want nothing between the cases and die but air and a little lube, not a lot of lube; a fluid can not be compressed, fluid will flow. The most impossible concept about sizing that is impossible for a reloader to comprehend is the thin coating of lube prevents contact between the die and case.

A case is embeddable, anything left on the case when sized is embedded into the case, after that the case has a surface that takes the shine from the inside of the die and chamber. Again, I want nothing between my chamber and case gut air, not a lot of air; same for the die but instead of air I want lube. Not a lot of lube, just a film. And I insist the lube is clean, any dirt, grit and or grime in the lube will be imbedded into the case even though the lube will flow the lube will not carry the dirt, grit and or grime with it.

F. Guffey

June 13, 2016, 04:31 PM	#26
condor bravo Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2014 Location: Nevada/Ariz/CA Posts: 1,753	I didn't know you were supposed to clean them. Well maybe seating dies when using lubricated bullets and the lube starts to build up inside. Then anything handy like WD40 with a cleaning patch on a dowel rod. Remove the seating stem first. Rifle sizing dies seem to be self cleaning enough since case lube during sizing seems to keep them sufficiently cleaned out. Or maybe I'm missing something here. __________________ Ouch, the dreaded "M-1 thumb", you just know it will happen eventually, so why not do it now and get it over with??

June 17, 2016, 01:09 PM	#30
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	I read this 14 years ago http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm POLISH THE DIES.... I polish the inside of my rifle reloading dies. Most die manufacturers leave the die bores smooth but not polished. A polished die will resize with much less axial force than one in the as-received condition. I disassemble them and put a little Flitz on a cotton bore mop held in a drill motor and polish each one for 30 seconds or more at a 300 to 600 rpm speed. Sometimes I have to wrap a paper towel around the swab to get a good fit. Then I clean all the polish out with hot water and dry with a paper towel wrapped around a clean cotton swab. The polishing process does not remove a measurable amount of material, but results in smoother operation, minimizes the scratching or scoring of the brass, and minimizes crumpling problems when I use them while forming wildcat brass. For the 14 years since then I have pulled the decapping stem and put the die in the mini lathe chuck, spun it, and poked inside with a Q tip with Flitz on it. Then I poke it with a clean Q tip. Cleaning does not seem to be needed for sizing dies that only see clean brass. But if you want to see really dirty dies, buy used dies off Ebay. Some of those dies are very dirty. __________________ The word 'forum" does not mean "not criticizing books." "Ad hominem fallacy" is not the same as point by point criticism of books. If you bought the book, and believe it all, it may FEEL like an ad hominem attack, but you might strive to accept other points of view may exist. Are we a nation of competing ideas, or a nation of forced conformity of thought?

June 13, 2016, 11:25 PM	#27
Rangerrich99 Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Location: Kinda near Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,254	I clean my dies mostly because of my OCD tendencies. So, a couple of weeks before fishing season starts (there's no legal start or end to fishing season here, it's just the break I give myself every year), and after the end of quail season I disassemble my dies and shoot them all with WD-40, run a nylon bore brush through them, wipe them out with a cotton patch, then shoot them all with Hornady One Shot. Some of the dies seem to have quite a bit of dirt in them, some not so much. I've only got 8 sets of dies, so this entire process takes less than an hour. Allow them to air dry, then reset them all back on their respective turrets and I'm back in business. I do about the same thing to my presses.

June 14, 2016, 01:47 AM	#28
Pathfinder45 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Posts: 3,224	I rarely ever clean most of them. But my 45 Colt seating die gets a lot of hand-lubed, cast bullets that leave a buildup of excess lube that has to be cleaned out regularly. Boiling water or cautious use of a torch melts it out quickly, followed by a soft cloth while it's still warm and it's good to go again.

June 14, 2016, 10:08 PM	#29
pete2 Senior Member Join Date: May 15, 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 2,566	I use paper towels and acetone. The seating dies build up with bullet lube occasionally.