Cleaning/lapping die bodies

StainlessButcher · December 23, 2009, 02:16 PM

I got some miscellaneous dies for .45 acp, .38 spl, and 7mm Rem mag with a bunch of stuff off ebay and noticed that the insides of some of the die bodies was some rust/corrosion/dirt?...not sure what is in there, but they seem to be in need of a good cleaning. What do you guys suggest to do this with, or are these things beyond help and need to be scrapped?

Butch.

GP100man · December 23, 2009, 04:14 PM

Take some 0000 steel wool & wrap around appropriate brush & wet with solvent & shine away , if very cruddy ya may need to change wool a couple of times.

Then after the crude is gone wet a tite fittin mop with FLITZ to put final finish on.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot · December 23, 2009, 09:24 PM

I just made mention of it on another thread, but I recently cleaned up a set of rusted 06 dies.

First, they got a bath in Naval jelly and then I used a Drumel tool polishing wheel with some of their polishing compound.

The dies are not like new, but considering the cost, $00.00, they will do for the little sizing I do for 06.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol Coot

F. Guffey · December 23, 2009, 09:48 PM

Inside of die cleaning, I use a towel on a dowel.

F. Guffey

rg1 · December 24, 2009, 10:14 AM

On dies that need it I use super fine polishing paper by hand, wrapped around a rod. You'd have to polish for hours by hand to remove enough to change dimensions.

**Unclenick** · December 24, 2009, 02:13 PM

If you have serious rust or pitting, I would actually advise against Naval Jelly or other acid-based rust neutralizers. The chelating solutions like Evaporust (Harbor Freight had it last time I was in) and Rust Release are very effective. You degrease, then immerse the rusted steel in them. In about 10 minutes to half an hour the rust has all turned to black powder that falls off. It doesn't activate the surface and cause after-rust to nearly the degree the acids do, and it doesn't etch good steel significantly.

Afterward, you'll want to rinse and dry then polish the surface. Mr. Guffey's towel and dowel approach with some Flitz or other other metal polish on it will do just fine for that. I don't think you'll find pits in the dies are really all that big a deal as long as the sharp edges are polished down. On the downside, you may still see some marking on the brass. On the plus side, small pits act like lube reservoirs and a chance of having a stuck case is diminished by that.

December 23, 2009, 02:16 PM	#1
StainlessButcher Member Join Date: December 15, 2009 Posts: 52	Cleaning/lapping die bodies I got some miscellaneous dies for .45 acp, .38 spl, and 7mm Rem mag with a bunch of stuff off ebay and noticed that the insides of some of the die bodies was some rust/corrosion/dirt?...not sure what is in there, but they seem to be in need of a good cleaning. What do you guys suggest to do this with, or are these things beyond help and need to be scrapped? Butch. __________________ Custom Leather work at affordable prices www.twistedleather.com

December 23, 2009, 04:14 PM	#2
GP100man Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2007 Location: Tabor City , NC. Posts: 1,969	Take some 0000 steel wool & wrap around appropriate brush & wet with solvent & shine away , if very cruddy ya may need to change wool a couple of times. Then after the crude is gone wet a tite fittin mop with FLITZ to put final finish on. __________________ GP100man

December 24, 2009, 02:13 PM	#6
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	If you have serious rust or pitting, I would actually advise against Naval Jelly or other acid-based rust neutralizers. The chelating solutions like Evaporust (Harbor Freight had it last time I was in) and Rust Release are very effective. You degrease, then immerse the rusted steel in them. In about 10 minutes to half an hour the rust has all turned to black powder that falls off. It doesn't activate the surface and cause after-rust to nearly the degree the acids do, and it doesn't etch good steel significantly. Afterward, you'll want to rinse and dry then polish the surface. Mr. Guffey's towel and dowel approach with some Flitz or other other metal polish on it will do just fine for that. I don't think you'll find pits in the dies are really all that big a deal as long as the sharp edges are polished down. On the downside, you may still see some marking on the brass. On the plus side, small pits act like lube reservoirs and a chance of having a stuck case is diminished by that. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

December 23, 2009, 09:24 PM	#3
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2009 Location: Deary, Ideeeeeeho Posts: 531	I just made mention of it on another thread, but I recently cleaned up a set of rusted 06 dies. First, they got a bath in Naval jelly and then I used a Drumel tool polishing wheel with some of their polishing compound. The dies are not like new, but considering the cost, $00.00, they will do for the little sizing I do for 06. Keep em coming! Crusty Deary Ol Coot

December 23, 2009, 09:48 PM	#4
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	Inside of die cleaning, I use a towel on a dowel. F. Guffey

December 24, 2009, 10:14 AM	#5
rg1 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Posts: 1,125	On dies that need it I use super fine polishing paper by hand, wrapped around a rod. You'd have to polish for hours by hand to remove enough to change dimensions.