Cleaning Dies

So how do you all clean your reloading dies?

I don't have the luxury of having a nice warm, dry and cozy reloading room in the house (yet!), so my reloading bench is relegated to being in the garage. I hit most everything with a good dose of carburetor cleaner a couple times a year, or if I know I'm not going to be using something for awhile I'll give it a good shot of WD-40 to help fend off the rust. However, I've noticed that I get some crud build-up in the shoulder and neck areas that's particularly stubborn.

WD 40 insnt good at preventing rust, you need to use real oil, I just use the same CLP that I use to lube my guns....

Other than that, I have never had to clean my dies, so cant help you there, but If I did, i would probably try alcohol first and work up from there... make sure you lube them after you clean them...

I hardly ever detail clean the dies but when I do I use the same products on the dies as I do on the weapons. My reloading is done in a temperature and humidity controlled area though, so its not a real problem.

If you mainly have trouble with the sizing dies perhaps the lube you use affects how grungy and corrosion resistant the dies are. When I fl or body size I use Imperial case lube and it does a nice job of leaving a nice barrier on the die insides.

If you spray your dies with carb cleaner without immediately lubing them you are asking for trouble, and WD-40 is a poor rust preventitive and/or lube

If you shoot a lot of lead bullet loads, the lube will build up in the seating die and need periodic cleaning. I dump mine into Methel Ethel Keytone (MEK), clean with an old Glock nylon bore brush and in short order the crud is cleaned out. Of course, I do it outside.

For normal cleaning of new dies and sizing dies with a buildup of sizing lube, I use plain old Hoppe's #9. My load room is our old den so my area is temperature controlled and rust is no longer an issue like it was when I was set up in a storage shed.

I thought my dies looked back last night...but then I pulled out my brass this morning. Holy oxidation Batman! Brand new in-the-box Lapua .222 Rem brass looks worse than most of the brass I pick up at the range. Even my bullets are oxidized. I had hoped to get my office remodeled this summer so I could do my reloading indoors and keep everything in a climate controlled environment, but alas that didn't happen. Might have to try out one of those ultrasonic setups as this hand cleaning is for the birds.

Would be nice if someone made chamber brushes for all the different standard cartridges as it would make cleaning dies a LOT easier, but all I can find are ones for .223 and .308 for AR-style rifles. Shotgun mops and brushes work well for some, but really don't let you get up into the neck/shoulder area.

I clean dies with either a solvent like Shooter's Choice or brake cleaner.......then every one gets a couple coats of Hornady One Shot spray (inside and out). The One Shot really does help keep the rust in check.

Take out the innards and put them in your vib case cleaner for about 3-5 hours.

Gumout Carb cleaner is my favorite. If I use my Lee dies alot. I take them apart & clean 'em up real good once in a while. A drop or two of oil when necessary & they're good to go. If you get alot of "stuff"in them, fill it half way with carb cleaner or paint thinner & shake briskly. Empty & repeat if necessary. Remember, no smoking & do it outside or you'll be getting divorced if your garage is attached to the house. I learned that the hard way & I'm still hearing about it. My garage is air conditioned & the fumes wafted thru the house while my wife had her Avon rep & friends over.....

Carb or brake cleaner works well. Dry with compressed air. THEN....a healthy dose of Hornady One Shot, shake out excess, and let dry. This is the ONLY thing I use One Shot for (commonly referred to One Case Stuck).

For your brass, start buying ZipLoc brand gallon bags, and store all of your brass in them. You will still have some minor change in color due to temperature variation.

Another trick, store powder, primers, brass, loaded ammo....in a non operating refrigerator or freezer. These actually help to control temps due to the insulation. Don't store your powder and primers together please. :)

I saw on one of the shooting shows on The Outdoor Chanel that RCBS offers a die cleaning kit.

I clean mine once a year with #9 and a brass cleaning brush, run some air from the compressor, then some CLP on a patch.

Jim;

If you are getting a lot of oxidation, you should try storing all that stuff in the big Sterilite plastic bins that WalMart sells. Also get some dessicant to add to the bin.

If you have any oxidizers in your garage such as salt, fertilizer, powdered chlorine, etc, you will need to move them.

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Originally Posted by trappst

The One Shot really does help keep the rust in check.

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+1 - The Hornady One Shot is an areosol wax based lube and gets along fine with imperial sizing wax. It ain't great for lubing cases but it does prevent rust and doesn't cause problems with the Imperial (if that is what you use for sizing).

Petrolium based rust preventers and wax can make a big gooey mess when you combine them (especially inside the barrel of a black powder gun!! - but does a similar thing

Yep, the only reason I keep One Shot on the shelf is for coating dies. Any case sizing chores get Imperial sizing wax.

I'll also add a +1 to keeping brass stored in ziplock bags. Works great and I put a piece of masking tape on the bag to identify what the cases are, how many times fired and any other info I might want to add.