Reloading die corrosion prevention

lazarus · Jun 21, 2020

What do you guys do to prevent corrosion of your dies?

I noticed mine already have just a tiny bit of discoloration setting in after a few months of having them and a month odd since I busted them out and ran them. Probably skin oils I'd guess (looks to only be parts I've touched). Not super humid in my basement. Have the dehumidifier running just outside my gun room.

Didn't occur to me they might rust fast. Just spray with some rem oil? Baristol? Could it be I didn't properly clean them from the factory oils (yeah...I didn't at all until I watched a video just now about preventing corrosion) and I needed to do that (IE reacting with my skin oils)?

Do you oil after every use? Or just periodically? Oil inside the dies, or just on the outside surfaces?

Thanks!

Speedluvn · Jun 21, 2020

Timely thread. I spray mine with WD40. I spray it on the outside. I’m wondering what’s going on on the inside of the die chamber.

Doco Overboard · Jun 21, 2020

Some stuff I spray with outboard motor fogging oil for long term. Ill put it in the factory snap top box and store it in a temp controlled environment.
Tools that i use more frequently I ll wipe down and flood with oil.
Its humid where I;m at so you have to be careful. Especially with ground/ polished tools.
Pretty much anything polished needs to be placed in the till or roll around box after being placed in a box or wrapped with an oily rag.

outrider58 · Jun 21, 2020

It ain't rocket surgery. Swab it out with solvent like Hoppe's. Dry it with another swab

Speedluvn · Jun 21, 2020

outrider58 said:
It ain't rocket surgery. Swab it out with solvent like Hoppe's. Dry it with another swab

Does Hoppe’s leave a protective film? That’s why I’ve been using WD40, thinking a film is being left behind.

teratos · Jun 21, 2020

I use Ballistol.

outrider58 · Jun 21, 2020

Speedluvn said:
Does Hoppe’s leave a protective film? That’s why I’ve been using WD40, thinking a film is being left behind.

WD40 is weak. WD=water displacer-test#40
It's OK in pad locks.
I prefer to swab with a cleaning agent and dry. If things get gritty, swab out again. I usuaslly don't need to other than in between sessions.

Seabee · Jun 21, 2020

Wipe them down with eezox if you have some. Great rust preventive. The sizing lube should protect the inside. If not, clean them and uses eezox.
Flitz polish can remove light rust and leaves a light coating for rust prevention.

holesonpaper · Jun 21, 2020

In the jetski world, most folks coat their motor with wd40 after a day out on the bay... My ski is 20 years old and have been doing for years and have no rust even in a semi-salt water environment. If it works there, I dont see a reason it wouldn’t work here...

Uncle Duke · Jun 21, 2020

I like G96 or Barricade myself. But I think the product itself is probably secondary in importance, to the dies getting some occasional attention, and being wiped down periodically with a light coat of something.

Scrounger · Jun 21, 2020

For rust prevention I have always used Break-Free. I take a 1” round parts cleaning brush and hold it bristles up, then spray oil into them. Then it is a matter of brushing what needs protected with the brush. Q-tips swabs for the inside of the dies.

If a die needs cleaned from the oil, Gun Scrubber or Brake Clean is the usual cleaner.

Since WD40 kills primers I have always kept it out of the loading area.

outrider58 · Jun 21, 2020

holesonpaper said:
In the jetski world, most folks coat their motor with wd40 after a day out on the bay... My ski is 20 years old and have been doing for years and have no rust even in a semi-salt water environment. If it works there, I dont see a reason it wouldn’t work here...

In the jet boat world, I don't know of anyone who uses it in their impellers.

Pensfaninmd · Jun 21, 2020

outrider58 said:
WD40 is weak. WD=water displacer-test#40
It's OK in pad locks.
I prefer to swab with a cleaning agent and dry. If things get gritty, swab out again. I usuaslly don't need to other than in between sessions.

This...

John from MD · Jun 21, 2020

I keep my humidity below 50 % and have no problems with tools rusting. I do run over tool heads and dies with a silicone rag that I keep on the bench. The only time I clean my dies is when the Xlox buildup gets too bad. Now that I powder coat most of my bullets, the dies stay much cleaner.

Speedluvn · Jun 21, 2020

Scrounger said:
For rust prevention I have always used Break-Free. I take a 1” round parts cleaning brush and hold it bristles up, then spray oil into them. Then it is a matter of brushing what needs protected with the brush. Q-tips swabs for the inside of the dies.

If a die needs cleaned from the oil, Gun Scrubber or Brake Clean is the usual cleaner.

Since WD40 kills primers I have always kept it out of the loading area.

Wd40 killing primers is new information for me. I’ve been using it to lube my presses too.

Muleskinner · Jun 21, 2020

I use the exact same thing I use on my firearms...Breakfree. I've had some of my dies for 35 years and was just given some that are close to 60...all still function like they came out of the box.

Scrounger · Jun 21, 2020

Speedluvn said:
Wd40 killing primers is new information for me. I’ve been using it to lube my presses too.

WD40 is the old standby for killing primers, just spray it in the case. It is used to kill primers before decapping brass with live primers, it isn’t safe to try and decap live ones. WD40 also can creep into the space between the primer and primer pocket and kill a primer.

Seagrave1963 · Jun 22, 2020

teratos said:
I use Ballistol.

+2 (10:1 solution)

mikejh · Jun 22, 2020

I clean my dies after every use with Hoppes, then I wipe them down with Starrett M-1 oil. The M-1 oil leaves a unique protective film. It's the only thing I use to clean my dies, calipers, micrometers and tools. I'd never rely on WD-40 for corrosion protection.

Pinecone · Jun 22, 2020

Scrounger said:
Since WD40 kills primers I have always kept it out of the loading area.

OWT.

Oils do not actually kill primers. Not much actually kills primers.

Reloading die corrosion prevention

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