Die Cleaning

[Go West Old Man]

What are your methods for cleaning your dies/die sets so that they’re relatively close to “new” clean & bright, remove a little faint surface rust, get the threads we’ll cleaned, etc.? Can you put them in an ultrasonic cleaner? Thanks.

 

[CentralPAhunter]

Dont see why not, but a bit of acetone with soft brushes should clean them up nicely too. The inside is all that really matters. Ive never more that wiped mine down, but I don't load huge volumes.

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[long hunter]

Take them apart, blast the pieces with gun scrubber wipe dry, lay out for about a hour all the parts on a cloth too ensure they are completly dry, if needed a soft tooth brush will help with the cleaning, give a light spray of rem. oil or a similar lube ( LIGHT SPRAY) wipe off really well with a clean cloth and re-assemble.

 

[tdhanses]

I use brake cleaner.

 

[long hunter]

Basically the same thing, but a bit cheaper. I also have been known too use brake cleaner.

 

[cmahoney]

Carb cleaner and q-tips


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[CentralPAhunter]

If you use something that doesn't evaporate, be sure to wipe thatboff with something that will. You can oil the outside, I'd just wipe a thin film of wax inside. Good luck.

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[SDHNTR]

Brake cleaner and then a light spray of Tetra triple action.

 

[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

I don't think I have ever cleaned a set of dies in almost 20 years of reloading.

The instructions always say to clean them before use, but I have never done it.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Brake cleaner and then a light spray of Tetra triple action.

This, only chase it with a light mist of Rem oil and push a cleaning patch up through the bottom and twirl it around on the patch holder to clean any residual.

 

[Spence]

To clean,
I use break cleaner. Qtips if needed. Then after they have dried, lubricate lightly what needs lubrication.

 

[MallardAddict]

As said probably 10 times above, brake cleaner out of the box and then wipe the interior with a light coat of oil and wipe off any excess. Outside gets wiped with corrosion-x.

Every so often I will pull out the dies I am actually using and repeat the process just to be sure no junk or excess lube is accumulating.

Probably overkill but only takes a minute to clean them back up

 

[long hunter]

cleaned a set of 45 acp dies yesterday, have not used in years, but have a bunch of brass and decided too start catching up on things over the winter, most of my re-loading now is for rifles.

 

[Dos Perros]

Brake cleaner, scrub with soft brush if necessary, lubricate/oil (I've used gun oil, OneShot, silicone), and then I like to pull a snug fitting cloth through the inside to remove excess.

 

[shtrbc]

Brake cleaner and compressed air out in the garage. A soft tube cleaning brush if really dirty. Biggest thing I have run into in the past as mentioned is preservative oil put on the dies from the factory, build up of gunky case lube from years past, and small brass filings in pistol dies or crimp dies. The preservative oil and excessive case lube that builds up on the portion of the die that contacts the case shoulder can cause "dents" or little "waves" on the cases. Basically nowhere for the lube to go so the case ends up slightly damaged. Also mentioned was ultra sonics. Work great just make sure to preserve the die with something as all traces of lubricants will be removed and dies will rust quickly. Had a guy at work run EVERY DIE HE OWNED through the big ultra sonic at work in one big batch. Pulled them out, blew off the cleaning solution with compressed air, and figured he was good until morning. He came back the next day and every die was a ball of rust. Stainless steel brushes on the outsides and Scotchbrite on all interior surfaces got him back in business but man what a sick feeling looking at all those rusty dies. Just hose them down with SOMETHING oil based after the ultra sonics.

 

[Fredrik E]

I run them in the Ultrasonic cleaner and then wipe them down with some gunoil.

 

[Westman]

Used to use brake cleaner but have switched to ether starter fluid. Leaves less residue and dries faster.

 

[Randolph68]

I use a sonic cleaner. Wipe dry and brush them down with rubbing alcohol. I use a plastic shotgun patch cleaner with my drill and a soft patch to polish the inside. Lightly oil things and reassemble. works Great.

 

[couesfreak23]

+1 on the break kleen

 

[jshelton2006]

Bore or brake cleaner and a brush if needed, then lightly oil to prevent rust