Die cleaning

[robinzon]

This is an odd one..... Sometime ago I got a bunch of Redding dies off gunbroker or ebay can't remember competition seater, neck die, bushing neck die, full length sizer, body die, Lee neck die.... at any rate I did notice some brown residue on the dies so I finally got around to soaking them in Evaporust, not much came off... apparently its not all quite rust. Rather, it seems its either the original storage coating or something else, it was mostly under the nuts stuck like thick honey.

I used carb cleaner to soak... some came off with some elbow grease and paper towels, and some stayed. I tried a Kroil soak... did not do much actually, Carb cleaner yet again and a plastic bristle brush... not much luck there either. So either I get some steel wool to get into the grooves or Ultrasonic cleaner. If anyone has any other recommendations I am all ears. I doubt GOO BE GONE is a good idea. All my dies are in perfect condition (and I bought those new and treated them appropriately), so I never had issues with this goo.

Thanks

 

[Paddyd]

Just use some Hoppes #9 , an old bore brush and some patches. Forget the carb cleaner.. It will strip the oils from the die and cause rusting. The Hoppes will cut any old grease and other crud like bullet lube, carbon etc. and leave a light protective coating behind.
What you describe sounds an awful lot like old RIG grease to me.. That stuff is fantastic for long term storage, but tends to dry and look just like what you describe.

 

[rwj]

If it’s the original storage preservative, a good candidate is cosmoline. The older/drier it gets, the more difficult it becomes to remove. Heat often helps soften it and allows other cleaners to become effective.

 

[Fast14riot]

Try boiling it. Also, some strong citrus based solvents may work. Oven cleaner may do it, too.

 

[robinzon]

Just use some Hoppes #9 , an old bore brush and some patches. Forget the carb cleaner.. It will strip the oils from the die and cause rusting. The Hoppes will cut any old grease and other crud like bullet lube, carbon etc. and leave a light protective coating behind.
What you describe sounds an awful lot like old RIG grease to me.. That stuff is fantastic for long term storage, but tends to dry and look just like what you describe.

Could be I will try Hoppes... though as others have pointed out I may need to heat it up a bit.... who knows what that crap is, frankly i have not seen dies with this type of gunk unless they are 100 years old... no one should be using Cosmoline type stuff on modern dies.

 

[Bill K]

Not that pricey, buy a couple bottles of Hoppe's 9 and soak them in it a day or so and I bet they will clean up and that gook will break down.

 

[robinzon]

Try boiling it. Also, some strong citrus based solvents may work. Oven cleaner may do it, too.

Thanks as everyone pointed out I may need to heat them up a bit.... what Citrus solvent are you referring to?

I may have to whip out some of that old Sweets 7.62 but that stuff is nasty, will need to wear some decent gloves or
will have some peeling skin again ....

 

[robinzon]

Not that pricey, buy a couple bottles of Hoppe's 9 and soak them in it a day or so and I bet they will clean up and that gook will break down.

Yep thanks I may try just that, though hate to waste Hoppes if it does not work I wonder what the flash point of Hoppes is if I heat them up first