Cleaning and maintaining reloading dies

[wanneroo]

Yesterday I pulled my Lee carbide 9mm dies out and there was a very light film of rusty spots on the exterior surface of the dies. The dies are a few months old.

So my question is what is the best way to maintain and store these dies so they do not turn into rust buckets?

Second, I imagine dies eventually get dirty from running all the brass through them. What is the best way to clean them and how often should you do it?

[knight0334]

I use spray brake cleaner on my from time to time.

If I'm not going to use them for awhile I oil them up with some 3-in-1 oil.

Note, you might need to reclean oiled dies before using them. Especially the resizing die and any die that powder passes through.

Those who tend to have things rust up on them should wear gloves while handling metal items. I've seen a strong connection between certain people's hand/body oils and rust. Some folks seem to be as corrosive as battery acid, others not so. One friend of mine would have rusted finger prints in anything he touched that was made of iron, steel, or tin - within a couple days.

[Bang]

I have Herters and Lee and RCBS dies, some dating back to 1970. Been in an unheated shop since purchased and used, Very little rusting of anything in my shop. Very little preventive applications of any preservatives applied either.

But if I had the problem, I would apply a BOESHIELD product, some of which I used on my saltwater boat with good success:

http://boeshield.com/features-benefits/rustfree/

I clean sizing dies with a bronze bore brush and WD-40 or Hoppe's finished with clean cloth held in straight hemostats or just Q-Tips.

[Svickstc]

Ive heard of people using hot soapy water to clean dies...

but i plan on just using my sonic cleaner with appropriate cleaner (no the solution for cleaning brass thats a little to harsh)...

[wanneroo]

I use spray brake cleaner on my from time to time.

If I'm not going to use them for awhile I oil them up with some 3-in-1 oil.

Note, you might need to reclean oiled dies before using them. Especially the resizing die and any die that powder passes through.

Those who tend to have things rust up on them should wear gloves while handling metal items. I've seen a strong connection between certain people's hand/body oils and rust. Some folks seem to be as corrosive as battery acid, others not so. One friend of mine would have rusted finger prints in anything he touched that was made of iron, steel, or tin - within a couple days.

Typically when I reload I have nitrile gloves on and usually end up handling the dies with them on.

The dies had been in an unheated garage so perhaps with all of the radical temperature changes this month there has been some condensation or something.

Today I bought some desiccant packs and I'm probably going to store them in a plastic ammo can with the packs to cut down on the moisture. I also oiled them up lightly with Ballistol.

If I let them sit for a few months I just don't want to come back and find them all rusted up.

[cephas]

My reloading area also experiences temperature changes and often times high moisture content. Have been rust free many years using the desiccant bags either in the original die box or placed in a plastic zip lock bag.

[dkf]

I usually clean dies with Hoppes and/or Rubbing Alcohol. Dies are stored in the turrets most of the time inside and I use them often so I don't really put anything on to prevent rust.

In an unheated garage they will obviously rust up.

This stuff works to prevent rust short term or long term however it is expensive for such a small can.

http://www.amazon.com/WD-40-300038-S.../dp/B00631GWS4

[GeneCC]

I use spray brake cleaner on my from time to time.

If I'm not going to use them for awhile I oil them up with some 3-in-1 oil.

Note, you might need to reclean oiled dies before using them. Especially the resizing die and any die that powder passes through.

Keep 'em clean. Thank you.

Those who tend to have things rust up on them should wear gloves while handling metal items. I've seen a strong connection between certain people's hand/body oils and rust. Some folks seem to be as corrosive as battery acid, others not so. One friend of mine would have rusted finger prints in anything he touched that was made of iron, steel, or tin - within a couple days.

I have this problem myself. I can pit some stainless steels.

[wanneroo]

I got a humidity gauge going now. Something I have discovered is that outdoor humidity and the unheated garage humidity is typically running around 60-80% whenever I check it and here in the house it's about 30%-35%. Never had any problem with anything in the house.

So lesson learned, I will not be able to leave things like this in the garage and I'll be storing my dies inside with desiccant packs.

[Farbmeister]

90%+ pure isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip.