cleaning press and dies

[Normlizer]

I'm wondering when and if u guys clean your press and dies? I loaded a few thousand rounds out of my press now and its pretty dirty shell plates and dies look dirty i can't even imagine what the inside of the dies look like. Also how should i go about cleaning the inside of the dies? I do grease my press every now and then to keep it well lubed but when should i tear it down and give it a good cleaning?

[DucatiRon]

My .02 from a OCD/anal retentive type disorder personality. I clean my my dies everytime after I'm done using them before I put them away. A quick spritz with some crc brake clean and some spray lube before they go back in the box. Same with my presses. My lee progressive gets well cleaned and greased about every 1k rnds with more frequent cleaning to the shell plate carrier with a can of compressed air because of the loose powder that seems to accumulate on it from the auto powder measure, and the single stage RCBS partner press about every 2k gets a wipe down and lube.

[fingers80002]

I'm wondering when and if u guys clean your press and dies? I loaded a few thousand rounds out of my press now and its pretty dirty shell plates and dies look dirty i can't even imagine what the inside of the dies look like. Also how should i go about cleaning the inside of the dies? I do grease my press every now and then to keep it well lubed but when should i tear it down and give it a good cleaning?

What press do you have????

[Normlizer]

I have a lee load master. I reload 9mm and 223 on it.

[WVBob]

I dust and clean my presses once a year. A good wipe down with a rag with some gun oil on it and a drop or two of oil on the moving parts and joints. I clean the dies with oil when I think about it.

[Xringshooter]

If dies are real dirty, I'll swish them around in some acetone and then wipe them down with an oily rag to keep them from rusting. I wipe down the press ram and relube about once a year. On the progressive I blow everything out to keep and powder and primer residue out of mechanism and lube the pivot/bearing points and the ram.

[knight0334]

I'll clean the insides of my dies from time to time, especially any I have to lube cases for.. My presses dont get such attention though. lol

[bogey1]

i throw my dies in boiling water to get the wax and gunk out.

[Fr0sty]

Just an FYI,

Sometime when your dies are nice and clean, Flitz the inside with a bore mop and a drill at about 600rpms for a little bit. Get it nice and polished and you will notice that your brass will need a little less lube, and your brass will last longer.

[max384]

I lube and grease my presses about every other reloading session on average. I don't actually have a maintenance schedule, per se, but I do clean and lube regularly. My turret press is pretty easy. I take my primer catch tray off, wipe down with an oil-dampened cloth, then lube any areas where metal-metal contact occurs. I use the same thing I use on my guns for my presses and dies - remoil. I constantly wipe off my Dillon, as it gets dirty quickly. Every time that I change calibers, I do a detailed cleaning with pipe cleaners, brushes, and q-tips and re-lube. I use remoil and grease on the Dillon. For the dies, I use brake or carb cleaner. I can leave them just the way they are this way without taking them apart. I just spray the hell out of the inside and let all the gunk drip out. Then I spray a light coat of remoil on the inside to prevent any rust, and wipe any excess off with a pipe cleaner.

If you do decide to use brake or carb cleaner - do this outdoors. The fumes are horrendous, even with a quick spray of just one die before realizing you've just done something stupid (yes, I know by experience, unfortunately )!

I also do not use compressed air on my presses because I do not want to get the lead dust from depriming in the air.