Can lubed cast bullets be cleaned well enough to be...

[bouddha]

...powder coated?

[wheelguns]

They can be but it is a real pain in the neck.

[sixshot]

I've heard of guys doing it but from the description it isn't worth the hassle.

Dick

[bouddha]

How about for a house-bound fat guy who's looking for something to do, has EVERY empty case recently reloaded and is looking for something to do that doesn't involve TV or prostitutes?

Waste a coupla minutes giving me a rough idea what's involved. Scraping the groove manually and an acetone bath?

[taffin]

Heat them and melt the lube. BUT seems an awful waste of time.

[wheelguns]

This is how I did it. First, I let them soak in mineral spirits for a day or two. This dissolves the lube, but it makes the bullets oily and the powder won’t stick. You may want to change the mineral spirits after a day, because it gets kind of thick. Then I soak the bullets in water with some dawn. Again, you may want to change the water frequently, as you are trying to get rid of all the mineral spirits. When you think the bullets are clean, then you need to dry them. They must be completely dry or your powdercoat won’t work. Sometimes it helps to put them in an oven on 200 to dry them and help the powdercoat stick. Good luck! Let us know how it works.

[nicholst55]

Stand the bullets up on their bases in a disposable pan. Cover with water. Boil the water until the lube separates from the bullets and floats off. Pour off the water/lube slurry, and allow the bullets to dry. Done.

Now for the disclaimer. I have never actually done this myself. However, this method is frequently mentioned on the Cast Boolits forum as THE method to remove old, dried out, or contaminated bullet lube. I might try a relatively small batch the first time around. And, do report back and tell us how it pans out.

[gsp7]

put them in the dish washer

[bouddha]

Thanks, guys. I'll report back for good or ill.

[dhd]

I've done it and it worked well, but depending on your mindset, it might not be worth it. I soaked them in gasoline for a hour or so, poured of the gas/lube slurry, soaked again and the lube was gone. I agitated the container to help loosen the lube during the soaks. I do not remember needing to acetone wash the bullets after the second soak. Anyway, they PC'd fine and I won't need to do it again as I won't ever need to again. Nowadays I'll drop them in my pot and melt/recast.

[Ramar]

Never done this so can't vouch for this guy's method, bouddha. First he tried acetone and it didn't work too well. Then xylene, and wow!

Removing bullet lube... The EASY way!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsdHYjTZhac

The only place I found it (online) is Ace. Not at Home Depot or Lowes but they might have it in the store under a different name.
www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/chemicals-and-cleaners/paint-thinners-and-solvents/1438571

By the way, GT Bullets (https://www.gtbullets.com/) sells their bullets sized and unlubed or unsized and unlubed. Other bullet casters probably will as well.  I ordered some (sized & lubed) last Friday and they're supposed to arrive today. Decent turnaround. If you order unlubed, they say:
"They may contain a trace of lanolin which can be removed with alcohol or another suitable solvent if planning on using an alternative coating process."

Hope this helps. I've still got empty cases around but this sounds like a fun project.

[bouddha]

Thanks, Ramar. I have about 6-700 of lubed bullets for my Uberti that are lubed, but I like shooting PCs in it and will be running out soon. I don't cast my own so I can't just recycle them, plus it's a chance to learn something else.

[Rimfire69]

I had some boughten cast that came home in a box of loading stuff from a friend. I through a handful in a pot of water and boiled vigorously for probably 30 min and nothing happened to the lube at all. Next attempt I through the bullets back in the melting pot and that worked perfectly, I’ve never attempted this again as it seemed more trouble than it was worth.

[Ramar]

Just did a quick search on xylene. Seems it's more toxic than acetone. Please use caution if you go that route.

[tinstarfirearms]

I know this is an older thread but I found that if you leave a box of .452 lead SWC in a drafty barn for a few years, the mice love the lube on the bullets. They chewed those bullets clean of any trace of lube. Not the most efficient method but they worked cheap.

Andrew