Bullet lube

[Kapow]

Howdy gents. I was rustproofing the inside of a boat trailer today. I bought a can of a product called Tectyl 506 by valvoline. It's a mixture of grease, lanolin and tar I think. It's an incredible rust preventative and lasts for years.

The thing that struck me was that it smells and behaves exactly like Lee liquid Alox. I'm keen to try it as a bullet lube since I have so much.

I bought a big can of about 1 gallon but it also comes in a spray can which would be easy to apply to freshly cast bullets and as a means of long term barrel protection in stored firearms.

I'm wondering if you guys have the same product over there and if so have maybe tried it as a bullet lube?

 

[rodwha]

If it contains far would it not make a horrible projectile lube?

 

[Kapow]

One way to find out I suppose.

 

[mooman76]

Alox is a chief ingredient in under coatings on cars as a rust preventer. Some people that use allot buy it by the gallon.

 

[Kapow]

Ahh now we're making progress.

 

[curator]

Alox, which is technically a "potassium soap" was originally developed for the US Navy as a spray-on material to "mothball" ships in a salt water environment. There are several formulas of Alox but all have similar properties. It is both an excellent rust preventative, and lubricant with "cold-flowing" capabilities. The Auto rustproofing franchises Ziebart, Symtech, and Rusty Jones all did use their own formulas of Alox usually thinned with mineral spirits. While it is a good lubricant, it won't help keep the fouling produced by black powder soft like animal based greases will. I have tumble-lubed both conicals and roundballs in Alox for use in rifles or cap & ball revolvers and found no negative effects when used with black powder, I do, however, also add a softer animal based lubricant to deal with the fouling issue. (50/50 bee's wax/Lard)

 

[rdstrain49]

We used Alox a lot in the 60s. I suspect there may have been one or two advances in lubrication technology in the intervening 50 + years.

 

[bpd303]

I have used liquid Alox for minie's but found it doesn't work as well as my bees wax jojoba oil lube.

 

[excess650]

I would reserve the alox for use with smokeless. Natural fats and oils, vegetable and animal, are more apt to combine with BP fouling. Castor oil is a humectant, so should help keep moisture in the fouling.