I changed my RCBS lubricator/sizer from petroleum lube to one more conducive to black powder bullets. I had to remove all trace of petroleum lubricant from it.
I got a big ol' oil drain pan, the galvanized steel type. I stripped the outside linkage off the RCBS and put it in the pan. Then I added water and half a cup of dishwashing detergent.
Then I placed the pan on a propane burner, outside. It didn't stink nearly as much as I'd anticipated but it sure boiled that RCBS and lubricating dies free of any lubricant.
I gave it another boil rinse with clean water, followed by a final rinse with hot tap water in the sink (we bachelors can do that sort of thing and not have our obituaries printed the next day).
After the second boiling, to rinse it, there was only a trace of lubricant in the water.
That cast iron heated quickly and held its heat. I gave it a good shake to remove excess water, then broke out cleaning patches, hemostats and other tools to dry the interior.
I suppose a good drying in the oven, at 150 degrees or so, would ensure thorough drying but I didn't find it necessary.
All of the old Alox/Beeswax was gone from the innards and the few sizing dies I chucked in the boiling water. Not a trace in them.
When the sizer was dry and cool, I set it up on the bench and gently poured in my favorite black powder lubricant, which is a 19th century recipe that works very well.
Put a lot of papers around and under the sizer, though, to catch any spills.
That recipe is:
1 part paraffin (I use canning paraffin, for its purity)
1 part mutton tallow (lard or other tallow (deer, elk, bear, etc.) may be used but mutton tallow produces a superior lubricant.
1/2 part beeswax
All measurements are by weight. I make it in a quart Mason jar, placed in three or four inches of boiling water, for a double boiler effect. For a quart jar, I use a kitchen scale to measure 200/200/100 grams of ingredients.
Granted, the above is rather drastic for changing lubricants. I certainly wouldn't do it if I'm changing from one Alox-based lubricant to another.
But for black powder, where petroleum products create a hard, tarry fouling, it was necessary.
I'm about to order a second sizer, loaded with nothing but Alox-based lubricant, for smokeless powder loads in modern rifles and pistols. Can't decide between Lyman or RCBS. With two lubricator/sizers I'll have both types of shooting covered.
