my son was the one that stuck the case, so i,m not sure how the lube was being applied. but he seems to have more trouble than i do. this set of .222rem dies, have never given me any trouble, but he has a set of .308 dies that are on the verge of sticking all the time! they may have a rough interior. varmint al has polishing instructions, for chambers and i think dies. if they were mine, i would give it a try, but the boy, is too busy!