do you clean your dies? how often and wahat to clean with?

They don' t need to be cleaned a lot unless you get the feeling they have collected a lot of dirt and grit....if the cases are coming out scratched etc.

Use a cotton ball and a Q-tip with alcohol and clean the die thoroughly and then immediately after cleaning, lube them well so they don' t rust.

Dies are almost exclusively made from 12L14 (leaded) screwstock and casehardeded. This combination will rust quickly if not protected.

thanks , i was not looking forward to dismantling them and cases look same as alwys,

Tell you what run about 20 cases thru the sizing die and then take it apart carefully and clean it with a jag and a shotgun patch on it and then tell me if they need regular cleaning or not..

Just use regular ntro solvent like Hoppes #9 something mild

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I clean my Redding dies with Hoppe' s #9 solvent and patches just like you would clean a gun barrel. Then I run a patch with Rem Oil on it through the die to protect it during storage.

thanks guys for the info

I clean my sizing dies evertime I am fixing to use it, if I know the time before a few cases went through it.

I use " carburetor" cleaner spray and I know alot of people use the same.

If the die comes apart then take it apart and use Q-tips.

I also use rubbing Alchol, works real good. But on Lee Dies they need " carburetor" cleaner blown up there, you cant get all the gunk out of a die if you never or cant take it apart.

That Quick scrub cleaner for guns will work also, its about the same as carburetor cleaner. Like mentioned above you need to oil the dies after cleaning.

Troy

Yep, after the ammo is loaded the last thing I do is take the decap assmbly out of my sizing die and clean it with Hoppes #9, relube with slick 50 and put away.
Its a simple task and insures my cases or worse the die walls don' t get scratched.
If I' m forming brass I' ll take the die out every 10-15 rnds and clean it, be surprised how much crap comes out on the patch.
Wes