Should BLL separate?

Schweisser

New Member
Hi all -- new guy here. I've been casting on and off for 10 years or so, stopping when life got busy and resuming when things settled down. I've been lurking for a month or so and I hope to contribute here a bit. I have some casting-related projects in my future and I plan to document them here.

I've been tumble lubing with White Label Lube's 45/45/10 with good results in .45 ACP and .38 Special. After reading about Ben's Liquid Lube, I had to give it a try. I mixed up a small jar of it using the Lundmark liquid paste wax a couple nights ago. I mixed everything according to Ben's formulation and shook the jar for about 30 seconds. Everything seemed to be disolved Last night, I noticed that there was a light-colored layer on the bottom of the jar -- must be the wax. So I shook the jar again for about 5 minutes straight to make sure it was well-mixed. I checked it again tonight and it separated again. Is this separation normal?

More info, in case it is helpful: I warmed both the Xlox and the paste wax in a sink of hot water to make pouring and measuring easier. I also made sure to shake the Lundmark really well since the container that I bought had a thick layer of dust on it. I'm not sure how long it sat on the store shelf. If separation isn't normal, I'll try shaking the Lundmark even better and mixing up another batch. If that fails, I'll order a new container.

Thanks!
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Not unusual at all for Ben's Liquid Lube to separate.
Simply shake it up for about 20 seconds.
It seems to have no real affect on the performance of the lube.

Ben
 
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JonB

Halcyon member
yep, my BLL separates. I store it in a sealed glass Mason jar. When shaking it up after sitting a while, it's easy to see when it's completely mixed up again. Like Ben says, it only takes about 20 seconds.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
Something I do is drop a bullet or two in for agitation, if it's a glass jar that might not be a good idea.
 
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Schweisser

New Member
Something I do is drop a bullet or two in for agitation, if it's a glass jar that might not be a good idea.

Good idea, thanks. My current batch is in glass, so I'm going to skip it for now. I suspect that it would be fine, but I don't want to risk a broken jar. My wife is pretty understanding about my hobbies, but...

I stored my 45/45/10 in an aluminum camping stove fuel bottle -- MSR makes them in several sizes and I have more bottles than I need for camping. They're meant to hold white gas, so they're pretty vapor tight. When I mix up a larger batch of BLL, I'll put it in one of those bottles with a bullet or two.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
If It is the Original BLL ( Alox and Johnson's) I have not have had it happen! & I have not used mine in 2 years because I was off on the PC route However I had some old .45 acp 230 gr RB bullets that already had a a light coating on them from years ago and I decided to use them and wanted to just give them another light coat for good measure! Yes I shook up the bottle well but really did not see much in the way of separation!
The Original BLL dries very fast with a fan on the bullets! That is one of the big pluses of the Original Mix
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Good containers for BLL, or Ed's Red, or the Acetone/ATF penetrant are the cans SeaFoam fuel treatment come it. You can drop in a ball bearing or round ball as an agitator and it doesn't hurt a thing.
 

Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
Good containers for BLL, or Ed's Red, or the Acetone/ATF penetrant are the cans SeaFoam fuel treatment come it. You can drop in a ball bearing or round ball as an agitator and it doesn't hurt a thing.
Arhhggg!!!

Let’s be honest I’m a hoarder. I don’t own a check maker(which I’ve read is a good use for those bottles). I stared at those SeaFoam cans the last time I recycled them and thought to myself, “I’m sure I could use theses for something”. But I’ve really been on this kick to not keep junk that I don’t need. Mostly, cause it’s my nature to save everything.

Well an opportunity missed!

Josh
 
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popper

Well-Known Member
16oz cola bottle, just shake before using and look at bottem, if the 'black' is gone, well mixed.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
I keep my BLL and 45/45/10 in original LEE tumble-lube bottles.

Ed's Red has been a bit more of a challenge.

I'd read that PVC was good and found that Marvel Mystery Oil bottles had the "3" on the bottom, which indicated PVC. Whether I mis-read, or someone was full of beans who said PVC was good for Ed's Red - DO NOT put it in a Marvel Mystery Oil bottle!!

I filled one up with a fresh batch and capped it, went off to attend to some other thing. An hour later, when I picked the bottle up, it was like a rubber chicken! I was able to very carefully cut the neck off (trying to unscrew the cap just twisted the neck) and salvage the product. Another hour and I might have had a puddle where the bottle was.

I've been using a PETE (1) corn syrup bottle (thicker) for several years with no ill effect. I also use LDPE 2-cycle oil bottles for what I set aside to use as a penetrating oil. The acetone may escape that, but the bottle does not get mushy and is very portable.
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
I put a bit of BLL in a Lee alox bottle,after several months the bottle cracked while shaking, wouldn't recommend that.

OK, good thing you said that, @S Mac . Thanks. Probably safest to skip the LEE bottles, but I I've included some evidence to examine if it helps anyone at all.

I have two kinds of LEE Alox bottles. The older ones seem more pliable and the newer ones I haven't gotten into seem thinner, shinier and not as supple. I wonder if that's the difference? The two on the left are older and have no recycle symbol or number on the bottom. Both have been in use for several years, and the one on the farthest left (45/45/10) has been micro-waved and set in a double-boiler numerous times. The one in the middle (BLL) has been in use fro four years without issue.

Now, the one on the right? I've not even opened one of these yet, but they are marked with a "3," or PVC, like the Marvel Mystery Oil bottle. That one didn't crack - it just MELTED, but with Ed's Red, not BLL.

Do you think the one that cracked was like any of these? Could be too that I got lucky or you got unlucky or (both), but at least we know to act cautiously on this one.

IDEALLY, I would use one of the Johnson's floor wax bottles (metal) but I can't use enough of this stuff up to get a can that close to being empty!
bottles (Copy).jpg
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
It just seems a little antithetical to make our own bore solvents, case cleaners and bullet lubes and the BUY a container for them.

It's a long-standing habit to reuse anything I can reuse t hat I forget I can BUY stuff today that were impossible to find years ago,


EDIT: NEVER MIND! Minimum order is $200! I'm going to keep looking.
 
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358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I keep my Eds Red in an old Hoppes #9 glass bottle. I really should get away from glass, but the nostalgia is overwhelming.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I don't know what plastic my container was made of, I'm sure it was several years old. Gone now.
 

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
My problem with BLL is it stiffens in the storage container. Its not that hard to pop it in a pan of hot water for a couple of minutes.
Yes i have diluted it several times but it still stiffens up.