die maintenance question

[sskimber]

I have a set of old dies that ha a little surface rust on them. What is the best way to remove the rust and prevent it from returning? It is my understanding WD-40 would be out due to risk of contaminating powder and primer is this correct?

Thanks

[locknload]

I have a set of old dies that ha a little surface rust on them. What is the best way to remove the rust and prevent it from returning? It is my understanding WD-40 would be out due to risk of contaminating powder and primer is this correct?

Thanks

Ol' Rusty died? Awwww, and I didn't even know he was sick.

[sskimber]

yeah he was really sick, delirious did not know what he was talking about.

[MoJo]

Scrub em real good with a wire brush and coat them with a rust inhibitor. I use RIG.

[bent sights]

WD-40 is great for what it's made for, displacing water on metal surfaces. As a lube or long term (month or more) storage protector it is almost useless but thosereally aren't it's intended uses.

I use a cheap spray bottle with a mixture of about 30% paint thinner (mineral spirits) and the rest Auto Transmission Fluid (ATF is inexpensive and easily found in the auto oils sections of Walmart, etc.). ATF is a very good light gun oil and evaporates very slowly, does not form a sticky goo when it does finally dry, and it does a good job of protecting from rust for as much as a year, for me anyway. You can use it without the mineral spirits but it seems to help penetration and makes for a better spray solution.

No doubt about it, RIG (Rust Inhibiting Grease) is the best long term storage protector for guns but I had trouble applying it uniformly on my reloading tools, especially inside the dies.

[HankB]

Naval jelly is good for removing the rust. Preventing its return can be accomplished by keeping the dies in their original boxes, but adding a chip or two of VPI - Vapor Phase Inhibiting - material. This slowly releases a vapor that prevents corrosion . . . many firearms are shipped from the factory wrapped in VPI treated paper. They work best in closed containers - like a die box.

VPI chips can be purchased from Midway USA - they look like ~1" cardboard squares. They need to be replaced from time to time.

I had an RCBS precision mic that rusted - it came from RCBS with a foam liner in the box (presumably to keep it from rattling around) and it would seem the foam PROMOTED rust.

Note that naval jelly will also remove most blue.