Sirs, prompted by mention of the subject in another thread, perhaps there are newer members here that would benefit from a description of how I use Imperial wax.  I use Imperial wax because it's the best product I know for the purpose, it's very economical, easy to use and reduces the number of times I have to handle an individual case in the reloading process.

When seated at my reloading bench I normally do match cartridge case resizing on a single stage press.  I also use a Dillon 550 for reloading match cartridges but that's a different subject.  I use a Redding resizing die fitted with a carbide expander ball.  The resizing die is adjusted to set back the case shoulder .003" as measured with an RCBS case mic.  With my left hand I take a few cases from the bowl of cases to be resized and hold them in my palm with one case between my left thumb and forefinger.  With my right hand I touch my fingers onto the open tin of Imperial wax which is on the bench to the right of the press.  I twist the cartridge case in the fingers of my left hand between the thumb and fingers of my right hand and finish by scraping my right forefinger across the mouth of the case in my left hand thumb and finger.  With my left thumb and fingers I insert the case into the press shell holder and operate the press with my right hand.  At the end of the operating stroke of the press I remove the case from the press and toss it into the bowl of cases to be trimmed.  I again touch the Imperial wax with the fingers of my right hand and repeat the process.  You only need to touch the Imperial wax and then touch the body of the case with those fingers twisting the case in the process.  Finish by scraping your finger across the case mouth to get a bit of the wax on the inside of the case neck. There is no need to apply the Imperial wax to the exterior of the case neck, only the interior.

After resizing I trim all cases on a Giraud trimmer to 1.758" and then tumble for about an hour to remove the case lube from the cases as well as the inside of the case neck.  I use corn cob media and I'm pleased how well it works to remove the lube.  HTH, 7zero1 out.

After reading your posts a while ago I tried Imperial wax.

I place my left index finger and thumb in the wax, grab a case, twist case to lube, and rub my index finger over the neck.

Size case and repeat. Re lube fingers every third case.

This is a great method, and takes very little lube.

Thanks.

I know a guy that uses a teaspoon of imperial wax diluted into rubbing alcohol (the highest % he can get over 90%) and puts it into a spray bottle to make his own spray lube.  I've been meaning to try this just have not had the time as of yet

I use anhydrous lanolin instead. Cheaper and a little goes a long way.

BTW- you can get 99.9% IPA (isoporopyl alcohol) at a decent drugstore from the pharmacist.

ETA: Good post on using Imperial wax, nonetheless.

Use Isso Heat red bottle found in the automotive section

Since switching to Imperial Die Wax I have not stuck a case.  This was prompted by HOS!  What a POS product. DCL work good, but I like Imperial Die Wax.  A little goes a VERY LONG WAY!

Same here.

I use a single stage press. When I do 5.56, I touch the tin with the imperial wax with the index finger of the hand I place the brass with and roll the case below the shoulder with my index finger and thumb ON EVERY OTHER CASE. I avoid the neck and shoulder as it is my experience with 5.56 NATO that I have a higher incidence of the shoulder getting rippled when I get wax on the neck. I have never used case lube spray.

I have a very old tube of Johnsons Machinist Wax, about the size of a tube of caulk ( Johnsons industrials were sold to Castrol I think) I've never used anything else.




Stick Wax

I once stuck a .270 case because I was being lazy and didn't lube it, 3rd or 4th without lube was a bridge to far....

Very rare with wax.

Make sure it's not the type with methanol... You can absorb it through your skin and it's toxic.

would be great if someone could figure out how to make your own imperial sizing wax. sorta like the lanolin+alcohol lube for cheap bastards.

I've just started reloading and ve been using Hornady One Shot. Is this stuff ok to use? I would definitely like to find something more economical, I'll have to try some Imperial Wax.

Spray lubes, including One Shot work great on handgun brass. I know carbide dies don't need any lube, however a light coat of spray lube makes the operation smooth as silk. Bottle necked rifle brass needs something thicker. I've used Imperial for over decade now and am very satisfied with the product. I formerly used RCBS's lube with a pad.

The bulk industrial wax tube displayed in the previous post looks interesting. That tube would last an entire lifetime if you bought it when 20 years old and is much cheaper per once than Imperial.

This would have helped:

Case Lube for Cheap Bastards

I have tried many different lubes, once I tried imperial wax I don't use anything else.

I have bought one tin of Imperial wax and barely made a dent in it after 3-4 thousand rifle cases. Ya, I'm never using spray lube again.

I have a single stage rock chucker with case kicker mod. Lube is to the left of the press; left index finger and thumb get waxed and grab a case that is lubed and seated into shell holder simultaneously. Right hand runs ram to full length size/deprime while left hand grabs/lubes another case. Sized case is kicked out on the down stroke and process is repeated. Every now and then a case is a little larger and needs a little more force to push into and out of shell holder (mostly .mil brass).

I tried every case lube known when resizing M2 brass, and Imperial Wax resulted in the least effort.  Mobil 1 was not even in the running when I did my tests.  There's a lot of snake oil being promulgated on the net, but Imperial Wax is the real deal.

Might last TWO life times This one was handed down to me by an old friend who could no longer reload. I've been using it for over 10 years without making much of a dent in it...

I've never managed to stick a case with ANY lube, including HOS.

The only time I've ever stuck one was when I accidentally used NO LUBE.

Nigh 40 years reloading and I've never stuck a case yet. I'm currently using Imperial or Hornady's Unique. Back in the day when I was using a lube pad, I used STP.

+100 on the imperial Wax. When I reload rifle cases this the only lube I use. One stuck case lead to my conversion. So now in my deep storage items I never want to run out of.....are two tins of imperial wax. I use it for lots of things in the reloading room.

Great product that goes a long way and works very well.

I use Imperial with the Larry Willis belted magnum collet die and it works great.

I've been using the DIY lanolin for several years and have not had a single stuck case.  Before this I used both Dillon and Frankford Arsenal spray lube which are both lanolin based.

When using the lanolin based lube, I am sure to clean the inside of the die first with Hoppe's and then I apply a very light coat of the lanolin lube to the inside of the die.  Then I dump my rifle brass in a gallon ziploc and give it 2-3 pumps with the lanolin spray lube and wait for the alcohol to evaporate.  It's super smooth and cases don't stick.

Had I not discovered the lanolin spray type lube I would probably use Imperial for everything.  But the spray is very quick and convenient for me.

I thought I'd kick this out of the basement for now.


Get a wax toilet ring from the hardware store. Use as is.

About a buck for more lube than you'll ever use.

Imperial wax is the bomb! Been using the same two tins for the last ten years on all my rifle rounds. Wish all products worked this well.

Pretty much what I do, ISW has never failed me. Dillon and homemade spray lube have never failed me. I have used RCBS and other lubes on pads...Hornady One Shot is the only lube to ever fail me, that speaks volumes.

Imperial works very well when doing a lot of 'brass work' to alter shells.

I have been forming shells (and even making some from scratch for BP antiques) and Imperial has worked every time.