Fighting Rust

Back in May I loaded ~2800 rounds of 45acp. to get me through the summer.  When I cleaned up the bench I sprayed everything with one-shot dry lube. When I covered my press I packed four 450g bags of silica gel desiccant on the turret and other parts of the press.    Each bag is ~9x5x1.5” and is supposed to cover 33 cu ft.  The press cover is denim & vinyl. Today I uncovered the press and the dies & power measure are rusting thanks to the humid NE.  With a combination of steel wool, a wire brush, a little bit of emery cloth, and a lot of elbow grease I got everything mostly cleaned up.  Tomorrow I plan to polish the rotary cylinder from the power measure with some Flitz paste.  Its tarnished and likely pitting even though it feels smooth,

 

My questions – Is it a good plan?  What other rust fighting advice can you offer on a press that’s not supposed to be oiled?

Spray wax.

I'd look at humidity control in your reloading area.

Dehumidifiers do work as long as you can pipe the water out of the area..

Have to ask what reloader doesn't use lube..

Personally I think the material used to cover a press should just be for keeping dust and dirt off, so it should be made of a fabric that can breathe. Who says a press shouldn't be oiled? My choices for rust proofing are CorrosionX and Eezox. I keep the humidity in my reloading area about 45-50% in the summer. In the winter it stays drier. I use a dehumidifier like one of these: http://www.frigidaire.com/Home-Comfort/Dehumidifiers/ I don't have a drain nearby, so I have to empty it twice a day.

DonBrummer wrote:The press cover is denim & vinyl. 

+1 on humidity control and spray lube.
Vinyl will trap moisture, so any moisture in the denim will stay inside the cover and metal will condensate given the right conditions.  (I'm assuming the cover is denim on the inside with an outer vinyl shell)

I'd wipe/lube the press down just like I was storing a Kriegoff, if you really want to be safe get some VCI paper and wrap your dies in place or just wrap the whole tool head.  

I had a 6MM Hagar die from Hornady get surface rust because I forgot to put the VCI paper back in it's box, now it's well lubed.  I use VCI storage bags for my long guns and paper wrap for my handguns that aren't out of the safe very often.  My safe(s) are also heated.

- Dave

In my opinion, Hornadays' suggestion to use dry lube would mostly be for operations, not storage and rust prevention. That said, Dillon presses have grease and oil fittings. I clean and relube as I go.

For rust prevention, in general, I use Birchwood Casey Barricade, which used to be Sheath Oil.  I have used it since the early 80's when I went from West Texas where lots of oil means dust on your guns, to Tennessee where no oil, or WD-40 on your guns meant rust right now. Since then I have tried many of the others mentioned and keep coming back to the Birchwood Casey product because it works.  It is also good on sharpening and honing stones. It is a very light oil and does not seem to turn to lacquer, dry up, or go away.

-Ron

Dessicant doesn't work forever. It absorbs only so much moisture. You can rejuvenate it by heating in an oven to drive out the moisture.

You can also drive out the moisture worth heat.  Put a small incandescent lamp say 25 or 40 watt under the tent.  This will give off enough heat to keep the air well above the dewpoint.  Remove the powder and primers of course.

davekp wrote:Dessicant doesn't work forever. It absorbs only so much moisture. You can rejuvenate it by heating in an oven to drive out the moisture.

I was thinking the same thing. Once the dessicant reaches saturation, wouldn't it be like having a wet sponge under a plastic tent?

Wobbley wrote:You can also drive out the moisture worth heat.  Put a small incandescent lamp say 25 or 40 watt under the tent.  This will give off enough heat to keep the air well above the dewpoint.  Remove the powder and primers of course.

Yes, this will prevent condensation, but the warmed air will eventually reach the same humidity as the air outside the cover. Condensation is probably not the issue- it's high humidity.