Can lube go bad?

[ian45662]

I have this lube I have been using for about 2 years now and it has worked great. Well I have been taking my sharps to shoot over the past few days and for the first time I have been noticing a very hard fouling about 4" back from the muzzle and it continues all the way up. I have changed noting. Same lead lube and all that good stuff. Accuracy does some to suffer dramaticaly after 7 or 10 shots and I really have to give it a good cleaning to bring it back. Scrub scrub scrub with a wire brish and all kinds of black crud comes out the barrel when I do this. When I push the first wet patch down the bore I can even feel it getting tight where the fouling is. My lube is 40% besswax 30% lanolin and 30% canola oil. I made a big batch about 2 years ago and it has worked great until now so I wonder if it can go bad after a while. Anyone else have anything similar happen?

[John Holland]

I used to work in a metal stamping factory where we used a lanolin based lubricant for draw dies. We found the lanolin would turn rancid faster than any of the other lubricants. The lanolin in your lube has most likely degraded and is the cause of your fouling problems.

[efritz]

I use 1/3 each of bees wax, crisco, and a technical lanolin that is used in cosmetics. I bought a 5 gal. bucket of it many mnay moons ago. I generally don't mix up too much at a time. I use a coffee can with the indented rings and use them as my guide to measure. The lanolin is still tacky and stringy like caramel only loser. Like the day I bought it. The coffee cans serve well since they come with the plastic lids, so when I do mix some up the can seals pretty good. I've used a mixed batch that was several years old. I use about one can a year. I do know the lube appears and feels harder on old rounds. Ones that sat since last October. So I don't lube rounds until ready. I believe there are different kinds of lanolins so maybe some may turn rancid depending on any ingredients mixed in with them. My technical lanolin doesn't maybe because of that reason along with the fact that it's used in cosmetics.

All in all, try another small batch and see. Let us all know if that succeeds.

[ian45662]

I did not know that could happen. Its Anhydrous not sure if that makes a difference but I will try some more maybe in smaller batches. Is there any way to keep it from turning rancid? store in fridge or anything like that? Air tight container?

[jonk]

Ian,

I don't use lanolin in my lube; I started with plain jane crisco/beeswax and add a little extra olive oil for cooler weather. However, I have made my own smokeless lube, using beeswax, mineral oil, ivory soap, castor oil, and... anhydrous lanolin. Guess what? In about the same time frame you reference it went to pot; it got real soft and started leading in rifles. So I'm thinking that might in fact be the culprit.

[Rob FreemanWBR]

Crisco is a major staple in my lube's "formula". For one reason of another Crisco's recipe/composition was changed several years back. I found that lube on rounds that were left exposed to the air (ex. musket rounds) would get hard and fouling would ensue. Cased ammunition (ex. Maynard, Henry, etc.) doesn't have the short "shelf life" since the lubricated portions of the projectiles are not out in the open.

Not a big problem for me, it just forces me to ensure that I prepare and use "fresh" ammunition for skirmishes - not a bad practice over all.

[ian45662]

I will lube rounds about a week in advance for that reason. So that the lube does not dry out. At any rate I ordered bees wax and more...... Lanolin but just enough this time to make it through this season and a little into next season. I will make lube sticks for the lube resizer and put those in an air tight container and stick that in the fridge. I will have to keep a little bit in a double boiler so that I may dip my sharps rounds in it. I really like this lube but after this batch or maybe half way through the season I may switch to MCM or SPG. I am going to shoot a mid range shiloette match this weekend with SPG lube. I have never used it but I have heard good things about it so we will see how it goes.

[Rob FreemanWBR]

I too make lube sticks via a mold someone made, which allows me to VERY easily re-fill/re-load an RCBS Lubri-Sizer "on the fly". I wouldn't think that you'd have to store them in the fridge. For me, I just seal each stick in "saran wrap", twisting the ends tight and storing them in a plastic Folgers coffee can. This works fine as I am still using sticks I poured over 3 years ago, and the lube is still perfect for use. So from my perspective, it's the air that is the culprit in ruining exposed lube, not so much the temperature. This way you'll have more room in your fridge for more important things like Schnapps, beer and other vital skirmishing essentials!

I will lube rounds about a week in advance for that reason. So that the lube does not dry out. At any rate I ordered bees wax and more...... Lanolin but just enough this time to make it through this season and a little into next season. I will make lube sticks for the lube resizer and put those in an air tight container and stick that in the fridge. I will have to keep a little bit in a double boiler so that I may dip my sharps rounds in it. I really like this lube but after this batch or maybe half way through the season I may switch to MCM or SPG. I am going to shoot a mid range shiloette match this weekend with SPG lube. I have never used it but I have heard good things about it so we will see how it goes.

[ian45662]

You sir bring up a very good point. Hate to waste space that beer can ocupy. I will use your method.

[ian45662]

For anyone interested in how my new batch of lube is compaired to the same lube recipie that was 2 years older I am now convinced that the lube went bad. After de-leading my sharps and applying a freash batch of the same lube recipie accuracy has returned and the hard fouling that was at the muzzle is no more. I made about half the ammount I did 2 years ago so hopefully I can use it all before it goes bad. Once I am out though I may switch to something else