I have been tumble lubing my bullets. I am using tumble lube style bullets. I noticed that the lube does not completely fill the groves but just the bottom of the groves. Should I use more lube to fill the groves?

I've never found it necessary to fill the grooves. As long as the bullet is evenly coated you should be good to go.

I have also been wiping the lube off the nose of the bullet after loading. I don't think the lube on the nose does anything and it is my final inspection before putting them in the box.

Liquid Alox application
Posted by on 20 October 2011 12:22 PM
Best results in applying liquid alox are when the alox is heated before applying, or thinned with paint thinner. This makes it flow more easily, and results in a more even coat. One technique is to boil water and pour it into a coffee mug, and then drop the bottle of liquid alox into the mug for about five minutes.

Place your freshly cast bullets into something about the size of a Cool Whip bowl and drop a few drops of liquid Alox on the bullets. Mix the bullets around until they are all coated. Lay the freshly coated bullets on some wax paper to dry. Liquid alox will usually dry enough overnight to reload the next day, depending upon the humidity. Tacky bullets can be dusted with powdered graphite.

If you subscribe to the "more is better" line of thought, your coated bullets may never dry. Don't go for a "golden" color but rather just a light varnish. If you discover that your bullets are sticky the next day, you can get by with using a little less the next time. Keep reducing until the "stickiness" is gone by the next day.

If you are sizing your cast bullets, it is necessary to lube them first. Because the sizer will remove some of the surface of a larger diameter bullet, you may need to re-lubricate the bullets after they have been sized.

Many of our bullets are of the "TL" or Tumble Lube design. These bullets have many shallow grooves that are perfect for allowing Liquid Alox to adhere to a great amount of surface. It has been reported that the accuracy of these bullets is high. From Lee

Thanks for the info 243winxb.

I have about 350 SWC's I need to lube and I will use your method.

Another method is to put a little lube on a piece of wax paper and spread it out to a thin film. Lay the bullet on their side and roll them through the film of lube. Tip them up on a clean area of the wax paper and let dry. The nose and the base don't get covered this way.

I size my bullets and lube them in a two step process. I use a milk jug with a hole cut in the top just enough to get my hand in if needed.

I lube very lightly let dry size then lube again let dry and load.

Has worked very well for me.