How to Clean Reloading Dies

Whether you're brand new to reloading or a seasoned 20-year veteran, cleaning your reloading dies is a must-know skill. Using a quick and effective method that's also simple, I’ve kept my dies rust-free even when I haven't used them in a while.

When you first buy a set of brand-new dies, the first thing you're going to need to do before you use them is to clean them. Most dies ship with different levels of oil that are used so they can sit on the shelf for a while and not rust before they show up at your door. While you might be tempted to just start using the dies, the different lubrications that these things ship in don't always play well with our case lubes, and the last thing we want is a stuck case.

When do you need to clean?

• When your dies are new
• When you need to change case lube
• When your dies are dirty and need to be cleaned
• When you want to put them away for storage

What tools do you need?

• Wrench (though this will vary by manufacturer)
• Cleaning solution (Alcohol and brake cleaner are probably options, but my preferred option is the Hornady One-Shot gun lube)
• Shop towels
• Large cleaning swabs
• Oil pan / something oil-safe to clean over

The Hornady One-Shot gun lube has worked really well for me. Its anti-corrosive agent has kept my dies pretty much rust-free as long as I've used it.

The first thing you need to do before you clean your dies is to disassemble them. This will vary slightly between manufacturers, but most situations you will run into will be similar to the ones I demonstrate in the video above.  Of note, you probably don't want to take all your dies apart and put them back together simultaneously unless you're very familiar with them. Here's a before and after of how they look when disassembled all at once:

Some dies may require an Allen wrench, while others may require a combination wrench or even just a flathead screwdriver to loosen and take apart. Many require no tools at all. However, none of these require any fancy or specialized tools to disassemble and clean. The process of cleaning the parts is very simple and is comprised of spraying with cleaner, wiping with a towel, or swabbing with a cloth to remove the oil, then reassembling. However, the process is best demonstrated visually, so please view the video above for a complete demonstration of how to disassemble and clean each type of die.

Keep your dies clean, and happy reloading!

--Bolt Action Reloading