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New Hornady Lok-N-Load AP! - clean and lube questions

Madisonian

Madisonian

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Just got my LNL AP, after a long wait for some backordered accessories. Seems very nicely made, and a complete package with spares, etc.

Everything is covered with a coat of light oil that Hornady says is good protection from rust but a poor lubricant. I wondering what other folks have done. Of course the entire powder measure has to be thoroughly degreased and dry-lubed, but the rest of the press I'm thinking I'll just wipe off and lube the wear points. There are three zerks for grease, I'll just use my marine grease, 'cause it's already in the small grease gun. The linkage pivot points I'll use light machine oil. The shell plate detent balls, grease per Hornady's directions. What else?

Thanks,

M
 
I like some powder graphite blast from a can in the bottom of the powder hopper, and all through the path of the powder. Where powder goes I put some graphite to keep static and sticking down. This includes the face of the metering insert, the hole where the powder is measured, and all through the drop tubes and the part of the casting that funnels into the drop tubes. I also save used dryer sheets to wipe down the outside and inside of the hopper for anti static.

I find that less grease is more on the ram and links. I grease it well then wipe some of the excess out and it runs smoother. Tiny bit of grease on the shell plate balls.

I used alcohol on the dies because I hate the drylube and cleaner Hornady makes. It leaves sticky residue for me.
 
Thanks, yes, I don't like the idea of the One Shot, but I confess I haven't tried it. I will degrease the power system with alcohol or mineral spirits. I bought a pound of powdered graphite and was planning on just running a bunch through. I also got some PB Dry Lube aerosol and PB "The Dry Lube" with PTFE for other dry applications, but I'm not sure how the aerosol graphite lube will work.

Do you lube the dies after you clean them?
 
I recommend getting all the anti rust stuff applied by hornady. It gums up and actually attracts dirt dust bugs ect ect.
I used the hornady cleaner dry lube on my powder drop and it worked well. I like to think hornady gives you good info for setting up the press. I prefer to use brake cleaner then apply Remington dry lube. I have used it for many years.
 
Non chlorinated brake cleaner to get the gunk off then grease the zerks and graphite the hopper. I did that and used the one shot on pretty much everything else. I only used graphite under the shell plate as I had no grease at the time.
 
Just realize when you lube the ram zerk, the press needs to be in either the full up or full down position (not in front of mine so I don't know.) You can see a groove machined in the ram, that has to be aligned with the zerk. I would not use regular NLGI-2 wheel bearing grease, it is really thick. I use NLGI-1 grease which is a bit thinner.

Chris
 
I have the same set up. You should check out Hornady's Youtube video. Very helpful. They have a few different ones. You'll want to wipe down the powder dispenser with a dryer sheet or some other anti static wipe. Good luck. It's a great unit for me so far.
 
Mine is not fully deployed yet. I mounted it on a grinder pedestal stand but it's not high enough, so I may make a taller pedestal stand for it.

I like the bullet feeder dies, and bought them. I'm not interested in the motorized collator, I'm just going t make clear acrylic tubes that insert into the top of the bullet feeder dies and feed bullets much as primers are fed.

I don' think I'll get a powder cop. Does anyone think it's really necessary? If I did get anything like that I'd like either an RCBS powder lockout die, or something with an audible alert.

I'm interested in a roller handle, too.

So far, playing with it and preliminary check-out, it press seems pretty good.
 
Madisonian said:
I don' think I'll get a powder cop. Does anyone think it's really necessary? If I did get anything like that I'd like either an RCBS powder lockout die, or something with an audible alert.
Click to expand...

I have the powder cop and like it quite a bit, if is a fast visual check right where you are looking.

I also like the bullet feeder and case feeder, they work great and speed up production considerably.

With a Frankford vibraprime, production speeds are amazing.

Chris
 
I recommend installing a powder check of some type. I modified my LNL-AP to take the Dillon powder check. Works great.

I use the Mr. Bullet feeder because I load a lot of cast and it seems to work great - I couldn't get the Hornady bullet seating dies to work.

Grease the zerks is a good thing. I also clean by soaking the parts in prolix. Really works well.


I also like to hit the hi-traffic areas with a little denatured alcohol followed by TW25B (under the shell plate, the part that the carrier for the case feeder runs on).

That vibraprime looks cool and is a lot less expensive than the Dillon device. I like the dillon primer tube filler and it keeps my production speed up.
 
I’ve noticed that rust has been showing up on my Hornady lock n load classic I cleaned it the way it was recommended and stored it for about a year in a cool dry place. Now that I pulled it out to set it up as my partner press it has developed rust around the joints of the press and the powder charger/hopper as well. I don’t understand what’s going on but how do u recommend I clean it off and stop this from happening again?
 
JayT-85 said:
I’ve noticed that rust has been showing up on my Hornady lock n load classic I cleaned it the way it was recommended and stored it for about a year in a cool dry place. Now that I pulled it out to set it up as my partner press it has developed rust around the joints of the press and the powder charger/hopper as well. I don’t understand what’s going on but how do u recommend I clean it off and stop this from happening again?
Click to expand...
Some alloy is just prone to rust more.
The hornady powder drop and the baffle rust easily. Rust forms with surface contact of moister and oxygen.
The number one way to keep rust at bay is limit contact with Oxygen and Moister.
Some alloys are harder to keep rust free.
Ever open a old set of dies and find the lock rings rusted to shit but the dies are ok?

I have been using rust inhibitors for many years. My dad used to bring home VCI’s that they put in basement electrical control panels
I also use the VCI bags and straws for long term storage.

Been using Zrust for 4 years now its cheaper than other products and so far is working
www.zerust.com

Corrosion Solutions from ZERUST® | VCI Packaging

Proven Corrosion Solutions from ZERUST®, the "Original" VCI Film Company. ZERUST® is the inventor of VCI poly technology.
www.zerust.com www.zerust.com

I used to use Cortec but its pricy and was out of stock hence the shift to Zrust

I will also grab all the VCI paper from parts at work When I know I need to store stuff. I will be putting up some bayonets soon and will be collecting the vci paper next week
 
Last edited:
JayT-85 said:
I’ve noticed that rust has been showing up on my Hornady lock n load classic I cleaned it the way it was recommended and stored it for about a year in a cool dry place. Now that I pulled it out to set it up as my partner press it has developed rust around the joints of the press and the powder charger/hopper as well. I don’t understand what’s going on but how do u recommend I clean it off and stop this from happening again?
Click to expand...
Get a humidity gauge in the area and watch large swings in temp.
When storing items for long periods try to keep it enclosed and avoid any circulation of fresh air.

I have a dehumidifier in my basement set on low setting of 40% it keeps my basement right around 47% and constantly runs. You may do better if you add a 2 unit near your metal parts
 
Brake clean works good, but will eat the paint off the press. I use the hornady cleaner (one can lasts a lonnggg time) and then grease the fitting with my grease gun and WD40 on exposed metal to keep it from rusting. Don’t use car grease on the shell plates, it’s too thick and will jam up the ball bearings after a few thousand rounds. I’ve switched to WD after I had to clean that a few times.
 
I use the Hornady one shot cleaner and lube on everything. Guns press etc. Works well at keep everything protected. I burn through a lot of it but it’s worth the cost
 
turbo89 said:
Brake clean works good, but will eat the paint off the press. I use the hornady cleaner (one can lasts a lonnggg time) and then grease the fitting with my grease gun and WD40 on exposed metal to keep it from rusting. Don’t use car grease on the shell plates, it’s too thick and will jam up the ball bearings after a few thousand rounds. I’ve switched to WD after I had to clean that a few times.
Click to expand...
Some break cleaners will eat through paint easily and destroys plastic.
Wearing nitrile gloves will help keep your salty sweat off everything.
 
JayT-85 said:
I’ve noticed that rust has been showing up on my Hornady lock n load classic I cleaned it the way it was recommended and stored it for about a year in a cool dry place. Now that I pulled it out to set it up as my partner press it has developed rust around the joints of the press and the powder charger/hopper as well. I don’t understand what’s going on but how do u recommend I clean it off and stop this from happening again?
Click to expand...
You are fighting a losing battle, I have three LnL APs and they all got some rust in different places and I have mine in a heated space inside. Bare metal will get surface rust, all I can tell you is to just check your press occasionally and keep up with it. The things I worry about are the dies and the rotor and meter assembly for the powder drop, I check those weekly in the summer time because I do most of my loading in the colder months so the presses sit for most of the summer.

One set of my dies got rusted up pretty good, not on the inside thankfully. I took them apart and let them soak in a tub of evapo-rust overnight and that cleaned them up very well. There was some minor surface pitting/etching but it's on the outside.
 
1903Collector said:
You are fighting a losing battle, I have three LnL APs and they all got some rust in different places and I have mine in a heated space inside. Bare metal will get surface rust, all I can tell you is to just check your press occasionally and keep up with it. The things I worry about are the dies and the rotor and meter assembly for the powder drop, I check those weekly in the summer time because I do most of my loading in the colder months so the presses sit for most of the summer.

One set of my dies got rusted up pretty good, not on the inside thankfully. I took them apart and let them soak in a tub of evapo-rust overnight and that cleaned them up very well. There was some minor surface pitting/etching but it's on the outside.
Click to expand...
Its all in the alloy, I have 2” of gun barrel thats been floating around my shop for a few years now. Should be. Rotted mess. Doors open all summer , wide temp and humidity swings.
Pliers only a week old already rusting. Fun stuff
 
I've had my LNL AP since 2012 and there isn't a spec of rust that I can see. I keep the piston and shell plate area coated with grease and Hornady gun cleaner dry lube. I also have a dehumidifier running 24/7 in the basement. YMMV.
 
andrew1220 said:
I've had my LNL AP since 2012 and there isn't a spec of rust that I can see. I keep the piston and shell plate area coated with grease and Hornady gun cleaner dry lube. I also have a dehumidifier running 24/7 in the basement. YMMV.
Click to expand...

The areas I have found it is usually on the powder drop linkage, the rotor, the guide rod for the primer system. Interestingly the top of the press is machined and unfinished and they never rust there so it must not be straight up cast iron.
 
1903Collector said:
The areas I have found it is usually on the powder drop linkage, the rotor, the guide rod for the primer system. Interestingly the top of the press is machined and unfinished and they never rust there so it must not be straight up cast iron.
Click to expand...
The LnL is aluminum casting correct?
 
Thi
1903Collector said:
The areas I have found it is usually on the powder drop linkage, the rotor, the guide rod for the primer system. Interestingly the top of the press is machined and unfinished and they never rust there so it must not be straight up cast iron.
Click to expand...
this x2! I’ve prolly had my press 10yr or so too, very similar spots. Overall still in good shape though. The powder drop rotors i scuffed with a scuffing pad about a year ago, they still look good today.
 
I just got a Hornady reloader for Christmas so I'm just getting started but what about keeping dies in a gun safe (which is close to my reloading bench and has a dehumidifer in it)?
 
mtroxell said:
I just got a Hornady reloader for Christmas so I'm just getting started but what about keeping dies in a gun safe (which is close to my reloading bench and has a dehumidifer in it)?
Click to expand...
Are you worried about someone stealing your dies?.....

Kidding. I'm assuming you want to do that since the safe is climate controlled and the room (basement?) where your reloading bench is located, isn't climate controlled?
 
mtroxell said:
I just got a Hornady reloader for Christmas so I'm just getting started but what about keeping dies in a gun safe (which is close to my reloading bench and has a dehumidifer in it)?
Click to expand...
If this is for rust preventive get this stuff
There usually is s small VCI pice in most die sets
VCI Paper Packaging | Anti Corrosion Kraft Paper | Zerust®/Excor® You can also buy rust inhibitor sprays
utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=g-zerust-nam-us-en-non-brand-exact&utm_content=product-pages&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5aWOBhDMARIsAIXLlkeJ0KngLMFcUT-pycRPg0RFLC0hNmYDdjHIwUb08gNN4iWck-sZ7kkaAojCEALw_wcB
 

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