Can't get lanolin to dissolve in alcohol - what am I doing wrong

dcmdon

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Hi all,

Just like the title said. It won't dissolve. I put it in a spray bottle days ago and there is still a clump hanging off the end of the straw Do I need to heat it up a bit in a pan and stir the lanolin in?
 
Lanolin is not very soluble in ethanol. Apparently.

What kind of alcohol are you using? My Google-fu says isopropanol. Try rubbing alcohol 91%.
 
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99% alcohol (not the 91 you find in stores) and liquid lanolin. If you are starting with solid lanolin you need to heat the lanolin in a water bath first to melt it. Heating 99% alcohol on the stove (esp a gas stove) would be a bad idea.

Amazon knows what you need. Search for liquid lanolin and you get;

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I heated my lanolin ( I,will call it grease) in the microwave until liquid. Do this slowly it likes to pop. Keep it covered. Mixed it 12-1 and it's been good to go. I'm still getting used to how much to apply. It always seems like more than I need.
 
i did the same thing. Figured I already had a few bucks into it so I made it work. I used the tube lanolin and plain ole rubbing alcohol, by far the least desirable of ingredient varieties. It clumped up on me as well. I even put a lead ball in the sprayer thinking it would help mix it (it did not) so my answer was to soak my spray bottle in a sink of hot water for a few minutes and that worked well. I'd lay out a couple hundred cases in a cardboard box top and spread them evenly like french fries and spray them and let them dry for a few minutes. after all that, the lube worked as intended.
 
I bought liquid lanolin and 99% alcohol. I put both bottles in a pot of hot water for about 20 minutes, then measured and poured them into an empty spray bottle. It stayed mixed for a while, at the time I was reloading almost daily, and would give it a shake before each batch of brass I lubed. If the spray bottle sits for a week or longer, the lanolin starts to settle at the bottom, It just takes a few seconds of shaking to mix it up again.
 
Okay, I'll bite.

Just what do you use this for? [thinking]

added: Never mind. Just read the last few posts a little better.
 
I didn't want to throw out the 91% alcohol with chunks of lanolin in it to start over, so I tried heating it as some suggested. Pot of water on boil, removed from head put the spray bottle into it and swirled for about 1 minute and it was all dissolved. problem solved. Thanks
 
I know this is old, but still good data. "Heet" is--according to their SDS-- straight methanol. Don't breathe fumes, ventilate! Extremely flammable.
 
While we're on favorite lubes....
Whatcha got for bullet lube homemade faves???
As a cheap f*** skinflinter, home made bullet lube is a pita. Unless you have free access to the ingredients. I just buy mine.
I made a batch of old school NRA lube of 50/50 beeswax and alox.
I had about 5 cups of old alox from estate I picked up. The honey guy around the corner gave me some bees wax, un filtered and full if shit. Was not terrible getting it clean but a pita. It worked but if you have to buy bees wax and alox the price point is moot.
 
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While we're on favorite lubes....
Whatcha got for bullet lube homemade faves???
Want cheap?
Cheap:
(New) wax toilet ring 1:1 by weight with old paraffin candle wax for soft or 2:3 medium hard
Add ~ 1/2 Oz synthetic 2-stroke oil per pound of the above mix while melted and mix in.

Absolutely zero leading, clean shiny bore after a quick wipe down.
Negative? Smokey as hell.

Or just buy from White Label for cheap money
 
Want cheap?
Cheap:
(New) wax toilet ring 1:1 by weight with old paraffin candle wax for soft or 2:3 medium hard
Add ~ 1/2 Oz synthetic 2-stroke oil per pound of the above mix while melted and mix in.

Absolutely zero leading, clean shiny bore after a quick wipe down.
Negative? Smokey as hell.

Or just buy from White Label for cheap money
Just buy white label.
I dont know whats in toilet rings but even the new ones have a smell that just makes me say…NO
I use 2500+ for everything
 
or drop your ancestral lanolin shoeboxy ways and get my lubricator.
:p
 
Want cheap?
Cheap:
(New) wax toilet ring 1:1 by weight with old paraffin candle wax for soft or 2:3 medium hard
Add ~ 1/2 Oz synthetic 2-stroke oil per pound of the above mix while melted and mix in.

Absolutely zero leading, clean shiny bore after a quick wipe down.
Negative? Smokey as hell.

Or just buy from White Label for cheap money
Yuh thanks.
That mixture is fairly flammable as I found out when I left a small cup to melt on top of my casting pot. Oh yes quite smokey as well🤣
 
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