Dillon 550B kept in the garage

[SavageMOA]

I've been loading on my 550 for about a month now, and I've started to worry about my press being left in my garage. I'm still in school so I live with my parents during the summer. Until I move back into my apartment in August, the press has to be kept in the garage.

I'm worried that the hot, humid Mississippi summer is going to hurt my investment. What can I do to prevent rust from occurring?

I tried a search on something like this, and couldn't find anything.

Thanks in advance for the help, gents.

[Braxton1]

Just like any type of metal, keep a light film of oil on the metal parts, particularly the ram itself. That is the most-prone to rusting.

I would be more worried about keeping components (primer and powder) in a non-climate controlled environment. You may be able to hide those under your bed (where you hid those magazines as a teenager....)

[SavageMOA]

Just like any type of metal, keep a light film of oil on the metal parts, particularly the ram itself. That is the most-prone to rusting.

I would be more worried about keeping components (primer and powder) in a non-climate controlled environment. You may be able to hide those under your bed (where you hid those magazines as a teenager....)

Haha I keep the primers and powder stored in my room. I just don't have any space for my bench set-up.

So just regular gun oil will work?

[dillon]

use paste car wax as a moisture vapor barrier. Put a light coating on the primer shield, shaft of the handle, ram, exposed ends of pivot pins, and on the powder funnels, shellplates and platform. Just be sure to remove it from the shaft, powder funnel, and shellplates and platform before using again. Then use 30 wt motor oil on the shaft for lubrication.

[Mooney]

...and if there was ONE person to listen to about this, he would be that one. Thanks again, Dillon, for making such a great product and having such great service....

[MemphisMechanic]

I live in Memphis, and keep a 650 in my garage. It's about as close to direct experience with your situation as you'll find on this forum.

The exterior of the dies will begin to show slight amounts of surface rust where your fingerprint oil lies before anything else. Watch them carefully.

I use a liberal coat of 10/30 motor oil on the moving parts, and some Hoppe's on virtually everything else. Any of the all-in-one oil/solvents that suck to use on a pistol because they don't clean carbon worth a damn, and leave the exterior of the gun sticky, is just the ticket for preventing your press from showing ANY signs of rust.

I've also had a good bit of success using One Shot case lube from Hornady on the press itself. It's a dry lube that doesn't leave things tacky. But it doesn't have the staying power of a good slathering of Hoppes.

Keep it lubed, and you'll have no problems with it being in the garage year-round.

Forget about WD-40. Find the can, and throw it away. If you use WD40 on a vehicle as a lubricant or rust penetrant (or anything with moving mechanical parts)... then you're an idiot. It evaporates, doesn't really fight rust, and sucks as a lubricant as well. The product's succes is just proof that good marketing can get you a long way.

Edited June 23, 2009 by MemphisMechanic

[steveyacht]

I am at on the coast in South Carolina, a combination of the heat and humidity where you are with the addition of salt air thrown in as another element to contend with. I have been reloading in my garage for nearly 10 years, first with five MEC shot shell loaders and since last month, with a Hornady L-n-L AP. My experience has been to keep them well lubricated, clean and (when not in use) covered.

For lubricant I use the Hornady One Shot gun cleaner and lubricant. I actually ordered it by mistake thinking it was their One Shot case lube, best mistake I have made in a very long time, great product. I spray a coating on all exposed metal parts, the dies, shell plate, exterior of the powder measure, etc. I also make sure that I give a shot to all the dies, spare parts, bushings, etc before I store them in plastic containers in the cabinets under my bench. In my case, I store the primers in my safe which has a dehumidifier and my powder is stored in the same cabinet mentioned above. As far as the ram is concerned, I give the zerk fitting a shot of high pressure wheel bearing grease about every 1000 rounds, so far this method has left a very thin coating of grease on the ram.

As far as a cover goes, (don't laugh) I use garbage bags. Cheap, easy to find, one size fits all and easy to replace. I have been covering my MECs with them for years, wrapped around and held in place with a small bungee cord. The MECs still look like new.

Hope this helps.

[Woodwrkr]

My friend and I have the same problems here in Miss. with our woodworking equipment. You could consider a small dehumidifier for the garage, but that means the dehumidifier will need to run 24/7 and the garage doors will need to be kept closed at all times. Johnsons paste wax will will also work well for exposed metal parts that don't need some sort of lubricant.