Cleaning up a Dillon

[Dusty Devil Dale 332]

Does anybody have a good solvent recipe for cleaning and degreasing a reloading press?   I've been using Hoppes #9, and it does a great job on the dies and top stage, but less so on the main lower frame.   I'm just wondering what works to get out powder residue and crusted grease, without removing the paint.  

[Cat Brules 525]

First, did you call Dillon and am them?

 

Wear clear safety glasses the whole time you’re doing this!

 

The “recipe” I’d likely try is to get your

—- shell casing feed equipment and

—- primer feed equipment 

—. Powder and powder feed equipment

off and away from the press,   Pile rags or old towels around the press and have rags in reserve.   Go to work on it with a can of aerosol, spray-on brake cleaner (Walmart or automotive store).   Wipe off residue with clean rags. Let the equipment air dry for a few hours.  Keep the brake cleaner away from clear plastic.

 

Wear clear, safety glasses and an old T-shirt.

 

Clean shell feeder equipment with water and a little dish soap....rinse and wipe with clean rags..  Carefully clear the primers from the primer feed equipment.  Dump the powder in a clean, marked container for reuse.  Let all air dry completely for a few hours.  You’ll figure out whatever I’ve missed:  the trick is the brake cleaner.  It air dries quickly, leaving littl or no residue.

 

Don’t forget the cleat, “certified”’ safety glasses.....Walmart.

 

Cat Brules 

 

 

Cat Brules

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 5,371]

WD-40 will work here.

Let it soak for a bit.

OLG

[Barry Sloe 222]

Don't know what you're trying to do.  Deep clean or something out of whack??  Talk with Dillon.  You can ship it to them and they will refurbish it (it will be like new).  Of course there's a small nominal fee. 

 

BS

[Kid Rich 220]

Dillon says to use rubbing alcohol.

kR

[Cypress Sam, SASS #10915 296]

I completely disassembled my 25 year old Dillon 550 and cleaned/degreased it with Simple Green.  I also learned in the process that you really need the Dillon alignment tool to get it back together right.  I finally got mine back together right after a couple of days of trial and error assembly/disassembly, having never heard of the Dillon alignment tool at the time.

 

It’s easy to take apart and clean - Getting it back together and aligned - not so much

[Rye Miles #13621 3,774]

1 hour ago, Barry Sloe said:

Don't know what you're trying to do.  Deep clean or something out of whack??  Talk with Dillon.  You can ship it to them and they will refurbish it (it will be like new).  Of course there's a small nominal fee. 

 

BS

I sent my 550 to Dillon and for $67.00 they completely cleaned the machine, it came back like a brand new machine in TWO WEEKS!!

Dillon's great!

[John Boy 552]

Quote

Does anybody have a good solvent recipe for cleaning and degreasing a reloading press? 

Eezox

[Sedalia Dave 5,942]

Ed's Red, followed by soap and water. I use a stiff bristle tooth brush to get into tight areas. Then air dry thoroughly and relube

[Lou Graham, # 26112 99]

The little kit of car detailing attachments for a shop vac work well to get the loose cruds and crumbs up in all the nooks and crannies.  I use alcohol to get stubborn stuff.  Doing it before it gets really nasty is easier than leaving it for a long time.  I recently took the 650 to Dillon for the "total makeover" after about 17 years of hard use.  It came back looking like new and runs great.  I had gotten used to the quirks and occasional fussing over time and didn't really notice it was running in a sub-optimal way until I started loading after the re-build.  It was a huge difference and worth every penny.

[Dusty Devil Dale 332]

31 minutes ago, Lou Graham, # 26112 said:

Doing it before it gets really nasty is easier than leaving it for a long time. 

Shoulda thought of that five or eight years ago.  My 650 is literally a varnished mess, which is why I'm breaking it  down for cleaning and refurbishing.   Perhaps sending it to Dillon is the right thing to do, but I hate to let them see their product in such a mess.  I seem to make time to reload, but I never seem to have enough to clean up after.   It's a character trait, as anyone who has seen my shop can attest.   

[Barry Sloe 222]

Keep in mind Dillon's no BS warranty.  Even if you find one in the trash or at a yard sale that looks like s**t, grab it and send it to them.  You'll get back a machine that looks new.

 

BS

[Sarge 196]

I like to keep a can of the aerosol air like you use for cleaning computer keyboards around. Works really good with blowing out the debris.

[Michigan Slim 2,342]

On 10/27/2019 at 3:15 AM, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

WD-40 will work here.

Let it soak for a bit.

OLG

I use it liberally. Only liberal thing in my life I think

[Geronimo Jim SASS # 21775 64]

You have to clean them?

[Badlands Bob #61228 799]

Do not use any cleaning chemicals on the plastic powder measure hopper.  Mine was a little cloudy so I decided to try and clean off the smokey plastic.  I tried several things and it just got worse.  I finally tried carburetor cleaner.  It turned the plastic smokey green and you couldn't see through it at all.  I called Dillon and explained what I did.  I wanted to purchase another plastic hopper.  The tech didn't even laugh at me.  He told me he would send me one in the mail.  No charge.  I love Dillon.

[Footloose 1797L 1]

On 10/27/2019 at 7:20 AM, Kid Rich said:

Dillon says to use rubbing alcohol.

kR

I would use Denatured Alcohol, it doesn't have the little bit of oil that rubbing alcohol has in it.

Brake cleaner will probably take off the finish.

And don't forget to properly lube it when cleaned.

[Kid Rich 220]

8 hours ago, Footloose 1797L said:

I would use Denatured Alcohol, it doesn't have the little bit of oil that rubbing alcohol has in it.

Brake cleaner will probably take off the finish.

And don't forget to properly lube it when cleaned.

I think if they wanted me to use DA they would have told me. That little bit of oil is probably good enough for lube where it is used.

kR

ps I don't go in the Dillon store that often, probably only 5-6 times a year.