# Drawing lubricants

Supplied forms, application boundaries, disclosed chemistry, and measurement bases for metal drawing lubricants.

Reviewed: 2026-10-29

Tags: chemicals, metal-forming, lubricants

## Identity and process scope

Drawing lubricants are formulated materials used at the contact between metal and forming tooling. The name covers different applications. WEDOLiT FN 1530-650 is described for tube, bar, and wire drawing of bright steel. FN 6870-170 is described for deep drawing of steel, including automotive bodies. These descriptions do not make wire drawing and sheet deep drawing interchangeable processes. [Master Fluid Solutions, FN 1530-650 data sheet](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FN-1530-650), [FN 6870-170 data sheet](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FN-6870-170).

**Synthesis.** A drawing lubricant is a product with an intended process role, rather than one chemical substance. Its identity includes the exact grade, supplied form, supported metal, and drawing operation. A material recommendation for bright steel does not establish suitability for stainless steel, aluminum, or copper. None of the exact-grade sheets below establishes a particular die material.

## Supplied forms and related materials

| Form or role | Source-supported distinction |
| --- | --- |
| Neat liquid | The FN grades below are supplied drawing or forming oils described for undiluted use. They are distinct from aqueous working fluids. |
| Water-miscible concentrate | Supplied concentrate and aqueous working fluid have different property bases. |
| Dry drawing soap | CONDAT describes VICAFIL powders based on sodium soaps, calcium soaps, or blends. Powder softens through the die to form a plastic lubricating film. |
| Pretreatment carrier | CONDAT's VICAFIL TS non-reactive mineral-salt treatments promote soap pick-up through surface roughness. They have a different role from the drawing soap. |

The neat-liquid and concentrate distinctions come from the [FN 1170-225](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FN-1170-225) and [FW 7652](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FW-7652) sheets. The dry-film description is CONDAT's [wire-drawing soap explanation](https://www.condat-lubricants.com/product/wire-drawing-lubricants-soaps/wire-drawing-soaps/). Its [VICAFIL TS page](https://www.condat-lubricants.com/product/wire-drawing-lubricants-soaps/non-reactive-surface-treatments/) distinguishes non-reactive carriers from reactive zinc-phosphate treatments and identifies stainless-steel and high-carbon-steel contexts. That range description is not an exact-grade qualification.

CONDAT also distinguishes aqueous emulsions, micro-emulsions, and clear synthetic solutions within its VICAFIL SL range. Appearance describes the diluted material, not necessarily the supplied concentrate. The same page separates VICAFIL SP soluble pastes intended for single-pass applications. Thus, water solubility alone does not establish that a supplied product is a liquid concentrate. [CONDAT, soluble lubricants](https://www.condat-lubricants.com/product/wire-drawing-lubricants-soaps/soluble-lubricants-wet-wire-drawing/).

## Exact-grade examples and typical properties

These are examples from Master Fluid Solutions' European English data sheets, not a universal lubricant specification. Values are labeled typical data. Density and viscosity use ASTM D 7042. Flash point uses DIN EN ISO 2719. The sheets do not identify the editions of those methods.

| Exact neat grade | Stated drawing application and metal | Kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, mm²/s | Density at 20 °C, g/cm³ | Flash point, °C |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [WEDOLiT FN 1170-225](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FN-1170-225) | Tube drawing and other cold forming of steel. Described as chlorine-containing. | 225.0 | 1.16 | >180 |
| [WEDOLiT FN 1530-650](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FN-1530-650) | Tube, bar, and wire drawing of bright steel. Described as fully synthetic and non-water-soluble. | 650.0 | 0.89 | >160 |
| [WEDOLiT FN 6870-170](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FN-6870-170) | Deep drawing and other cold forming of steel. Described as water-insoluble. | 175.0 | 0.94 | >160 |

All three sheets report copper corrosion as not determined and include a footnote calling for preliminary examination of non-ferrous-metal discoloration. That missing result cannot be treated as a passed copper-corrosion test or stain-free approval.

FW 7652 is described for wire drawing and welded-steel-tube manufacture. The wire alloy is unspecified. [FW 7652 data sheet](https://www.masterfluids.com/eu/en/data-sheet/di-wedolit.php?pid=FW-7652).

| FW 7652 quantity | Printed value and basis | Limit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Concentrate kinematic viscosity | 6.1 mm²/s at 20 °C, ASTM D 7042 | Temperature differs from the neat-oil table. |
| Concentrate density | 1.08 at 20 °C, ASTM D 7042 | Units absent. Not relabeled as relative density. |
| Solution pH | 9.5, "5% Solution", tap water | Percentage denominator, temperature, and pH method absent. Test sample, not working concentration. |
| Concentrate mineral oil content | "Free" | Detection limit and lot result absent. |

FW 7652 also has undetermined copper corrosion and the discoloration footnote. Flash point, solids, and active content are unquantified. Dry-soap active content is likewise unquantified in the CONDAT range page. Dry form alone does not mean 100% lubricating active material.

## Chemistry and ingredient functions

CONDAT identifies several possible functions in its STEELSKIN specialty range. Extreme-pressure additives address die wear. Graphite addresses drawability. Molybdenum disulfide and synthetic waxes address lubrication and friction. Synthetic waxes and corrosion inhibitors can address corrosion protection. These are range-level examples, not a list of ingredients present in every grade. [CONDAT, STEELSKIN description](https://www.condat-lubricants.com/product/wire-drawing-lubricants-soaps/wire-drawing-soaps/).

**Synthesis.** "Fully synthetic" does not identify a particular ester or disclose a complete base-fluid system. "Chlorine-containing" does not identify a chlorinated-paraffin species, chain length, or concentration. Mineral-oil-free wording does not establish a class-wide halogen-free, boron-free, or metal-free claim. The reviewed sheets do not establish complete formulas or additive amounts.

A safety data sheet serves a different purpose. Under the US OSHA SDS requirements, mixture composition disclosure concerns specified health-hazard ingredients, with provisions for concentration ranges and trade secrets. Such bands are not a full formulation or a current lot assay. This US disclosure context does not establish the composition of the European products above. [OSHA, Appendix D, section 3](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1200AppD).

## Quantity interpretation and conditional comparisons

The reported mm²/s values are kinematic viscosity, not dynamic viscosity in mPa·s. ASTM's public D7042 scope relates kinematic viscosity to dynamic viscosity divided by density at the same temperature. The public scope describes primarily Newtonian liquids and limits the applicability of its published precision. [ASTM D7042-25e1 public scope](https://store.astm.org/standards/d7042).

**Synthesis.** The neat oils can be compared as reported kinematic viscosities at 40 °C under the same named method. FN 1530-650 has the highest reported value in this small set. That ordering does not rank drawing force, friction, wear, or die life. Neither a grade suffix nor a similar viscosity value establishes product equivalence.

The 20 °C concentrate result cannot be ranked against the 40 °C neat-oil results as though temperature were matched. The neat oils' density at 20 °C cannot supply an exact conversion of viscosity measured at 40 °C into dynamic viscosity. A printed flash-point lower bound is also not an allowable machine or process temperature.

Mass percentage and volume percentage have different denominators. An unspecified percentage basis cannot distinguish them. pH does not measure total active content. No dilution, formulation, dose, or operating recipe follows from these data.

## Applicability and source limits

The reviewed data sheets make qualitative friction, wear, tool-life, and cleaning claims without publishing matched comparative test conditions or numerical results. They do not establish a universal coefficient of friction, die-life multiplier, alloy compatibility, or downstream coating acceptance. Cleaning and annealing claims are not customer qualification. Food, medical, environmental, discharge, and customer-specific acceptance are outside this evidence set.

Sources were reviewed on October 29, 2026 PDT. All four directly retrieved WEDOLiT PDFs were read in full, including property tables, footnotes, sidebars, and disclaimers. Their displayed footer date is October 30, 2026. These dynamically served sheets do not provide a separate formulation-revision identifier. That displayed date is not treated as proof of a formulation change. Their applicability is European English product literature, not demonstrated equivalence to another regional formula.

The three linked CONDAT pages are undated range descriptions. Their text supports terminology and ingredient-function examples, not numerical specifications for individual dry grades. No matched exact-grade SDS, lot certificate, dry-grade property sheet, or comparative drawing trial is established here. The ASTM reference is its public scope only. No paid standard text is reproduced.