Before Rich gave me the leftover marking pigments after one of the classes I attended, I used red lead in machine oil; the shop where I worked was using it for lubricating high stress bolts on bridge hinges, I managed to divert some dry red lead and did the oil mixture and as advised in the Machine Tool Reconditioning book, I put it up in cardboard snuff boxes; in this way, the excess oil is absorbed, and when you want to use it, you just drop a drop or so of lube oil in and mix it around with a finger, and apply it with the very same digit and spread it out with the other fingers included; I do appreciate that the stuff that he gave me is much easier to clean up than red lead or Prussian blue.