The first step in wire drawing is cleansing the scale, rust, and dirt from the coils by bathing the coils in a hot dilute sulfuric acid for 15 to 30 minutes. After rinsing with water, the coils are dipped into vats containing hot milk of lime leaving a whitish coat that is baked onto the wires for protection and lubricant. The coils are now placed on a wire drawing frame where a sharpened end is inserted through the die block hole and attached to the draw reels of the draw block. The wire rod is pulled through the die blocks reducing its size and extending its length. The reduction in size is known as draft and is expressed in percentage of original rod size.
Fine wires require several drawings to reach the desired finish gauge.
Processes used in wire drawing include wet and dry drawing. Methods used are single draft drawing and continuous drawing. Both process and method used depend on requirements of the finished product. These requirements also affect the finish on the wire. Literally hundreds of coatings are available.