Hello all, new ish to reloading. In the past I used steel wool to clean the brass but didn’t love it as I thought it would remove too much material from the case. So I picked up a hornady vibratory tumbler and I have been playing around with different mixes to get the brass polished and looking good. Settled on Nu finish and a bit of mineral spirits with walnut crush and the brass came out great. My question is, do I need to clean the polish off the brass before running it through my full length sizing die? Or just throw some lube on the cases and send it? I decap all of my cases before cleaning with a deccapping die and I wanted to clean them before running them through my FL die so I don’t gum it up. Any insight would be great. Loading 6.5 PRC right now with 145 sierra GK
Resizing before or after polishing brass?
- Thread starter Lpills29
- Start date
Dispense with the polish. Are you reloading to make good looking ammo or good shooting ammo?
Tumble before sizing to keep dirt out of the sizing die. Forget the polish. Just lube the cases and size them.
I really don't understand why people fixate on the most irrelevant of issues. Who gives a flying FUKC what the ammo looks like? Seriously?
Spend your time and effort on things that make a difference.
Tumble before sizing to keep dirt out of the sizing die. Forget the polish. Just lube the cases and size them.
I really don't understand why people fixate on the most irrelevant of issues. Who gives a flying FUKC what the ammo looks like? Seriously?
Spend your time and effort on things that make a difference.
Could not agree more.
No polish.
Just make sure they dont have grit stuck to them.
All my brass goes from chamber to hand to ammo box to reloading setup to ammo box to chamber.
Never touches the ground.
Hunting brass hits tue ground as i am in the habit of immediately racking another round when i ahoot at an animal.
I pick that up and inspect it before resizing but “cleaning” and especially “polishing” brass is of no benefit.
Ask Erik Cortina.
No polish.
Just make sure they dont have grit stuck to them.
All my brass goes from chamber to hand to ammo box to reloading setup to ammo box to chamber.
Never touches the ground.
Hunting brass hits tue ground as i am in the habit of immediately racking another round when i ahoot at an animal.
I pick that up and inspect it before resizing but “cleaning” and especially “polishing” brass is of no benefit.
Ask Erik Cortina.
I appreciate the feedback, I am definitely reloading to make good shooting ammo lol
I don’t really care too much about the look tbh but the necks even after tumbling it in the media for 12 hours or so with no additive still had a lot of carbon buildup and that’s why I was trying the polish to pull off all the grime.
This was with brand new lapua brass so with only bumping the shoulders back 2 thou hopefully I won’t get those carbons deposits as bad going forward.
I don’t really care too much about the look tbh but the necks even after tumbling it in the media for 12 hours or so with no additive still had a lot of carbon buildup and that’s why I was trying the polish to pull off all the grime.
This was with brand new lapua brass so with only bumping the shoulders back 2 thou hopefully I won’t get those carbons deposits as bad going forward.
So anyway, I’ll attempt to answer your question instead of giving you trouble for liking clean brass lol.
My big thing is to make sure the brass is free of contaminants other than lube of course. I deprime with a depriming die like you do then I clean the brass in an ultrasonic cleaner. I lube it, resize it and then clean it again so I don’t have lube on the case when I start pouring powder or seating bullets.
I think if you had some sort of residue on the brass (you said something about removing the polish) before resizing, that wouldn’t be optimal. It could negatively impact the resizing or start to gum up your die. I dunno, that’s just what my brain says.
I’ve run some my brass with steel media to ‘polish’ it and have done it both prior to resizing and after - to see which I prefer. I’m going to do it prior to resizing in any future runs that I decide to polish so as to ensure I haven’t deformed any case mouths in the process. I’ll just make sure none of the additives are left on the cases prior to lubing and resizing.
I guess I’m no Eric Cortina - I shoot a lot but not THAT much lol and I even rinse my brass with RO water so I don’t get water spots when they dry.
Cheers and happy reloading.
My big thing is to make sure the brass is free of contaminants other than lube of course. I deprime with a depriming die like you do then I clean the brass in an ultrasonic cleaner. I lube it, resize it and then clean it again so I don’t have lube on the case when I start pouring powder or seating bullets.
I think if you had some sort of residue on the brass (you said something about removing the polish) before resizing, that wouldn’t be optimal. It could negatively impact the resizing or start to gum up your die. I dunno, that’s just what my brain says.
I’ve run some my brass with steel media to ‘polish’ it and have done it both prior to resizing and after - to see which I prefer. I’m going to do it prior to resizing in any future runs that I decide to polish so as to ensure I haven’t deformed any case mouths in the process. I’ll just make sure none of the additives are left on the cases prior to lubing and resizing.
I guess I’m no Eric Cortina - I shoot a lot but not THAT much lol and I even rinse my brass with RO water so I don’t get water spots when they dry.
Cheers and happy reloading.
- Location
- Delta B.C.
A sonic cleaner is the right tool for what your doing... Simple and easy... No dirt for your dies... If you want em all shiny polish them after you sonic clean.
I don't clean primer pockets by the second reload.. they get loose during cleaning.. cleaning removes material.. a dirty pocket is tight.... oh ya...
I just wash my cases with Sunlight dish soap. Washing is a very loose description. I just let them soak in the sink, drain, and rinse, put them outside to dry, or if it's raining, I just put them in the oven at 40 C for twenty minutes, and they come out ready to go.
They aren't bright and shiny, but they're clean.
Sonic cleaners work very well, but takes up too much time, and at my age, time comes at a premium.
- Location
- Delta B.C.
I made a drying rack out of wood dowels and a square of butcher block. 110 cases at a time. Rinse with boiling water and let dry.. Resize, clean again then de-prime and reload...
Bubba Yugga
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Midwestern Ontario
That's actually a good thing, as it keeps the bullet from "welding" to the neck.
People dip new necks in graphite to get the same effect.
The "weld" between the bullet and neck isn't much to worry about, unless you plan on storing your reloaded ammo for a couple of years or more.
When reloading, I always brush and lube the inside of the necks. I also chamfer the inside of the case mouth to break the sharp edge. This reduces or eliminates damage to the base of the bullet, even on boat tails, where a lot of the cause for flyers, larger groups, etc comes from.
A lot of the bench rest shooters I used to shoot with would inspect the bases of every bullet before inserting it into the case, because dents, scratches, etc would have enough effect on bullet flight at the 300 yd target, often is the difference between winning and losing.
They didn't throw the discards away, but used them for the 100 yd shots.
We're a bit off topic, but it's definitely a part of the conversation.
This is basically the process I use.
Seems to work. I like everything clean. It is more work (no arguments there) but reloading isn't really work for me.
Once anything gets dirty life gets harder (particularly on a progressive press but thats a conversation for another time).
I do that with all the milsurp ammo I shoot.
A lot of it is sealed with a type of resin, usually it's black, but I've seen several different colors.
It was never meant to dry rock hard, but stay pliant, for consistent accuracy from the firearms chambered for it.
Reseating with personal handloads that are relatively fresh has never made any impact on accuracy for me, as long as I lube the inside of the case necks, both before resizing and just before seating the bullet, after the powder charge is in place.
Some of the bench rest shooters, who preferred to preload their cartridges before a match, used to reseat their bullets with a Wilson die and arbor press. They felt it did less damage to the powder column, and it didn't set up hard, allowing more space between the kernels for more consistent burns.
I chronied the loads from those who swore by it and those who didn't believe. In truthe, I never noticed increased or decreased velocities or wider average spreads from any of them.
Use some fine steel wool on the necks prior to cleaning.
Get a wet cleaning setup and forget about that lead dust making vibratory tumbler.
After firing, I run brass through the tumbler to ensure any dirt is removed...case necks may still be lightly sooty but not important at this step.
If you anneal (and you should), anneal before sizing.
Lube, body size... then back into the tumbler to remove lube and for the 'polish'
Check to make sure no grit is lodged anywhere in the case and flashhole. Steel wool on the necks as necessary/if necessary
Then neck size... I prefer the Lee collet neck die as it removes multiple steps from this process. Trim, deburr as necessary. outside neck turning should also be done now if trying to maintain peak performance.
clean primer pockets... check to ensure no grit in flash hole. Prime, add powder, seat bullet
Enjoy
Jerry
If you anneal (and you should), anneal before sizing.
Lube, body size... then back into the tumbler to remove lube and for the 'polish'
Check to make sure no grit is lodged anywhere in the case and flashhole. Steel wool on the necks as necessary/if necessary
Then neck size... I prefer the Lee collet neck die as it removes multiple steps from this process. Trim, deburr as necessary. outside neck turning should also be done now if trying to maintain peak performance.
clean primer pockets... check to ensure no grit in flash hole. Prime, add powder, seat bullet
Enjoy
Jerry
For bottleneck cases...especially range brass I pick up. It gets washed first to remove grit. I then inspect and toss any questionable damaged cases. Then about an hour in my dry media tumbler to make sure all residual grit is gone. This media is separate from my finishing media. Then it gets sized, case length checked and for most bottle necked they go through the trimmer so I have consistent case length. Lastly my sized, trimmed chamfered brass gets about another 3 hours in my dry tumbler with walnut media and a little Nu Finish car polish. Cases look great and honestly I think they feed and chamber easier being super clean and polished by the walnut media with the Nu Finish polish.
Sure this is likely overkill, but I have the time and I am abit of a perfectionist.
Pistol cases I have carbide dies for get washed, rinsed, dried. I then run through my dry media polisher and then they are sized. The finish left by having a little Nu Finish in the media makes sizing noticeably easier with less effort.
Having access to a police range means 100% of the brass I pick up is once fired. So 9mm, 5.56 and 300 BO in abundance. The IVI 5.56 and 300 BO other than crimped primers is super well made brass. Consistent sized flash holes, centered and same diameter. 9mm brass varies in head stamp. Winchester and Federal mainly. Alot of nickel plate which typically I don't use.
I clean primer pockets on all my brass after the dry walnut to insure both walnut dust/chunks and residual primer/ powder carbon are cleaned out.
For me fussing a little more over my reloading process gives me a higher level of confidence in reloads which for me translates into better results at the range or in the field. I have 100% confidence in every reload I make.
I've done extensive testing on all my rifles and handguns with various powders, bullets, primers, seating depth and chrono work. I enjoy the process and the consistency at the range makes the entire process worth it for me and actually a part of shooting I enjoy immensely.
I've never approached reloading by the metric of how many rounds can I pump out per hour. Probably why I still have all my fingers, both eyes and zero ruined firearms in the last fifty years.
Sure this is likely overkill, but I have the time and I am abit of a perfectionist.
Pistol cases I have carbide dies for get washed, rinsed, dried. I then run through my dry media polisher and then they are sized. The finish left by having a little Nu Finish in the media makes sizing noticeably easier with less effort.
Having access to a police range means 100% of the brass I pick up is once fired. So 9mm, 5.56 and 300 BO in abundance. The IVI 5.56 and 300 BO other than crimped primers is super well made brass. Consistent sized flash holes, centered and same diameter. 9mm brass varies in head stamp. Winchester and Federal mainly. Alot of nickel plate which typically I don't use.
I clean primer pockets on all my brass after the dry walnut to insure both walnut dust/chunks and residual primer/ powder carbon are cleaned out.
For me fussing a little more over my reloading process gives me a higher level of confidence in reloads which for me translates into better results at the range or in the field. I have 100% confidence in every reload I make.
I've done extensive testing on all my rifles and handguns with various powders, bullets, primers, seating depth and chrono work. I enjoy the process and the consistency at the range makes the entire process worth it for me and actually a part of shooting I enjoy immensely.
I've never approached reloading by the metric of how many rounds can I pump out per hour. Probably why I still have all my fingers, both eyes and zero ruined firearms in the last fifty years.
