To deprime and size cases prior to vibrate polish or no?

[Metal Tiger]

Thanks all for the great info here on THR, especially the reloading forum.

My question has to do with polishing brass. Do you deprime and size the brass first or after polishing? I use the big Dillon 2100 vibrator.

Currently I just polish the brass first.

Who worries about cleaning primer pockets of pistol carterages?

 

[Twiki357]

I run my brass though the tumbler (Vibrator) for about a half hour first. Mainly just to eliminate any dirt & grit and to get a little polishing compound on them to make them easier to size. After deprime/sizing I put them back in to actually polish and clean the primer pockets.

 

[Steve C]

Putting deprimed brass in the cleaner just gets media stuck in the primer pockets and you have to pick them out by hand.

I put them back in to actually polish and clean the primer pockets.

Never got any cleaning of the primer pockets. Not enough space for the media to move around in the pocket to scrub off any carbon or primer residue. If you want to clean your primer pockets get one of the primer pocket cleaners from Lee or other companies.

 

[Viper225]

Handgun I will clean first. The decapper will clean out any media in the flash hole.

Rifle I normally wipe the case shoulder and neck with brake cleaner, #9, etc to get the carbon off. I then lube and size, then clean in the vibrator. When I take them out I check each flash hole for media and poke any out with a tool I have made from wire. I will also trim and chamfer at this time if needed.

Bob

 

[Metal Tiger]

Media stuck in primer pockets

Steve C: Putting deprimed brass in the cleaner just gets media stuck in the primer pockets and you have to pick them out by hand.

Yup thats my experience but wanted to know if this is what others have experienced.

 

[mmorris]

Putting deprimed brass in the cleaner just gets media stuck in the primer pockets and you have to pick them out by hand.

not this stuff:

http://http://www.drillspot.com/products/521055/econoline_526040g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

Blast Media, 40 Lbs, Corn Cob, 20/40 Grit
Model: 526040G-40*SKU: 521055
GRIT 20 to 40
ITEM Blast Media
MEDIA TYPE Corn Cob
NOMINAL DIA. (IN.) MAX. 0.0393
NOMINAL DIA. (IN.) MIN. 0.0167

 

[jcwit]

Plus 1 on what mmorris said, will put an end to media in the primer pockets, flash holes, and eliminate the problem with media stuck in bottleneck cases.

 

[beatledog7]

If you tumble after depriming always recheck each primer pocket and inside each case and flash hole for stuck media, even if you think your chosen media won't get stuck in there.

You won't like the results trying to seat in a primer in a pocket that's clogged with tumbling media, and even one little piece of corn cob lodged in a flash hole can ruin your shooting day.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I sometimes tumble first and sometimes after resizing.

I use an RCBS Primer Pocket wire brush set up on a stationary drill (with a tie-wrap around the trigger at slow to medium speed) which cleans the pocket about as fast as I can move the brass from one hand to the next and back into another bin.

With the drill holding the RCBS primer pocket brush, any media that is in the flash hole is typically shoved out of there. On occasion I need to poke the media out of the hole, perhaps one out of every 20 to 40 cases.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

I tumble before resizing so the brass is clean. I also tumble afterwards to get the lube off the cases.

 

[jcwit]

If you tumble after depriming always recheck each primer pocket and inside each case and flash hole for stuck media, even if you think your chosen media won't get stuck in there.

Not going to happen if you use what mmorris suggested.

You won't like the results trying to seat in a primer in a pocket that's clogged with tumbling media, and even one little piece of corn cob lodged in a flash hole can ruin your shooting day.

No it won't ruin your day at the range. Tests have been run and the primer will blow the chunk of media out. Not really a problem.

 

[beatledog7]

jcwit,

I'm not disputing what you say, but for me the second it takes to verify no stuck media is part of the safe reloading routine, even for a case I deprimed after tumbling.

 

[JohnM]

I generally get a quantity of a particular size brass built up.
Then toss a load into the tumbler to clean them up before resizing and depriming. Just to make sure there's no grit hanging around.
Then after resizing they do another short cleaning trip because I still use a lube that needs to be removed.
During this process I've had a chance to cull damaged cases.
Since I do everything in batches at the next operation, priming, I get a chance to do a final check of all the primer pockets and flash holes.
Using the properly sized media I very rarely see anything caught is a flash hole, If I do, it gets tossed to a box on the side to be cleaned out later.

 

[rondog]

I deprime first, using a universal decapping die, but don't resize. Milsurp brass gets the primer crimps removed, rifle brass gets the flash holes uniformed. Then I tumble in dry walnut to clean the brass, then in 20/40 corncob w/NuFinish to polish, then resize in large batches. After that, I trim the rifle cases to length, put in new primers, again in large batches. The decapping pin in the sizing die will punch out the walnut pieces that stuck in the flash holes.

So essentially, when I start loading, all my brass is decapped, cleaned, polished, sized, trimmed and primed. I also don't sweat over any chunks stuck in the flash holes. The blast from the primer is tightly contained and forced through that tiny hole, the fire WILL get to the powder, a little piece of walnut shell ain't gonna stop it.

 

[Deavis]

You won't get any cleaning action of the flash hole with vibratory media, so unless you just want to do it, don't waste your time. Polish and then load.

 

[W.E.G.]

I tumble fired cases only until they are clean enough to not damage my sizing die.

I really don't get this business of "polishing" cases.

I mean if you are going to take "bragging pictures" or something, I guess you can go to town on the ones for your photo.

Otherwise, your GUN does not recognize any difference between a clean, yet tarnished, case and one that has been polished with Mother's Shiney-Hiney Rouge.

I have no idea why anybody would tumble cases AFTER they ran them through the sizing die.

That little bit of crud left-over in the primer pocket has not affected even one of the tens of thousands of rounds I have reloaded. I have NEVER bothered to remove that little bit of crud after sizing/de-capping.

 

[gamestalker]

I give my brass a short tumble prior to resizing to remove grit that could scratch them or my die's, and then trim, ream & chamfer, clean primer pockets, and then I do a full tumble.

 

[gamestalker]

My reasoning in cleaning primer pockets is to give me a more consistent seating, and eliminate any false resistence. And I'm plain anal about my reloading, which may explain why I've yet to experience a mis-fire or any other problem in over 30 years of reloading.

A long term and full tumbling also makes it very easy to detect cases with integrity issues. This is especially helpful with my bottle neck brass.

 

[Walkalong]

I tumble prior to sizing. If I lube the cases to size, I tumble again. I use the small media and very few pieces stay in flash holes, but knocking it out just takes a second.

I do not worry about cleaning primer pockets on handgun brass. It only builds up just so much. It doesn't keep building up. Since my handguns can out shoot me 99% of the time, I don't sweat it at all.

Rifle primer pockets? I clean them, except for blasting/plinking .223 ammo, but even these primer pockets get a bit of cleaning on the second tumbling after sizing/de-priming.

 

[usnmars]

here's my process, it's a bit much but works for me. I tumble for about 20 mins with the primers in to remove any grit on the case. I then resize and toss in a coffee can with a mix of water, lemishine, and the dish soap that says it has the power of soaking all night in 5 minutes(dawn I think). Have the water hot as possible and let the cases soak for an hour or two. The brass comes out just like a stainless tumble. Perfect primer pockets and clean inside the brass. I let them dry overnight on a towel and then in the AM toss them in the tumbler for a final polish before loading. I know it's a bit much but I haven't cleaned a primer pocket since I started using this method.

 

[floydster]

All my pistol brass I tumble first, then resize and prime, ready to be reloaded.
I prime all my cases by hand priming, it is much easier and better then trying to prime on the press---what a hassle( LNL).
Pre-preped cases reloading on a progressive in my estimation is the only way to go--don't have to worry about a stopage because of a primer screwup, and it gives you a chance on inspecting the cases after they are primed, also loading the primers in the primer tubes is baloney.
That's mt story and I'm sticking towit

 

[jcwit]

I tumble fired cases only until they are clean enough to not damage my sizing die.

I really don't get this business of "polishing" cases.

I mean if you are going to take "bragging pictures" or something, I guess you can go to town on the ones for your photo.

Otherwise, your GUN does not recognize any difference between a clean, yet tarnished, case and one that has been polished with Mother's Shiney-Hiney Rouge.

I have no idea why anybody would tumble cases AFTER they ran them through the sizing die.

That little bit of crud left-over in the primer pocket has not affected even one of the tens of thousands of rounds I have reloaded. I have NEVER bothered to remove that little bit of crud after sizing/de-capping.

Why do I POLISH my cases? Because I like the look of highly polished brass. Same reason I wax my car, it looks better to ME. Very few other folks even notice, but I do. Does it protect the finish more in either case. Yes the Nu-Finish I use protects the brass from tarnish, for years BTW. The Synthetic finish I put on my car protects against Bird Droppings and many other materials coming from our "clean" air.

You are correct that my gun knows no difference, no more than my car knowes any difference, but the point is "I" do.

 

[shooter_from_show-me]

I just run my pistol brass throught the tumbler for about a hour in crushed walnut prior to running them through the dies.

 

[shooter_from_show-me]

Yes the Nu-Finish I use protects the brass from tarnish, for years BTW.

I need to try some of that sometime. I am sure it would be easy to find some at your local auto parts store instead of try to find a bottle of Flitz or other brand.

 

[jcwit]

shooter from show me, actually you can use most any liquid auto cleaner polish such as Mothers, Kit by Johnsons I believe, Eagle, MaGuirers ect., ect. They all deposit a thin film of polymer to the case inhibiting tarnish.

It just seems as tho Nu-Finish has caught on as the preferred brand with reloaders for some reason, no idea why.