Wondering if anyone tumbles or vibrates their nickel cases. Typically they seem relatively clean and not tarnished like the brass, just wondering what the general feeling is???

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James Redfield
LM #497

Yes I do, they clean up very nicely.

I do as well. I run 'em through my Dillon 2500 right along with the brass cases. They are usually a lot cleaner to start with, but I like to get off as much of the abrasive little particles as I can before resizing.

Generally, an hour in the vibrator/tumbler is enough to get the plated cases clean.

I just throw them in with the brass cases.

wyo-man

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Live free or die

This is what I do as well and why I do it!

+1 I just tumble them in corn cob media to get any grunge off. No need for any polishing agents. That's one of the things I like about nickel cases.

Thanks everyone. I haven't reloaded rifle and pistol for 15 years or so and most of the cases that I used to deal with were brass.

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James Redfield
LM #497

James,

Try this: soak in Birchwood Casey case cleaner, dry and tumble in polishing media (fine walnut or corn cob).

The inside of the case and primer pocket will be clean and the outside will look better than new.

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Doug

Doug, are you talking about the brass or the nickel?

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James Redfield
LM #497

Jim, you can use it for either brass or nickel. If the nickel cases are relatively clean inside you can obviously skip the Birchwood Casey case cleaner step. To really polish up the nickel cases I add Iosso case polish to the tumbling media. It isn't particularly cheap but it works well and seems to last relatively long. It's available from Cabela's if you have one in your area or from most mail order reloading supply outfits.

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Doug

Just remember, even though nickel cases (outside) don't get as dirty as the brass ones, the inside still gets dirty. I throw all my fired brass in for a tumble and I use Dillon's brass cleaner (the blue stuff) which does a very good cleaning job, and seems to make the nickel a bit slicker so they go in & out of the dies a little easier. Since nickel cases tend to split faster than brass, this seems to extend there life a little.

regards,
chief38

I tumble almost everything. The nickle ones just need a few minutes to get the grunge off. Brass tkes a little longer. Keeps the dies cleaner too.

I treat 'em the same as yellow brass.

I segregate the nickle cases since they clean up quicker than the brass in the tumbler. Excessive tumbling will wear the nickle plating thin and cayse it to start peeling. This is not a good thing. Tumble the nickle for only the hour or so that it takes to clean it.