How to Mark Primers?

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Gearhead Jim

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I have a large quantity of .38 brass, all the same headstamp. And a lot of bullets, all identical.

I'd like to load up some +P practice ammo. I can mark the boxes that these reloads go into, but would like to mark the primers somehow so I can visually identify which are the hot loads.

Many years ago, someone made a small tool to ink a single letter or number on the primer of a loaded cartridge. That would be great, since the primer gets removed when the case is loaded again. But I'm worried that any oil (BreakFree CLP) might remove the ink, and anyway I don't think the tool is available any more.

Magic Marker and Sharpie would also get dissolved by CLP or other oils/solvents, though of course I try to keep them away from loaded ammo.

I'm thinking about a small dab of paint on the primer, but maybe you guys have a better idea.

Suggestions?
Thanks.
 
I just put red on the primer with a permanent marker to denote hot loads. You should not be putting Breakfree on your ammo, not should your chamber be wet with it either.

Wipe out your chamber before loading. It should be clean and dry.
 
I have always marked my different loads in the same caliber with different colored sharpies and I mark the whole end of the bullet across the headstamp and primer. When the brass is polished again usually the markings are gone and if not they wipe right off.
 
Sharpies work fine, or you can buy a little bottle of primer sealant in red or green..... it will not hurt the rounds and supposedly helps waterproof them....
 
I mark all my loads on the case base with Sharpies, sometimes just to make mine easier to spot on the floor.

A simple dot on the primer will mark it . . . and what exactly is gonna remove it before you fire that round?

I think you are over thinking this lol.
 
In the past, I've had Sharpie markings on autopistol magazines removed by BreakFree CLP. I don't deliberately get it on my ammunition, but Murphy is alive and well. I marked the primer on a loaded round with a Sharpie this evening, tomorrow I'll see if BreakFree removes it or not. Perhaps the current Sharpies are more resistant.

If not, the paint/primer sealant is my "plan B".
Unless someone comes up with a better idea...

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
 
It doesn't seem like a good idea to use paint or any substance that will contaminate the firing pin. I would think paint chips would gradually bind up the firing pin in it's channel.
 
Sharpies.

A bottle of cheap nail polish dabbed on and wiped off will mark and also seal the primer.(not that they need sealing) but the "official primer sealer is basically the same thing

Of course you could try to find some +P marked brass. Most is Nickel
 
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I have shotgun loads marked with Magic-marker on the entire head, that are 20 years old. Without a good tumble cleaning those hulls will be marked forever! Ivan
 
You have nothing but options here.
Sharpies work great if you can just go by color code.
If you need to keep more information on the round, stazon ink and some rubber stamps can do it for you, though you may wish to ink the bullet, rather than the primer for its more generous real estate.
In the past, I've used rustoleum on a sponge to color code rounds at the bullet point.
It's probably the fastest way, short of dumping them out on the table and using spray paint.
About the only thing you should avoid is marking the primers with a letter punch and hammer.
 
I also use a Sharpie. I color in the primers with different colors for different loads. A small card with the color code written on it gets put in the plastic ammo case with the ammo. I have had 5 different loads in a box and no problems with mixing them up.

Red, Blue, Green, Black and no mark will give you five...
10 rounds of each will fill the box... You're all set to go to the range and test them.
 
Gearhead Jim said:
by BreakFree CLP. I don't deliberately get it on my ammunition, but Murphy is alive and well.
Click to expand...

You need to get Mr. Murphy under control. If you can't keep CLP away from your primers and/or your loaded rounds you need to solve that problem or you're going to eventually have some dud rounds.
 
I took the round with a "+" marked on the primer with a Sharpie yesterday, and wiped across the primer with a clean paper towel. About 1/3 of the marking disappeared, and that was on a clean primer.

I put a single small drop of BreakFree CLP on the primer, and left it there for 3 minutes. A second wipe with the paper towel, and the marking was completely gone.

Certainly, I try to keep oil away from my ammunition. And these will probably not be "carry" loads, just range ammo for practice. Probably. But I've learned that when carried in a holster, any oil in the gun slowly flows down hill. Any oil in the hammer/striker/firing pin area, tends to work its way onto the primer eventually. Not big globs, but a very small/thin film.

As rck281 pointed out, any paint (primer sealer) tends to leave deposits in the firing pin channel. Any time I take the FP out of my Hi Power or Glock, there is always some of that residue in there. How much, depends on what ammo I've been firing.

For now, I think I'll try the Sharpie and see if it stays on the primer in my use. If it tends to disappear, I'll try an odd-colored primer sealant and be stingy with it.
 
venomballistics said:
You have nothing but options here.
Sharpies work great if you can just go by color code.
If you need to keep more information on the round, stazon ink and some rubber stamps can do it for you, though you may wish to ink the bullet, rather than the primer for its more generous real estate.
In the past, I've used rustoleum on a sponge to color code rounds at the bullet point.
It's probably the fastest way, short of dumping them out on the table and using spray paint.
About the only thing you should avoid is marking the primers with a letter punch and hammer.
Click to expand...

But that would clearly show which ones are which!:D
 
Buy a plastic ammo box, a different color than any others. Mark the label as +P. Problem solved.
 
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