Have you ever polished the inside of a sizing die?

[Cdog]

I've polished a number of sizing die. 0000 steel wool with a dab of jeweler's rouge, semi-chrome or similar polish. I ain't gonna polish a new one that should be properly finished before leaving the factory though.

I too would let RCBS take care of it.

I like and use more Unique/mink oil than anything else. For difficult brass, wax based lubes are the cure. The inexpensive easy to find Lee case lube works great.

 

[twodog max]

I have SB dies in 30/06 from my days of shooting Remington 760's. They are always difficult to size even well lubed. I eventually stopped listening to writers and tried regular dies and found out they worked perfect. So much for free advice. They may be necessary at times but not always.
Got all stupid once and severely scratched at FL 270 Winchester RCBS die. Sent it back and in just a few days a new FL die showed up in the mail. Can't beat that service.

 

[gwpercle]

Switching the topic to case lube, for many years I have used STP. I have been drawing from the same can of STP the whole time. I usually dilute it a little with mineral spirits before application to my pad (an old and fairly large stamp pad). Some swear by Johnson's paste wax as a case lube, but I have never tried it. Ditto Lanolin.

Agree !
I honestly believe the old case lube RCBS sold ...you put it on a ink pad and rolled your cases across it , was STP and was thinned just a little .
One small container of STP will last you a freaking Lifetime ... and you can always add any left over STP to the crankcase of your car .
Gary

 

[ken158]

Nobody can polish your die better than the factory that made it… RCBS will either fix it or give you a brand new die. Just send it in with a few scratched cases and you will have the issue corrected in short order. I have done this with RCBS and Hornady over the years with positive results.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

The best solution will be returning the die to RCBS for their evaluation and correction. RCBS warranty service is as good as you will find anywhere.

If you must do this by yourself, you should first be aware that whatever you attempt is likely to void the manufacturer's warranty.

Over the years I have managed to scratch sizing die interiors, probably by running dirty brass through and introducing an abrasive in the process. My solution has been a short piece of dowel rod (diameter less than die body interior), cut a slot in one end about 1", insert a small piece of 600-grit emery paper, insert into die body and spin using an electric drill, followed by a cloth patch with jewelers rouge, then thorough cleaning.

That has worked on both steel and carbide sizers with relatively little time or effort. I'm sure this could be overdone by those who think that if a little bit is good a lot should be better.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

...The only times I've stuck a case in a die it was due to lack of lube on the lower end of the body, not the neck or shoulder area....

I hope you were using proper lube on all the cases. Keep in mind the "small base" is actually squeezing the case down further than it may have originally been. It will take a lot of force to do it. I recommend Imperial Sizing Wax.
If your dies are scratched RCBS will polish out. They have outstanding customer service.

You know I think this is the issue. The way I am spraying the cases is probably leaving a 1/4" above the extractor groove dry. i have never had a problem doing it this way before but as you say the SB die is going down that much further. I used the pad method for almost 20 years and I always leave the tail end of the cases hanging over the pad. I never once stuck a case. I started using One-Shot maybe two years ago, at first just for pistol but now for rifle as well. I am going to have to change my system for the SB dies, or just give up on them. The Lee dies have worked for me up until now. My reason behind the SB dies was to process some of the once-fired brass I have picked up that has been shot out of anything from full-autos to home built overgassed pistols. I figured I would run these cases through the SB die the first time, then stick with the Lee after that. This ammo is being shot out of AR's only so I never really worried about neck size only or shoulder bumping. I figure I am as likely to loose the cases as I am to wear them out.

As for Imperial and other products applied by hand, I am willing to experiment but the appeal of the spray is minimizing the mess while lubing 50-100 cases at once and keeping my hands mostly clean.
I am going to try some copper solvent in the die and then try some of the polishing methods suggested here before I bug RCBS about it. Maybe the scratching is just brass deposits left by under lubed cases.
Thanks for the help everyone. I will update this thread with the results.

 

[243winxb]

1 shot useless. Use RCBS 2 lube on a pad. Polish with 400 grit.

 

[gwpercle]

If you like non-messy non-greasy , spray on case lube ...
Dissolve as much Lee Case Sizing Lube in Denatured Alcohol as it will hold , strain out any remaining solids that wont dissolve and put in a small spray bottle (with an adjustable nozzle ) ...Now just lay cases on a towel , spray evenly and roll around ... it dries in seconds and leaves a nice thin coat of the water based waxy Lee Case Lube ...
Just normal reloading and a wipe of the rounds before boxing is all the clean up required ... the "dry like" case lube is not messy to use and clean up is easy .
STP Oil Treatment is still the best for reforming and heavy re-sizing jobs ...keep some around for the few times the Lee Lube doesn't get the job done .
Gary

 

[gregintenn]

Cleaning the inside of a dirty sizing die with some fine abrasive would help, but I wouldn’t try to get it real slick inside, as I’d fear it would increase surface tension enough to really stick a case. I like Lee wax lube. It won’t dent shoulders like an oil based product.

I’ve never found a need for small base dies.

 

[Johnrh]

I had the exact same thing happened to my small base die. I contacted RCBS they said to send it into service department with 2 cases showing the scratches. They would try to polish them out and if the couldn’t they’d replace the die free of charge. I still haven’t sent it in yet.

Have the same problem and they told me the same thing. That was about 10 years ago. Still haven't sent it in and I don't have any problems. After about 9 loadings I scrap the brass anyway.