Polishing and depriming

[kmonroe99]

New reloader question - do you polish/tumble cases before or after you deprime? I ask because I purchased some polished, recovered range brass and the spent primers were still in the cases. I was thinking it makes more sense to deprime and then polish?

Thx

 

[MichiganScott]

I polish and then deprime. We sometimes forget that the real reason for polishing the brass is to remove grit to protect our reloading dies. The fact that they come out shiny is secondary.

If you want to use the stainless pins and clean the primer pockets, you can use a specialised die that deprimes only without touching the body of the case.

 

[arjay]

I polish and then deprime.The grit tends to get stuck in the flash holes otherwise and poking it out of 200 pieces of brass is really tedious.

 

[Bkreutz]

I use a progressive press so depriming before cleaning would involve and extra handling sequence. In my mind that kinda defeats the idea of spending less time handloading and more time shooting. Nothing wrong with it, in fact if I wanted the absolute minimum amount of handling, I'd just wash the brass in a bucket with soap, rinse and then lay it on a towel to dry. The brass would still be discolored but the grit would be gone. The powder residue isn't a problem with the dies in the press, it's the dirt that gets picked up when it hits the ground. The die manufacturers actually say that powder residue is a good lubricant. Shiny brass does make it easier to see splits and other damage. It's pretty much a "personal preference" deal. Have fun with your new "hobby".

 

[yeti]

I deprime with a universal decapper...then tumble in med-fine walnut. Stuck media hasn't been an issue with the smaller grind. It is not as aggressive as a courser grind, but it works very well for regular use.
Yes it is an extra step, but it keeps the media cleaner for longer and I am not breathing in the debris from the spent primers.

If you like corn cob it is probably best to tumble then deprime/size.

 

[kbm6893]

Depending on the media you use, if you deprime and then tumble the flash holes can get clogged. And of course any grit in the case before tumbling can scratch a die.

So I tumble then rinse them off in plain water to remove anything left behind by the tumbler. Then I let dry for a day or so, deprime and resize in a big batch. Now that the brass is clean and deprimed, I clean the brass in my sonic cleaner. Not only does that clean out the flash holes, but it also cleans the inside of the brass better than the tumbler does. Rinse them well in cold water and let dry. Brass looks brand new.

 

[fredj338]

The point of tumbling brass is to put clean brass in your sizing die. Unless you use a univ decapping die, sizing then tumbling defeats the point of clean brass. Shiny is nice, but it only needs to be clean. If you wet/ss pin tumble, IMO, you must decap first.

 

[Vortec MAX]

I use a wet tumbling system, so I decap first. A nice benefit of this is the primer pockets get cleaned too. I'm a lazy reloader, so I don't like to clean primer pockets by hand. I'd rather spend that time shooting

Mike

 

[klausinak]

I freely admit that I am OCD when it comes to my reloading methods . I do things that make no sense to some, but it keeps me happy.

My basic rule of thumb is that if it hit the ground, then it gets tumbled before going into my dies. Thus any range pick-ups and autoloader brass gets tumbled before I do anything. Revolver & most of MY rifle brass gets sized etc before going into the tumbler, (the tumbler does a great job of removing case lube). The only exception is when I find a lot of suspect brass, then I use a Lee Universal De-Capper to make sure it isn't Berdan primed before wasting any further time on it.

 

[Krell1]

I've previously stated on this forum that I reloaded for years without ever tumbling any of my brass. Never had a problem. I suppose if you're shooting outdoors and picking up brass from the ground it may be dirty enough to clean prior to reloading. In the end, it's totally up to you. I should add that I do tumble the brass now in ground corn cob and I do it prior to decapping. I like the shiny clean brass but nobody really sees it but me.

 

[kmonroe99]

The main reason I was asking is, I seemed to have a lot of problems with primer insertion failures when I was reloading the first batch of purchased brass. On the 2nd batch, I deprimed and then used a primer pocket brush on every case, and had fewer problems with primer seating.

If it matters, I'm using a Square Deal B press.

 

[BigBill]

Sometimes the primers have a square edge at the mouth were it enters the primer pocket. The brass primer pocket can have this square edge too making the new primer harder to enter the primer pocket. A quick spin of the case neck chamber too on the primer pocket opening solves this. Just a light chamber will fix it.

I polish every brass case twice. Once with the coarse media then again with the fine media with the liquid brass polish added to the media.

For handgun reloading.

I use the affordable open on three sides Lee press just for decapping.(no resizing die). Then the primer pocket gets cleaned.

Next is a coarse polishing, then it's a full case length resizing. Carbide dies no case lube.

Next it's trimming the length of the case, chamber inside and outside sharp edge.

Final polishing with the fine media with some liquid brass polish in the media.

Then prime with the Lee hand primer. Then into sealed bags.

I use the LEE PRO1000 progressive press next to charge, seat the bullet and crimp only.

I do not load the cases with dirty primer pockets. I'm sorry I'm a perfectionist when it comes to reloading.

With my 308 target loads I loaded many rounds at a time measuring each load by hand and every round is exactly the same.

 

[mikld]

You're gonna get comprehensive opinions from both sides of this subject. My personal answer is yes, I tumble before or after depriming. I have used nearly every kind of common tumbling media and in my handgun brass, both large and small primer pockets, have never had to pick out media from flash holes. I only reload .223, 30-30, 308, and 30-06 rifle ammo but then again if I decap first nothing is lodged in the flash hole so tight a tap on the bench won't dislodge it. A tap on the bench 99% of the time loosens any grit in a flash hole. I don't like to deprime on my press, because carbon and abrasive grit from burned priming compound gets all over the ram. But that's just me, I'm particular with my tools (lifelong machinist/mechanic). Many times when I get home from the range, I just dump all the my brass and the range pick ups in the tumbler and wobble away for a couple hours. Many times I deprime by hand, and I also use a Universal Decapping Die on a dedicated single stage. So, the best answer for you is try both. See what you like/dislike about your particular choice. There ain't a "right" way, and the Reloading Police ain't gonna kick down your door and confiscate yer ammo 'case you did it "wrong"...

 

[SMSgt]

I use a lot of "pick up" brass plus anything else I can scrounge. I always tumble first just make sure there is not dirt and grit on them before I resize. I use pet store walnut bedding and never have a problem with plugged flash holes. The walnut is too finly ground to do that. The only thing that I ever had plugging rpoblems with is corn cob media., which I no longer use.

My cases get "polished" only when I forget the tumbler is running and it goes all night!

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I did over 100,000 reloads with the primers removed after polishing. It worked fine. I started shooting precision long range and went to de-cap then SS pin/ wet polishing. I have done every thing "They" say not to do either on purpose or by accident and have yet to get something hard enough to mar the inside of a steel sizing die. I was worried the time some very corroded nickel cases flaked nickel all over the inside of a die set, but nothing happened! With the Titanium Nitrade and Carbide dies being even harder then tempered tool steel, I would only worry if you had diamonds laying around you range.

 

[Twoboxer]

New reloader question - do you polish/tumble cases before or after you deprime? I ask because I purchased some polished, recovered range brass and the spent primers were still in the cases. I was thinking it makes more sense to deprime and then polish?

Thx

From that statement, I'm assuming you lean that way considering that "polishing" after depriming will clean the primer pockets. The fact is that only liquid-based cleaning (or brushing) can clean primer pockets bright and shiny.

So WHEN folks clean often depends on other factors, like how and what you are cleaning and reloading, and personal preference for cleaning methods.

Rifle cases almost always need case preparation after resizing but before reloading. Since these cases are lubed for resizing, many folks will clean before decapping/resizing/caseprep to protect their dies and use a 2nd cleaning after to remove the lube. If both cleanings are dry, primer pockets may be brushed out during case prep; or a liquid final cleaning may be used to clean the primer pockets; or a final dry cleaning leaves the primer pocket somewhat dirty.

Most folks agree that pistol rounds do not benefit from primer pocket cleaning at all. Since pistol cases require no case prep before reloading, one cleaning (spent primer in) would be sufficient. That approach also makes progressive presses much more useful . . . clean and then do all reloading steps in one continuous session on the press. OTOH, some folks just prefer clean brass inside and out.

Finally . . . liquid or dry cleaning? Most folks agree liquid + stainless steel pins gives the cleanest/brightest results at the expense of an added drying cycle. The water will contain whatever the cases were exposed to and some consideration should be given to how it is discarded.

Some folks use ultrasonic cleaning . . . from what I have seen batches are too small, solutions an added expense, and there's the added drying cycle. Different strokes for different folks

Dry tumbling works fine at the expense of creating some dust that needs to be contained. Proper choice of media with no additives and a tumbling media separator almost always eliminates media stuck in pistol cases. Additives to "polish" can be used, but add the risk of the additive building up plus media clumping and sticking in cases.

Lots of ways . . . so a recommendation: Clean your cases before doing anything else, and reload. After a while you will learn exactly how you want to do it

 

[ggibson511960]

Article in Handloader Magazine

There was an interesting article a few months back in Handloader magazine by Charles Petty. He doesn't fret about many of the picky steps many of us worry about. He mixes brass manufacturers, doesn't clean primer pockets, doesn't trim to length, etc., but all for handgun reloading mass quantities of ammunition to be shot at the range. Makes a lot of sense, and it's hard to argue with his experience. Clean primer pockets in carefully prepped brass make sense for high pressure handgun rounds like 460 S&W or any rifle caliber running over 50,000 psi, but make less sense for modest pressure handgun calibers in wheelguns or autoloaders where accuracy is more dependent on the shooter.

 

[Vortec MAX]

He mixes brass manufacturers, doesn't clean primer pockets, doesn't trim to length, etc.

I have a confession to make... I don't trim my pistol brass to length either. Never have. I've also never had a problem.

I do segregate the brass by headstamps into lots. I set the crimp die to each lot. I use a LEE Factory Crimp Die that only takes a few seconds to set.

Like I said above, I am a lazy reloader

I still like the inside of my brass shiny. It helps to see which cases have been charged and which have not.

Mike

 

[Rule3]

The main reason I was asking is, I seemed to have a lot of problems with primer insertion failures when I was reloading the first batch of purchased brass. On the 2nd batch, I deprimed and then used a primer pocket brush on every case, and had fewer problems with primer seating.

If it matters, I'm using a Square Deal B press.

No worries folks from Florida can read.

New brass primer pockest can be very tight. After a few reloads they will lossen up. Also depends on what primers. Some are harder than others.

There is no need to clean primer pockets so just tumble with them in and then load. Some guys like to clean pockets, more power to them. I don't and do not trim handgun cases either nor do I fiddle with flash holes,

 

[fredj338]

I have never cleaned a service pistol primer pocket, never trimmed a service pistol case. It doesn't affect accuracy or reliability. Kind of like polishing the undercarriage of you car. It may make you feel better, by but the car isn't gonna run better.