I was looking inside my cases with a light after tumbling them. I had prepped the cases by turning the necks first as well as uniforming primer pockets and trimming to length. I them tumbled to be ready for the first loading. I noticed some media stuck together in sime spots which was obviously attached to the die wax which I used to lubricate the mandral. How do I get the sticky residue out of the cases?

I take it you are referring to Imperial Sizing Die Wax or something similar. Wet the end of a Q-tip with Hoppes and swirl it around inside the neck. Should clear it right out.
Use it sparingly though. Sizing die wax shouldn't harm your case or the powder, but I guess you're concerned about the media adhering to it. That would irk me also. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Thanks Cal. The problem is that the die wax made it's way into the case body. I only noticed it when shining a light inside the cases. I thought of re-tumbling them,..but if it didn't come out the first time,..it probably won't come out this time either. I will try the q-tip maneuver and see what I can get.

I hate it when guys give answers like this, but here goes:
Don't put wax in there to start.
Don't use an expander ball on brass and you won't need any wax inside the neck.
Your cases will be more concentric, and sticks of powder will not stick to the inside of your neck.

1. Put the cases in a plastic container with a lid (something like Tupperwear).

2. Fill with tap water as hot as you can get, plus a teaspoon of automatic dishwasher detergent. Shake the container.

3. Dump out the water, and rinse twice with hot tap water.

4. If you are in a hurry, make the last rinse with boiling water and the cases will dry themselves almost instantly.

This does a good job in in removing sizing lubes and waxes. In fact, this is usually the ONLY way I clean my cases -- it leaves them clean, and you don't need shiny cases anyway.

This method of case cleaning also has the advantage of not producing clouds of lead-contaminated tumbler dust. I did on of those commercial tests for lead contamination a few years ago, and the results made me decide to largely forget about using a tumbler.

Cheers,

jpb

Use mica, a powder thats real cheap from Midway,to lube the necks. No need to clean it off and it doesnt contaminate the powder.

I have fired many cases with Imperial Sizing Die Wax on the inside, just like yours. Leftover from inside expanding, as per yours. However, if it is contaminated with grit from tumbling, it could be a problem. I do not tumble my cases after I size them, but before. The wax does no harm to powder or primer, as near as I can tell. Remember that British Cordite powder was softened with petroleum jelly (Vaseline) so that it would bend a little in the loading process. The only real problem comes when and if it kills the primer and I haven't had that problem yet.

Like the guy sez--use Redding bushing dies and ditch the inside expander routine. You will never look back.

Thanks guys. Let me expand on my explanation,.....the die wax was deposited as a result of the mandral used on my K&M neck turner. I was told to lube it due to the spinning of brass on an un-lubed mandral being a No-No. Something about the heat building up while the case is being spun under the drill speeds.

A quick way to remove lube, is to rinse the cases in acetone. I also use it to remove the lube left on cases after shooting cast bullets, and before tumbling. It can be had at the local hardware store, or paint store. Use a butter tub, or something similar, for rinsing. Put in 25-30 cases, add a couple inches of acetone, Put on the lid and shake for a couple of minutes. Then pour the liquid back into the container. Used like this, a can will last quite a while. It dries very quickly, when you dump the cases out onto an old towel/rag. Depending on the container used, it may not last as well, since acetone is hard on some plastics. Hope this helps.