anybody got a good way to remove/degrease it off of brass, inside especially. tired of q tips and denatured alcohol which i have heard is hard on brass. i have a franklin arsenal wet tumbler but not sure if soapy water and pins will actually degrease it.

I just rub it off the outside with a cloth.

I use 409 and paper towels. I use Mica or graphite (messy) or Lee Lube to inside lube; I don't want a greasy type lube, inside the neck.
Why would alcohol be bad for brass? Ammonia yes.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I use 409 and paper towels. I use Mica or graphite (messy) or Lee Lube to inside lube; I don't want a greasy type lube, inside the neck.
Why would alcohol be bad for brass? Ammonia yes.

hell i dunno. i read it on some reloading forum never to use dna or alcohol as it makes the brass brittle or some such thing. you could probably drop a fired brass in horse piss out hunting and 15 people would pop putta the bushes screaming never to use it again. you know how it goes.
i usually spray one shot on the 300 H&H then a coat of graphite but i wanted to make it as easy as possible this time. probably was ammonia i read about.

I use paper towels to wipe off the wax. I use Imperial Dry Neck lube (graphite) in the Imperial media for the neck. Messy it is.

Oh . . . and supremely piss-offing if you knock the media tub over.

and INSIDE the necks? how do u clean that off good enough so no powder sticks to it?

After I size brass it gets thrown into the tumbler for about 15 min.

quote:

And INSIDE the necks?

I don't have that problem. I don't get it inside the necks from the get go.

quote:

Originally posted by john c.:
and INSIDE the necks? how do u clean that off good enough so no powder sticks to it?

Pipe cleaner, q-tips. I don't loose lot of sleep over a little powder sticking.

I just shoot it out of the necks. Really, no problems.

I use it when necking up wildcats.

Hip

quote:

Originally posted by Hipshoot:
I just shoot it out of the necks. Really, no problems.

I use it when necking up wildcats.

Hip

doesn't deaden the powder it contaminates?

Doesn't seem to bother the powder at all. I only use a little on a Q tip to coat the inside of the neck. The bullet when seated pushes whatever powder stuck on the inside of the neck into the case.

Hip

i understand that it would do that. just bothers me to see contaminated powder sticking to the inside of the case neck being driven into the case to drop onto the rest of the powder. but its a non issue then so be it.

I've had great results removing Imperial wax, and all other types of case lube, with Dawn soap in a wet tumbler and SS pins.

Really no reason to lube case necks unless you're necking up and I'd prefer a carbide expander. When sizing cases either neck or full length, leave the expander OUT. If you must lube the inside of the neck you can get your electric drill and put it in a vise. Put in one of those bore mops that's slightly large than case neck diameter, turn it on and run your cases onto the spinning mop. You can buy them by the package/in bulk from Brownells among others. When done, wet the mop with warm water and put a couple drops of dish soap on it and work it good with your fingers. Rinse with warm water and air dry. You can reuse the mops many times. Also replacing the mop in the drill with an oversize bore brush is a good way to clean case necks.

quote:

Originally posted by john c.:

hell i dunno. i read it on some reloading forum never to use dna or alcohol as it makes the brass brittle or some such thing.

that's ammonia, not rubbing alcohol --- ammonia CAN embrittle brass .. it's true, and leads to neck cracks FAST --

first, one shouldn't use so much wax that this is a problem, and if it is, well, gents, baby wipes are EXCELLENT for this issue .. no, no snark or sardonic wit in this .. baby wipes are GREAT for minor clean ups .. if the thought of baby wipes bothers you, get some armorall cleaning wipes -- pay 5X the cost for a lesser product and packaging - the can allows for the things to dry out - and feel more manly about it ..

my default answer for cleaning anything safe to touch is baby wipes these days --- about 4 years ago, my cycling buddies proved this to me .. and for $1.99 for about a metric ton of them, they can't be beat

I use very little Imperial lube on the rim of the case mouth. When I roll the case with lube in my fingers with a cloth patch, I just roll the case mouth on my finger tip. this leaves a a tiny tiny little bit of lube inside the case mouth. It is usually grey or black from the soot on the cases that transfer to my fingers and the patch.

The sizing expander then just spreads the lube through the neck.

I then roll the cases 10 at a time on 3 layers of toilet paper on the bench top. I arrange the cases alternating head & mouth so they all roll straight. A few rills on the tissue removes the lube. This is the quickest method. I sometimes roll 5 cases at a time in my hand - particularly the smaller cases.

If I check and find that the lube needs to be cleaned inside the case, I just roll up a couple of squares of toilet tissue and use that. Easier and faster and cleaner than Q tips.

I actually think Q tips are a waste of time.

Alcohol & acetone also works. For the really big brass like 470 NE which need a lot of lube, I use a few drops of acetone on the tissue.

I do not tumble brass as the most I ever reload is 100 rounds of 222 rem.

BTW, the worst lube to remove is the blue lead cast bullet lube that come from custom cast bullets. Very thick, sticky and a PIA to remove.

I wanted to powder coat some bullets and I had to boil and wipe the bullets 3 times to remove all the blue lube. That is for just 20 bullets to be PCd.

I also tumble my brass after resizing it and use the Imperial Lube. No problems.

I use Imperial wax to lube cases and Imperial graphite inside the necks applied with a soft eye lash brush. I don't remove the graphite residue as it does no harm to bullet tension. To remove the wax after resizing I bunch up a paper towel, hold over neck of a bottle of Fuelite and invert until towel is wet and then roll 5 or so cases at a time wrapped in the towel. All wax is removed, cases dry instantly and are left with a nice shine. Fuelite also removes the carbon from the outside neck area. Replace towels after every 20 odd cases are cleaned as they are worn and dirty.
Best product I've found for cleaning, degreasing and putting a natural shine on cases. Fuelite is not white spirit which is a slightly oily product and is fummy. Don't smoke when using Fuelite.

Ever since I discovered the wet tumbling with SS media, I always initially tumble after only de-priming with the Harvey tool, then again after resizing. Probably an overkill, but that's how I roll.

I just wipe it off with a rag.

Dave

Spray mineral spirits on a small spot near the edge of a paper towel. Twist paper towel around case body and neck. Repeat spraying about every five cases. Let dry 30 seconds. Each paper towel will do 25 cases from top to bottom, so four sides of the towel covers 100 cases.

quote:

Hide Post
I also tumble my brass after resizing it and use the Imperial Lube. No problems.

+1
It takes 15 minutes in the stainless steel tumbler.I just did 100 308 cases today.

I have been using the Lee case lube for quite a few years and have had good luck with it. Easy to apply and clean off. Being water soluble a hot water bath and air dry takes right care of it.
I had heard a lot of good things about the Imperial products, the wax and graphite neck lube.
The wax isn't quite as lumpy as the Lee so goes on in a thin coat better.
The neck lube works well. Can't hardly feel the expander pass through the neck. I feel this will lead to less case stretching.
I just wipe the lube off with a hand towel or a hot water with a drop or two of Dawn dish soap, then a hot water rinse, air dry.
I don't process more than 20-40 rifle case at a time or 100 pistol case at a time so I don't have a tumbler.
Leo

I use a q-tip...but mostly I dont' use anything on the inside of a case, if I do I wipe it dry with the Q-tip..no powder sticks...I only use Imperial case lube btw..Wipe the outside with a paper towel. Don't over think this stuff.

Rub it off w/ a paper towel, or leave it on. It cannot harm primers or powder.

For case cleaning I use Lee case lube, and I only use Imperial wax for reforming cases. In both instances I clean the lube of by dry tumbling the cases before loading.

You don't need to swim in the stuff...just a tiny index finger swipe on the wax, a nylon brush screwed into a handle, rub it up and down a few times, grab 5 cases and run the brush in and out about three times each alternating cases, takes about 5 seconds, any "clingy" powder particles will be pushed down into the case with the bullet seating...been doing this way for 60 some odd years ever since I learned NOT to use the "greasy kid stuff"...never had ANY problems I could trace to the wax. Also makes for a nice smooth bullet release and "maybe" no bullets sticking to case necks in "old" ammo.

Cleaning off...just tumble(LOTTSA ways to do this) or use a blue shop town, old pair of drawers(washed first...or not), old socks, dish towels/bath towels, your neighbors bothersome cat/dog skinned and tanned, ANY OLD COTTON RAG, etc. Chuck case into a case spinner in a cheap drill motor and clean/trim with Lee case trimmer and trim/uniform primer holes all at the same time...swap in a primer pocket cleaner and do the primer pockets...any and all will help you produce very uniform and accurate cases...and DON'T forget to weigh/sort the bullets...that is if you like accurate bughole ammo...if not, don't bother.

I think for the most part we tend to over-analyse and under achieve what is required...just do what is required for YOUR required level of accuracy...we ALL develop our own reloading methods based on how many years of hunting/reloading experience and what level of accuracy is/was required.

Good Hunting

After reloading for 20 years I learned a BIG new lesson in the last 8 months.

The first lesson learnt was to lube the lower part of the case as well as the neck and shoulder.

Too little lube at the lower end (no rude jokes please ) of the case and they get stuck. Too much and you get pressure dents, particularly at the shoulder & neck areas.

The new lesson after 20 years was that the BIG Nitro express cases need a lot more lube. I mean a lot. The rim is the weak part and it rips out very easily. So the case from base to neck need good coating. The area above the rim is most critical.

I also found that my 470 NE after 5 shots with Norma brass starts to show case separation along a ring about 5 to 8mm above the rim when resizing. I am lucky that the cases did come give in when in the chamber and being fired. that would have ruined the rifle with gas cut chambers.

I lube the case body up to the shoulder with my fingers with whatever lube I have handy, RCBS or Imperial, then run it over the brush into graphite on a Forster case neck graphiter. For a 20.00 investment in that case neck graphiter, you can save a lot of brass issues, and it lasts years, I've refilled it once in 30 yrs of using it. It doesn't do anything to powder, and if you want, you can run it over a brush again to clean the neck out. It's one of those little things that are out there that people donn't notice, but, once they use it, scratch their heads about. Lyman offers one as well. Works wonders when neck sizing and using bushing dies and stuf like M-dies and K&M expanders.

I have buckeled cases when seating bullets after wet tumbling.It gets them too clean. I also use graphite inside the necks.

I run it thru my ultra sonic cleaner with the heat turned on. And then blow all the brass out with 100 psi blast one case at a time. And then bake in the oven at 140 for a few hours. Time consuming, but clean.

quote:

Originally posted by 209jones:
I lube the case body up to the shoulder with my fingers with whatever lube I have handy, RCBS or Imperial, then run it over the brush into graphite on a Forster case neck graphiter. For a 20.00 investment in that case neck graphiter, you can save a lot of brass issues, and it lasts years, I've refilled it once in 30 yrs of using it. It doesn't do anything to powder, and if you want, you can run it over a brush again to clean the neck out. It's one of those little things that are out there that people donn't notice, but, once they use it, scratch their heads about. Lyman offers one as well. Works wonders when neck sizing and using bushing dies and stuf like M-dies and K&M expanders.

This right here!

If you are using the expanded in your sizing die and not using inside neck lube odds are you are pulling the neck out of line. I know, I know......I been doing without for years and no problems...... Have you ever measured run out on your loaded rounds? I figure if I'm gonna take the time to do something, I might as well do it the best I can.....

I use Imperial, use very little, nothing on the inside except I may tumble them from time to time. Brass moves, moreso from resizing than shooting in many cases.. keep cases trimmed..

If you use the neck graphiter, you will feel the difference in sizing effort instantly. Imperial one will work as well. I just like the brushe setup on the Forster/Lyman as it lets excess fall back in. I've taken to using a separate K&M/Sinclair/Mdie style expander and no expander in the sizing die, one more step, but it is effortless and easier on the brass.

It's water soluable. I use an ultrasonic cleaner. Tsp Lemmishine and a drop of dish soap hot tap water. Cycle for 1-2 times depending on how dirty the brass is. All clean, Rinse, blot dry with a paper towel. Put the cases on a baking sheet. set oven on convextion, low temp 120-170 and let em dry. Start to finish less than an hour. All clean inside and out!

What I do is spread a couple of sheets of kitchen roll, put all the sized cases on, spray them with any degreasing product, roll them on the paper towels.

That is it.

Ready to load.

If the cases are not clean enough, Imput them in a steel pins cleaner and dry them.

Both work.