Two questions on case prep (.223)

R81 · Jan 22, 2016

A couple questions on case preparation.
I have been adding NuFinish to my media, as I have seen it frequently recommended. Will any car wax do, or is NuFinish better? I have some other car wax around which I would like to use up.
Concerning case prep for .223: After resizing cases, should you remove the lube before or after trimming and deburring? Does it matter?
Thank you!

BUFF7MM · Jan 22, 2016

No idea about the car wax as I use flitz in walnut media.
I throw my brass back in the tumbler after I finish my trimming and chamfering.

guthook · Jan 22, 2016

R81 said:
A couple questions on case preparation.
I have been adding NuFinish to my media, as I have seen it frequently recommended. Will any car wax do, or is NuFinish better? I have some other car wax around which I would like to use up.
Concerning case prep for .223: After resizing cases, should you remove the lube before or after trimming and deburring? Does it matter?
Thank you!

Depends on if you mind greasy fingers or not. I tumble after sizing. You'll get a dozen different answers from as many people.

I personally don't care about shiny cases, so the NuFinish I cannot comment on.

lx1x · Jan 22, 2016

I personally wouldn't use car wax. Not really made for polishing. Stick with flitz or any other brass cleaners.

byf43 · Jan 22, 2016

I usually tumble brass in either crushed walnut shells (Lizard bedding) or in Lyman's corn cob media.

After lubing/sizing, I run back through the tumbler, using Lyman's 'treated' media. (Can't remember the name of the media, but, it's impregnated with red jeweler's rouge.)

This media will put a shine on brass like each piece has been hand polished!!

The older I get, I'm not hellbent on shiny brass. Just clean, accurate loads.

As for Nu Finish........ I've never used it. Personally, I would not use car 'wax' on brass.

Pinecone · Jan 23, 2016

You do not want wax. You want a polish. It is slightly abrasive.

Lyman red media is treated walnut. Their corn cob is greenish.

Lyman sells their polish separately. Dillon also sells a polish. I use these two.

A bottle lasts a LONG time.

Pinecone · Jan 23, 2016

R81 said:
Concerning case prep for .223: After resizing cases, should you remove the lube before or after trimming and deburring? Does it matter?

Before. It doesn't really matter, except for the sticky, slick fingers mentioned.

If I am trimming or swaging primer pockets, I size, tumble to remove lube, trim or swage.

If not trimming or swaging, I load, then tumble to remove lube.

dwsjr · Jan 23, 2016

I polish before sizing that way if there is damage to any cases I can see it easier and discard before sizing. Thats just my preferance though.

John from MD · Jan 23, 2016

Shiny cases don't shoot any better so I don't use any polishing stuff. I spray my used brass with a mixture of ZEP citrus cleaner and water prior to dumping the media in the tumbler. This will clean the brass and doesn't build up in the media.

It is important to get all the case lube off the cases prior to shooting as lube in the chamber increases pressure on the bolt. I tumble the lubed cases in separate media as it goes bad faster.

John

John

outrider58 · Jan 23, 2016

guthook said:
Depends on if you mind greasy fingers or not. I tumble after sizing. You'll get a dozen different answers from as many people.

^^this^^

As far as car polish goes, Check the active ingredients and compare them to other products you wish to use. I use a standard liquid brass polish in my cases after resizing.

R81 · Jan 23, 2016

Thanks for all of your replies.

Looking at the label, NuFinish is a car polish, and not a car wax. I will probably switch to Flitz, but I have seen NuFinish recommended several times. And it seems to work well.

Pinecone · Jan 23, 2016

dwsjr said:
I polish before sizing that way if there is damage to any cases I can see it easier and discard before sizing. Thats just my preferance though.

This too ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tumble to remove dirt and grit. Size and then tumble again to remove lube.

I load plinking 5.56 on a Dillon 650, so I tumble those after loading to remove lube, others get tumbled right after sizing.

wgttgw · Jan 23, 2016

A small amount of nu finish on corncob media works well for me. As far as I can tell it is the same stuff as what is packaged to be used with corncob media.

personally I don't need it shiny but a bottle will last me years and I can't see any adverse effects so for me I figure, why not have it shiny.

Traveler · Jan 23, 2016

Nu Finish works well. Avoid anything with ammonia in it, since that will weaken the brass.

Jaybeez · Jan 25, 2016

outrider58 said:
^^this^^

As far as car polish goes, Check the active ingredients and compare them to other products you wish to use. I use a standard liquid brass polish in my cases after resizing.

Nu Finish is recommended because as far as the brass, powder, and primer is concerned, it is inert. meaning that it does not effect them.

many (non firearm) brass specific polishes contain chemicals like ammonia that can effect the brass in negetive ways. you shouldn't use them.

outrider58 · Jan 25, 2016

Yes. I use Frankford Arsenal brass polish made for tumbling brass cases. You are making my point, just more eloquently.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Sticky · Jan 25, 2016

I decap, then wet tumble. I don't re-tumble and use Imperial Sizing Wax for the most part, occasionally a wet spray lube and have no issues with any residue on cases or loaded cartridges.

Pinecone · Jan 26, 2016

The only lube I know of, that supposedly does not need to be removed is Hornady One Stuck (One Shot).

All other lubes should be removed from the cases. Even if you cannot feel them, they can reduce the grip of the case to the chamber and greatly increase the thrust force on the breech.

teratos · Jan 26, 2016

With Nu-finish, do you only need to wax once a year?

Sticky · Jan 26, 2016

Pinecone said:
The only lube I know of, that supposedly does not need to be removed is Hornady One Stuck (One Shot).

All other lubes should be removed from the cases. Even if you cannot feel them, they can reduce the grip of the case to the chamber and greatly increase the thrust force on the breech.

Agreed, but... I am pretty confident that after all the handling of those cases before the ammo is finished, I have removed any minimal residue from them. I load single stage and handle them several times after sizing before they are completed, so... never caused me any issues and since I wet tumble now, that's really not an option after loading and an unneeded redundant step imo after sizing.

Now back in the old days of the RCBS case lube pads, we'd size, then tumble, but not anymore..

Two questions on case prep (.223)

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