Cleaning between firings

I got a little tired of hijacking the other thread.

How do you guys clean between firings, if you're trying to load for max accuracy? I have been cleaning with a vibratory tumbler that my buddy at work let me borrow. It has corn cob media I think, with polish added. They come out looking great, but they do have a fine film on them, inside & out.

Ultrasonic.

I've used vibratory but with walnut media. It worked too but takes longer.

Tumbler with plain corn cob, nothing added, before sizing to protect the sizing die and again after sizing to remove all sizing lube. I turn it on before going to sleep and turn it off in the morning. New brass is cleaned only after going through the sizer to straighten dented necks, and does not take long.

Hornady One Shot is used for lube, except for setting up a new die. Then Imperial Sizing lube is used to avoid sticking a case.

Do you wipe the film off of the outside of the case or out of the inside of the neck after cleaning?

Just toss them in the tumbler and it cleans them up overnight.

I was specifically talking about the film from the cleaning media.

There is dust on the cases after tumbling, is that normal?

A film of what? Tumbling media dust?

Fired brass I tumble clean in corn cob media treated with Graf's brass case polish (best I have found) and pour a little in each use. If there's any dust, I'll wipe them down with a towel, then add some water to my media to cut the dust down. Size brass case, tumble again in media to get lube off. Load, go shoot, and repeat.

If I am only sizing a few cases (which is rare), I'll wipe them down, but I hate manually wiping them with a towel.

Yes

So it sounds like nobody cares about the dust inside the neck? Seems like it might mess with neck tension like having lube in there would, but apparently not.

important step, but again, don't overthink the process

Thanks. Is there anything inherently wrong with RCBS lube? Lots of folks seem to be using the Hornady.

Brad, try to keep things simple when starting out reloading and only change one variable at a time. It sounds like it being over complicated where it's really a simple process.

Cut up a dryer sheet or two into strips and toss it in to your media when tumbling. Also, a dollop of Final Finish car polish cuts down tumbling time by about half and leaves them SHINY. I'm trying short grain rice instead of walnut or corn cob. I've used it once thus far, and it seems to clean just as well, but without all of the moon dust afterward.

Drier sheet- be careful, because I have had them separate and clog into the brass cases.

Final Finish- yes, it gets brass cases very clean, but it leaves a film on the brass, and can make it difficult during sizing. I used to use it, but switched to a true brass polish, which works much better.

I'm going to try to put some water in next time to minimize the dust film.

I don't necessarily care about it being there if it doesn't impact accuracy. I'm just trying to figure out what variables to start adjusting to get my gun to group better with fired brass.

ETA: to be fair, the only variable I've changed so far is brass sizing method. I'm just trying to figure out where to go from there since the results were less than stellar. I've gotten good feedback on lube (could be the issue), cleaning (probably not the issue), and rifle condition (just need to leave it dirty). I'll see what I can do to eliminate some of those variables one at a time.

All my brass but range pick-up goes in a Hornady vibratory with walnut shell that came with a polish already blended in. I got it from Cabela's.

I used to use corn cob. It seems to be softer, and dulls quicker. I've been happier with the walnut shell. All I really care about it clean, it is also making it shiny.

I de-prime all my rifle cases with a universal de-priming die from Lee, then tumble in corncob media treated with Flitz polish and add a dryer sheet to collect dust.

Then I lubricate with Hornady case lube, full length size, trim to length and chamfer; followed by tumbling for a couple of hours in treated walnut media again with a dryer sheet.

My final step that a lot of people have denounced is taking my completed rounds and tumbling them in a separate batch of walnut media I have with just enough kerosene to barley wet the media - and I do mean just enough to barely wet the media, so were talking about 1.5-2oz in a tumbler full of media and only 10-15 minutes of tumbling.

An old timer told me about this and the thinking is that the walnut media dampened with Kerosene will remove any lube/residue off the cases and bullets as well as leaving a VERY light protective coating of Kerosene on the outside of the completed round..... They come out looking factory new and will store for years without tarnishing.

Some people freak out when I tell them I finish my loaded rifle ammo by tumbling in media with Kerosene but it has worked flawlessly for me for years.

patriot,

Glen Zediker’s book on handloading is an outstanding resource, which is incredibly helpful.

A few equipment suggestions such as a Gracey trimmer are out of date, but the vast majority of the how to information is timeless. I highly recommend it to you.

https://www.amazon.com/Handloading-Competition-Making-Target-Bigger/dp/096269259X

edit: just saw the question about RCBS lube. I haven't used it about many years, but it worked fine. Just make sure to use a very thin layer and keep it off of the shoulders. If they dent from lube, don't worry about it, no big deal. Back in the day, they included a handle with a small nylon brush to lube the inside of the necks.

Back in the day, STP Oil Treatment cut with paint thinner worked and was cheap too.

Have to say, Hornady One Shot sure is quick and cleans up much easier. Put 50 cases upright in a tray, spray at a 45 degree angle to make sure the inside of the necks are lubed in addition to the body, rotate 180 degrees, repeat and go size. Best to start off a bit on the heavy side and have a stuck case remover handy when starting off with the One Shot.

Imperial Sizing Wax is the one other lube I use now, especially when setting up a new die as it does not dry like the One Shot lube.

Nonetheless, the RCBS lube works fine.

I still use stainless steel

deprime then clean

IMO, no there is nothing wrong with it. I have used it for over 40 years. Just be sure and not lube your cases too heavily, especially bottleneck rifle cases, it will cause shoulder dents when you run it through the sizing die.

What I do on range pick-up that has lived on the ground from 2 hours to 2 months. But I don't after that initial cycle. Judd convinced me carbon in the neck is a good thing.

Thanks everyone for the input. I'll see if I can make some progress this weekend.