# When to polish brass?



## Robert A. Langager (Feb 22, 2002)

Hey guys,

My lovely wife got me a brass tumbler this year for X-mas. We all know that clean brass shoots more accurately than dirty brass!

My question is this:

Where in your routine do you polish your brass? After resize, trim, etc? Before? Does it matter?

Thanks!

Robert


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## Remington 7400 (Dec 14, 2005)

In my experience most of the junk on your brass comes from case lube, so I polish after the resize/decap stage. You can seat bullets without case lube, so there is no need to dirty your now clean brass. 8)

If cases need trimming do that before tumbling too and the media will polish off all of the burrs left by the trimmer. 

I have found that nut shell media works better than corn cob.

:beer:


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

I run mine for about a 1/2 hour before I do any work on them. I have found this keeps my lube pad much cleaner when I punch out the primer and size the neck. Then after the brass has been totally worked and is ready to start loading I will run it for a few more hours to get it really clean & shiny; this is of course before I seat new primers in them. Kind of a pain doing it twice but much nicer to work with clean brass.


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

I'll second MossyMo on polishing twice, once to remove the crud that might have accumulated on the brass, the second time to remove the lube. This method will keep your sizing die much cleaner, which is important. I'd like to pass on a couple of little tips here; Get enough polishing media to fill the tumbler bowl twice and keep two seperate batches. One for the initial polish, the other to remove the lube after you have sized. I have found that this works well for me. When the oily media starts to stick to the brass, replace it with fresh stuff. The stuff you use for the initial polish should last a very long time, unless your brass falls in the mud a lot. I've found that corncob media is good enough for most brass, unless it's really corroded badly, then walnut shell gets the nod. Remember to check the flash holes for stuck media before priming. As for case lube, get some Hornady or Midway aerosol lube and a flat cardboard carton (the top of a printer paper carton works well) to lay your brass in for spraying. No kidding, you'll throw away your case lube pad, I did. One can will do thousands of cases. I find reloading to be very relaxing, and good exercise for the hands and fingers. I bet you will too. Burl


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## The Norseman (Jan 8, 2005)

This is the routine for reloading I use,

De-prime (Lee depriming tool and mallet) 
clean primer cavity (Lee primer pocket cleaner/scraper) 
throw in polisher (I use walnut) 
clean off (soft old cloth of some type and inspect for cracks,splits,dents) 
lube 
re-size 
expand case mouth (if pistol case) 
check for length very important (pistol/rifle) 
trim if necessary
throw in polisher if needed (same walnut)
clean again (inspect flash hole)
prime (inspect flash hole, clean if needed) 
pour powder (totally focused) 
seat bullet 
crimp if necessary 
record info (always) 
store (cool, dry place)

Reloading for straight wall pistol cases is easiest.

Good luck


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Over the years I have changed my routine some. Now I am more into performance than pretty.

I use a bent piano wire and insert it to the bottom of each brass. Drag that up the side. If it catches near the bottom I throw that brass away because it is about to have head separation.

Next I polish my cases. I don't want crud scratching the interior of my sizing die.

I use corn cob most of the time, but if the cases have been left for months and are dirty I will use walnut shell. If I use walnut shell I attach a basketball needle to my air compressor, push it through the primer hole, and shoot any residual polishing media out the front end. You would be surprised how much media is left inside the brass. I always wonder what shooting that down my bore does to the rifle.

Then I trim because I don't want to deform my neck with the trim guide.
Then I size and deprime.

Next use isopropyl alcohol. Unlike ethanol isopropyl dissolves fats, oil, and lipids more readily. Put on rubber gloves, dampen a rag, and wipe off your brass.

That is my case preparation sequence.


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## TN.Frank (Nov 12, 2005)

I generally run brass thru the tumbler first thing. If yo de-prime then you risk getting a primer hole plugged with the medium and it's a pain to have to look at easy and every primer pocket to make sure it's clear. Normally, I'll only polish my brass every 3rd or 4th loading, just when it starts to look "dirty", not each and every loading. Also, if you get some of that liquid rouge and pour a bit into the medium it'll help polish up the cases a bit better, just make sure you wipe em' down with a soft cloth before you resize em' or you'll ware out your resizing die in no time flat.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Robert A. Langager said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> We all know that clean brass shoots more accurately than dirty brass!


I have NEVER cleaned my brass. I cannot believe it makes any difference except cosmetically.


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## Robert A. Langager (Feb 22, 2002)

Sasha and Abby said:


> Robert A. Langager said:
> 
> 
> > Hey guys,
> ...


I am pretty sure it doesn't. I'm just being a smart-a$$.


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## wyocarp (Jul 29, 2005)

One I haven't heard is to polish them after they have been reloaded. At least that way everything is really pretty.

I'm not really serious, but...I'm not sure how, but I pulled my brass out once and found a loaded round that had been cleaned in my polisher. It looked nice. My normal practice is first thing and while the used primer is intact.


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## TN.Frank (Nov 12, 2005)

wyocarp said:


> One I haven't heard is to polish them after they have been reloaded. At least that way everything is really pretty.
> 
> I'm not really serious, but...I'm not sure how, but I pulled my brass out once and found a loaded round that had been cleaned in my polisher. It looked nice. My normal practice is first thing and while the used primer is intact.


NO,NO,NO. The vibration will turn the powder inside the case to dust and the burn rate will be all off. Powder is a certain size grain for a reason, to control burn rate and therefore pressure. If you tumble loaded ammo it grinds around the powder and you'll end up blowing up or badly damaging your gun.

"Regardless of the method used, handloaders should never tumble loaded ammunition. Doing so may cause a deterioration of the powder's deterrent coating, or, in extreme cases, may damage the powder itself. Either situation would alter the burning rate, possibly raising pressures to dangerous levels."
http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reloadbasics/trimmers.cfm


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## wyocarp (Jul 29, 2005)

TN.Frank, did you read the part where I said I wasn't serious about polishing loaded ammunition?


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## TN.Frank (Nov 12, 2005)

wyocarp said:


> TN.Frank, did you read the part where I said I wasn't serious about polishing loaded ammunition?


LOL, guess I missed it, that's what I get for speed reading.


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## RedRabitt (Jan 17, 2006)

I polish my brass after every firing to inspect them for inperfections as I understand some brass in a lot may contain flaws cracks, splits etc. or also since I load over maximum using moly preped bullets and bore of course.


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