Removing case lube after full length resizing

[Steve in Allentown PA]

I owned and shot a benchrest 6mm-.284 for twenty years and always tumbled the cases twice; first after depriming to remove all the powder residue and again after resizing to remove the case lube.

Recently someone told me there was no need to remove case lube as it doesn't have any adverse effect on the powder. I don't know if he was referring to a specific brand of lube.

Can anyone confirm this is so?

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Another thing I've recently run across is the idea of actually lubing loaded cartridges then firing them. I know it sounds crazy and flys in the face of everything I thought I knew but there is documentation showing that it results in no, as in none, case stretching and the ability to reload .308 cases being fired out of M1A rifles 20 times. By the 20th reload the primer pockets get loose or the case mouths crack but sectioned pictures of the cases show no thinning of the case walls near the base at all. Zero incipient head separation sighs at all.

http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=11182

And then there's Larry Vickers submerging an AR into a vat of oil then shooting it without wiping any of the oil out of the barrel.



It find all this quite fascinating and would enjoy hearing what others have to say about it.

 

[Steel head]

I always wipe off lube with two different rags.
I never get lube on the inside of the case so I don’t worry about that.

 

[Steve in Allentown PA]

Here are some pictures posted by member Slamfire over on The High Road forum.

 

[Srgt. Hulka]

I wet tumble after resizing also. I use Imperial Sizing Wax. I don’t want lube build up in my seating dies. Also, dirt sticks to the lube. I don’t want to put dirty rounds in my rifle if I don’t have too. And, I just don’t like handling greasy rounds when reloading and shooting. So I have extra, and probably unnecessary, steps in my reloading routine.

 

[XLR308]

I have used the Lee sizing lube for over 25 years. It works fantastic won't contaminate powder and have never had a stuck case or dented shoulder using it.
It also works extremely well for neck turning.
I usually only load in batches of 100 per sitting so no were near the volume many on here do or I might look for a faster method.
After sizing I wipe the exterior of the cases down with a microfiber towel I keep on my bench.

 

[Rootshot]

Here's an older but relevant engineering analysis of the effect of chamber roughness / lubrication on the case: https://www.varmintal.com/a243z.htm

"CONCLUSION.... A polished or low friction chamber decreases the plastic strain near the case head and reduces the chance of case head separation on subsequent reloads."

I generally wipe excess imperial wax off cases with a microfiber towel but keep a very light lubrication layer on them with no ill effects.

 

[longgunJR]

+1 for wet tumble after resizing, but I have been meaning to add a vibratory tumbler to try. just trying to avoid re drying.

 

[Srgt. Hulka]

+1 for wet tumble after resizing, but I have been meaning to add a vibratory tumbler to try. just trying to avoid re drying.

I never worry about having to re-dry. The way I look at it is, If I'm in a bind because I'm waiting for brass to dry, I don't have enough brass.

 

[longgunJR]

That's a very good point sr.

 

[Shortbus6588]

After lubed and full length sized I wipe my cases down with alcohol and a rag

 

[FLIGHT762]

When I lube with a spray on lanolin / alcohol mix, I remove the lube by tumbling for an hour or two. Lanolin will get gummy over time and will be very difficult to remove after it hardens. I learned this by resizing cases, setting them aside for weeks and then tumbled them. Lube wouldn't come off and media dust adhered to the cases, making a mess. When using lanolin / alcohol, I tumble the cases right away. Works for me.

Cases get tumbled in dry media after firing to remove dirt & carbon. This keeps the clean brass from galling and scratching the cases. After spray lube sizing, they get tumbled.

If I use Imperial wax, Mink oil or Mobil 1, I wipe the cases with a cloth rag.

I don't want dirt or other debris sticking to the cases.

Read all of the stuff about this on The High Road for years.

I don't care if it's "not necessary". This keeps my brass and dies clean.

 

[lash]

I also use imperial wax and simply spread them single layered out on a tray and spray them down quickly with brake cleaner over a non-napped towel. While wearing gloves, I quickly roll them about a little, then dump them in a fry basket lined with a towel to air dry.

All is done outside and quickly. 100 cases in a few short minutes.

No greasy residue, no issues, low variability numbers, and rapid to boot. The brass doesn’t tarnish quickly and it works.

 

[whatsupdoc]

There are so many case lube products out there and I do not recall seeing any tests for contamination or degradation between the case lube the brass and the powder.

If you load and shoot your hand loads within a short time frame I would not be too concerned but if you keep them for a long period of time before shooting them I would make sure the cases are clean.

IMHO case lube is a contaminant and should be removed.

I use lanolin/alcohol case lube and a ultrasonic cleaner to get it off.

 

[biffj]

With lube it will increase the amount of thrust against the face of the bolt by the cartridge.
Normally the case sticks to the chamber wall when the pressure is high and only the case head will push the bolt face by stretching the case. Over time it does create the ring that promotes case head separation. It does reduce the amount of pressure the bolt itself sees though. Chamber pressure times the area of the cartridge case acted on by the pressure will give you bolt thrust. The total amount is reduced by the amount of pressure it takes to stretch the case back to the bolt face.

If you lube the case intentionally or by leaving lube on the case it will reduce the amount of stick the case walls have. In some cases this is done by vaporizing the lube and creating a gas cushion which floats the case. At worst though you will only get the total amount of the bolt thrust calculated by the formula. It is higher but not as much as some will say. Most rifles should be more than fine as they are built with full bolt thrust load in mind plus a safety factor.....or they should be.

So you can clean the lube and as others noted prevent dirt attraction which will cause wear and scratching of your chamber or you can leave it and try to keep the cases clean so they don't attract dirt and scratch things up.

I normally wipe my cases down a couple times with different rags to keep the dirt away. You may note that delayed blowback rifles like the HK roller lockers float the case on a cushion of gas on purpose to make the gun operate. If you let the case stick to the wall of the chamber the system won't work.

Frank

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I use RCBS Case Lube-2, which is water soluble.

I apply some to the fingertips of my left hand, wipe it onto the case exterior below the shoulder, resize, then wipe all of the cases clean with Rubbing Alcohol on a pink shop rag. It's quick, simple, than there's minimal equipment involved.

Done-ski/Clean-ski.

Greg

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

This is precisely why I load in the method I do, to avoid repetitious and timely operations. As a new reloader, I loved to reload and would spend more time reloading and doing load development than shooting to develop the skills needed to shoot BETTER.

I think the majority of reloaders fall into this category, and that’s fine. But I’d rather be training with my rifle, not testing loads.

1. Size & deprime
2. SS Tumble
3. Anneal
4. Prime/charge/seat bullets

A quality, hardened die doesn’t care if your cases are dirty. Sure, clean your die every 500-1000 rounds, but I promise, your die will be fine. And decap that primer too, one pull of the press handle!

Tumble... 2.5 hours and the cases are surgically clean

Anneal, I run a brass brush inside the necks afterwards to get rid of the stickiness that annealing seems to leave. I also use a bullet lube, and suggest if you SS tumble, or anneal, that you consider it. It will prevent bullet weld and make seating much easier/more consistent. Annealing after sizing induces variations in sized cases within the margin of what you alone can achieve with a single stage press. Little variation in shoulder bump and neck tension, writhin several tenthousandths.

Prime, hand primer, while watching TV, or hanging out with family.

Charge and seat bullets in the same operation.

Thus far, this is the most efficient operation I’ve found.

 

[Snuby642]

I run my brass the second time in the tumbler just like the op said he did for 20 years.

Don't fix things that aren't broke.

 

[RRW]

I use Imperial Sizing Wax, "sparingly" like it says right on the can. I wipe the case off with a rag and never had any issues.