vertical scratches on case neck. New dies?

[motorcycle_dan]

Just processed a bunch of brass for the coming rifle season. .223 for a mouse gun going after distinguished points.
I use Lee full length sizing die with expander / de-capper. Clean brass in walnut media. Lube with the pump spray Frankford Arsenal (smells like alcohol) and roll around in a plastic coffee can. Just prior to size and decap, dip the case neck in mica powder and run a brush in then out of the case to remove excess. I notice the brass sizes easily and pulling the expander ball out takes much less effort but I see what appears to be tiny scratches in the case neck. Is this bad, normal, or indicate I need to clean something or change my process? Does another brand of dies work better. Is there another process that works better?
Previously rather than the mica dip, I used the old RCBS lube pad and brush. Thoughts, comments appreciated.

[noylj]

pictures? Scratches inside or outside?
Never needed any neck lube for any of my rifle rounds.
You can start to eliminate variable to determine if it is lube or die.

[runfiverun]

look at the expander ball in the die.

[ReloaderFred]

If the scratches are on the outside of the neck, you can polish the inside of the die with a swab, an electric drill and some Flitz. I've restored many steel dies using this method. Here is a link to the process: http://varmintal.com/arelo.htm#Polish

Hope this helps.

Fred

[nhrifle]

I've had this problem with various die brands. I came to the conclusion that lube on the case neck was causing grit to get lodged in the neck sizing area of the dies and causing the scratches. I bought new dies and started using an RCBS lube pad saturated with the spray lube (the stuff you are supposed to spritz over the cases, shake them, and let it spread) and just rolled the case body on the pad. No lube on the neck. Problem solved! No more scratches on the cases, no more effort to size with dry necks.

[gwpercle]

Before buying new dies try cleaning . Use a brush...grit gets lodged and makes the scratches. If you can clean the grit out they will probably be okay. Had this happen with some 38 special dies, scratched cases, cleaned them and polished with a tuft of 0000 steel wool wraped around a brush and they were as good as new.
gary

[HATCH]

if you are using dirty brass then its possible to scratch the inside of the sizing die and it will cause those marks.
I have trashed a couple sizing dies over the years because of that.

[DLCTEX]

If the scratches are inside the case neck, carbon that is not being removed by tumbling may be the culprit. Getting the carbon out can be tough unless you use the stainless pins in a wet tumbler. I use a Lemishine hot bath and it removes carbon well also.

[kweidner]

try cleaning with hoppes, then alcohol. Works for me.