Perplexed about de priming brass...

[Lefty Red]

Got 1000 nickel plated +p 38 Special cases from a member on here a couple of weeks back. Mixed headstamped, RP or FC or WW. About 10-15% of the primers won’t come out, the tops are getting “popped” off.

I am using a Lee Universal Depriming Die. Switched to a RCBS carbide resizer/depriming die, same thing. Switched to a Lyman die, same thing. Even went to the Lee Whack A Mole setup and same thing. Four different dies and the same “popped” off primer tops. Speed was varied as well. Slow or fast, same results.

What’s deal? Ultra sealed primers due to being nickel and +p and hard to get out? Crappy primer material? WTH?

Lefty

[ReloaderFred]

Most likely the brass has gotten wet, or cleaned in citric acid. When the sides of the primer cups weld to the sides of the primer pockets, the bond is stronger than the brass the primer cup is made of. One of the worst is PMC brass, with the white primer residue. That stuff becomes super glue when it gets wet!

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Winger Ed.]

I've run into a little of that.

Making the primer punch pin as flat & dull as I could got a few more out that a nice rounded one,
but the cases that still tore off the top of the cup-- they're 'goners'.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Maybe 10-15% loss is acceptable if the deal was good enough. If not, you're faced with having to ream out the primer pockets, a real hassle, but you can probably save them.

DG

[Traffer]

It would be worth a try to deprime them with a hydraulic deprimer. Those are used for Berdan primers but no reason they can't be used on Boxer. You would have to make one or find someone to lend you theirs.

[Lefty Red]

Most likely the brass has gotten wet, or cleaned in citric acid. When the sides of the primer cups weld to the sides of the primer pockets, the bond is stronger than the brass the primer cup is made of. One of the worst is PMC brass, with the white primer residue. That stuff becomes super glue when it gets wet!

Hope this helps.

Fred

After seeing how clean the brass looks, that is the most likely what has happened. Thank you for the insight.

Lefty

[Lefty Red]

Maybe 10-15% loss is acceptable if the deal was good enough. If not, you're faced with having to ream out the primer pockets, a real hassle, but you can probably save them.

DG

It wasn’t, LOL. But live and learn.

[rbuck351]

I would try standing them upright and putting a couple drops of a good penetrating in each case and letting them set before trying to remove them. If ends of primer already popped, a good primer pocked reamer will work but would be more work than it's worth to me unless I had a lathe. I let a bunch of nickle 38spl cases get wet not knowing what would happen but I had enough that I just threw the ones that stuck. Hydraulic might work but it's more mess than it's worth to me.

[Mk42gunner]

Most likely the brass has gotten wet, or cleaned in citric acid. When the sides of the primer cups weld to the sides of the primer pockets, the bond is stronger than the brass the primer cup is made of. One of the worst is PMC brass, with the white primer residue. That stuff becomes super glue when it gets wet!

Hope this helps.

Fred

Bingo. Wet brass with primers get corroded.

Surprising just how little corrosion it takes to make primers more or less unremoveable.

Take heart, there is a solution. Soak them in penetrating oil, it doesn't take much. Last time I was messing with some stored outside 5.56 this happened. I used PB Blaster, but I think any thin oil would work.

Spray and let sit for a day, then they pop out easily. You do need to tumble clean afterwards, to remove to oily residue.

Robert

[Vegas Vince]

I had some old 50 BMG brass. 50 to 60 years old. Put a drop of Marvel mystery oil in them & let it set over night. Came out easy the next day.

[dverna]

I bet Kroil would work too.

[Lefty Red]

Cool, thanks for the options to correct this! Will soak the remaining 500 and try them in the morning.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate this conversation. Good stuff to know.

[Sam Sackett]

I picked up a bunch of "range brass" a while back. I was thinking indoor range, but I think it may have been an outdoor range. There were quite a few that had stuck primers like yours. I salvaged most of them after the deprime pin poked a hole in them without removing them. I used a sharp awl (watch you don't poke your hands). I wedged the tip of the awl in the punctured primer and levered out enough of the primer cap that I could grasp with needle nosed pliers. Once started, the old primers pulled right out. Then I cleaned the pocket and went on with recapping.

Just a thought....
Sam Sackett

[too many things]

would do the oil. auto trans is cheap Kroil is pricey but it works , clean the brass with Dawn and be sure to see there is no crud in the pockets

[rayh]

Mix the ATF with Acetone, 50/50. Fairly cheap too.

[Three44s]

Kroil

Three44s

[edp2k]

Happens mostly with nickel cases after they get wet and sit wet a while.
I'll bet kerosene would work fine as a penetrating oil; cheap too, and easier to clean/wash off.
after depriming, boiling in hot soapy water should get all the kero off.

[kevin c]

I wet tumble both nickel and regular brass with a citric acid and car wash solution, and haven't ever had a primer do that, though I do start with once and multifired brass freshly picked up from the range, rinse thoroughly and dry promptly (I don't think I've ever kept brass wet from cleaning for more than 48 hours). There's too much brass available on my range for me to salvage corroded looking or mud filled brass, so maybe that and my cleaning habits have been how I've avoided the issue despite the wet cleaning and citric acid.

[toallmy]

I have had the same thing happen with 38 special nickel although I'm not really sure if it was because I washed it with citrus acid and waited a while before removing the primer or it was just because of long term storage with the original primers left in the case .
I just excepted the loss after a little fighting with the primer rings left in the pocket tossing them in the end . I wish I had thought of the penetrating oil trick , let us know how it works .....