How I polished my dies.

[15meter]

And if you think the dust is from the tumbler, start throwing dryer sheets in the tumbler. The sheets pick up the dust and fines. A new one every batch in the media and pretty soon you have no more dust on your cases.

I also drizzle a half/full cap full of NuFinish car polish in the media at the END of a polishing session. Run the tumbler for several minutes to mix, than leave the tumbler uncovered for any remaining solvent to evaporate. Next time you are ready to go.

Don't add the polish than start polishing cases immediately, I wouldn't know for sure, but I think with small bottle necked cases (like 204 Ruger) the damp media might clump up in the case.

Or so I was told

[Conditor22]

I'm going to try the flitz on my Lee Bullet Sizers, they are scraping off the PC.

Walks, I'd start by sanding the entrance to the dies, rounding them of and getting them smooth 400 - 600 grit then try the polish. I usually just work up to 1000 - 1200 grit and don't polish.

Used drier sheets work well in the tumbler also. I went to wet tumbling and never looked back.

[David2011]

A tablespoon or so of mineral spirits added to the tumbler media in addition to the Nu-Finish goes a long way to reduce dust and grit.

[OS OK]

Bazoo,
when the brass comes out of the vibrator they are dumped in a plastic colander. I shake the colander to get all the walnut out and into the pan below.
From there, I go to the compressor and flip the colander like a chef flips fried eggs in a pan as I blow them with the air nozzle. Can't say what percentage of the dust is eliminated but having done this for years my dies are still scratch free.
I do the wet pin tumble also, love to see those cases clean inside and out...sparkling...now the walnut is much less used.
Catching that foreign matter in the lube tin was a good catch too.

[mattw]

Could you actually have a little speck of galled brass inside the die? Dies are pretty hard and not easy to scratch and a scratch would be away from the brass, not pointing out toward the brass. I have had this happen a couple of times and the best way I have found to fix it was to chuck up a wooden rod with fine paper taped to the end so it can form a spiral. After a discussion with an RCBS tech, I really inspected the inside of the die and was able to find the brass blob stuck to the side. Now, did I forget to lube a case or did my lube not work on that first case that started it? I don't know, but I did not like the scratch, it was deep and will always be in those cases.

[RED BEAR]

Now yall done it.never considered polishing my dies but loading them up and headed for the garage know what i am doing today.

[mdi]

I have a small shop, just 12'x18', and I notice when I tumble, sift and handle the brass I can get a fine dust around the shop. Normally it doesn't matter because all my reloading tools are in tool boxes or covered. I also keep the lid on my sizing lube. I've used dryer sheets, and mineral spirits, but often don't bother because the door is usually cracked a few inches and a small fan is going...

[25ring]

Most of my case scratching went away when I switched over to stainless steel pins for my case cleaning duties.Cases come out perfectly clean inside and out with no dust or grit on the outside of the case to introduce scratches.

[country gent]

Allowing grit to settle out of the melted Imperial may take longer than you think. Part of the process of grading lapping compound is a bowl of light oil ( much thinner than melted wax) and carefully gently adding grinding waste ( the dust and build up around the base of a grinder) and letting it settle for a set amount of time. This process will have grit settling out over 8 hours. the longer the time the finer the grit. Fine air borne grits and dust may take days to settle out.

To clean the imperial I would recommend wrapping it in a weighted cheese cloth sheet several layers thick then boil until the lube is floating on top of the water give it 5-10 mins after this then turn off and let cool don't disturb during this. Lube will flow thru cheese cloths while contaminants stick to or in cheese cloth. Lube will float to top of water. when cooled it will solidify on water and can be lifted off to a paper towel to dry. I a small clean container it can be melted back into the tin.

The big problem with polishing a die is some are only case hardened a very shallow amount. And you start getting to softer material quickly. This base metal scratches easily.

Brass build ups and rough surfaces can show as scratches and or burnish marks. As can dirts and grits. For a material to cut it has to be harder. Emery , Aluminum oxide, flint and silicon carbide are harder materials that break down at different rates to stay sharp ( these are common abrasives in sand papers and lapping polishing compounds) When lapping the abrasives imprtgnate into the softer material of the lap and cut the harder materials. As these materials break down they cut finer. A light oil or water will keep them cutting cleaner and freer.

To little lube or a insufficient lube sizing ( a fine line here between stuck cases and just right) may show as burnish or rub marks also. On a freshly polished die the polish lines are at their very deepest and hold the most lube. as more cases are sized these polish lines smooth out and less lube is required. The polish lines pattern itself is as important as the polish itself is in preventing scratches. A pattern where the lines cross over in a figure 8 shape allows lube to flow and a smoother transition over them. ( similar to the difference between standard filing and draw filing). Polish lines in rings or parallel to die completely don't allow this flowing movement.

[Conditor22]

I have a small shop, just 12'x18', and I notice when I tumble, sift and handle the brass I can get a fine dust around the shop. Normally it doesn't matter because all my reloading tools are in tool boxes or covered. I also keep the lid on my sizing lube. I've used dryer sheets, and mineral spirits, but often don't bother because the door is usually cracked a few inches and a small fan is going...

You get dust all over your shop! imagine what you are breathing (unless you wear a mask the whole time your in your shop. that's why I switched to wet tumbling.

[mdi]

You get dust all over your shop! imagine what you are breathing (unless you wear a mask the whole time your in your shop. that's why I switched to wet tumbling.

Reread my post. When I tumble I have a fan on and the door cracked, and when it'd not raining I open a window behind the fan. But this is only when I use my Lyman wobbler. There is no dust from my rotary tumbler.

I believe "breathing dust from my tumbler" is Chicken Little thinking, and I refuse to live in a huge HEPA filter. If there is a danger it is so remote it's inconsequential.. Unless you live on a mountain top somewhere remote you will be breathing some air pollution (Jet Stream carries some pollutants to the West Coast from Japan). As a mechanic working for a large city that was very safety conscious (CYA more than employee care) we were trained often on many preventative measures for our health, and a lot of in depth info was given, like particulate PPMs and lung disease. Brake jobs were covered almost annually (breathing brake dust, clutch work, painting, etc.). Even though if I use the wobbler to clean my brass I am breathing much less dust or pollutants than many homes. That is unless I do my deep breathing exercises with my face over the wobbler...

[mjwcaster]

Don't add the polish than start polishing cases immediately, I wouldn't know for sure, but I think with small bottle necked cases (like 204 Ruger) the damp media might clump up in the case.

Or so I was told

It doesn’t just clump up small cases, it will create blobs of media in 45acp.
I now add the nufinish to the dryer sheets, rubbing it into them.
A little goes a long way, but when runny in the summer heat the nufinish bottle can spit out a large glob.
I then just spread it on the dryer sheets and toss it in the tumbler with just media for a few minutes to distribute.

My current operation for cleaning range brass-
Rinsing in water
Cleaning in citric acid
Rinse in hot water (shortens drying)
Drying (in the sun is the fastest)
Tumbling in cheap walnut lizard litter with
Nufinish
Used dryer sheets
Splash of mineral spirits
Inspecting/sorting cleaned brass
Storing in sealed container (to keep out spiders/insects)

It might be overkill, but I enjoy nice shiny brass.
Easier to inspect and find in the grass.
Plus it just looks good.

And the nufinish tumbled brass sizes much easier.