So Do Nickel Plated Cases Scratch Dies Or Not?

Yup, me too CraigC ---cracks at the case mouth on .357 nickled cases. When I accumulated enough, I trimmed them down past the cracks and kept using them.
Did I mention I was a "frugal" minimalist ?

Thomasss said:

You really should clean them first and then you don't have anything to worry about. I clean mine first using walnut in a vibrator. By cleaning them first you prevent a lot of problems. It's always a good idea to keep dirt and sand out of the dies. Crud does build up in them and they should be cleaned like once a year, but why allow stuff to get in there in the first place that could cause problems. For example, if you would de-prime first, and then clean, there is a chance you can get stuff caught in the flash hole.

Click to expand...

Careful now your getting into a religious debate—deprime/clean v clean/deprime.

CraigC said:

No but if the nickel flakes off, it can get embedded in your sizing dies, which will scratch all your cases. Been there, done that.

Click to expand...

Same thing happened to me when I used nickel plated cases. Had trouble getting it out of my die. Stopped using them after that. JMO

mdi said:

FWIW; I have my T-Rex Killer loads (44 Magnum 240 gr LSWC over max load of WC820 with an extra heavy profile crimp [or a heavy collet crimp] loaded in Federal nickel plated cases. So far with 8 or 10 reloads no splits, cracks, flaking or peeling...

Click to expand...

My whitetail loads for my Redhawks are a 240 xtp over a max load of 296. Never had to do more than a decent crimp.

When I got the two x frames I found that a very over exaggerated crimp was needed on heavy bullets. So much crimp that I couldn't crimp and seat in one step. Then I got the 20 some ounce 329 pd 44 magnum and found that the only way to stop bullet creep was a nasty looking crimp even with 240s . I don't think any brass nickel or not can take more than a couple of those. Even factory ammo jumps. Factory shotshell capsules bust open if a magnum is fired from a different chamber. Lol

murray brook said:

Same thing happened to me when I used nickel plated cases. Had trouble getting it out of my die. Stopped using them after that. JMO

Click to expand...

I think those were the only nickeled cases I've ever used long term. I did try reloading some Remington .38Spl cases that separated at the crimp on the first firing. No more for me either.

CQB45ACP said:

Careful now your getting into a religious debate—deprime/clean v clean/deprime.

Click to expand...

I deprive (universal decapping die)
Clean (walnut and Nu-Finish)
Inspect
Resize
Prime

Nickel cases are Cowboy loads only. Very little resizing required. They last several reloads. I don't try to keep up with how many.

I had a .38 Spl nickel case split this weekend when resizing, first case split I have had in quite a while. I use the nickel cases for my .38 wadcutter loads, so this was just a case giving up from lots of use (Probably 10-12 loadings).



As for scratches in the surface of the resizing die, I haven’t had that happen from using nickel cases either.

Stay safe.

Simple answer...no.

Scout21 said:

Can the nickel flakes be removed from the die pretty easily? I don't mind brass getting scratched since it's somewhat disposable, but I wouldn't want my dies to be damaged.

Click to expand...

Misplacedtexan said:

Simple answer...no.

Click to expand...

Took me a good amount of elbow grease to get it out, but what caught my attention was what would happen if I got some in my chamber or worst yet my rifling. Might be a much bigger job in those areas.

Carbide dies - definitely not.
Other dies-not likely either.
The galling that can occur composed of the nickel alloy is very tough, and will act just like the dies are all scratched up. It will mar up any subsequent cases.
It can be tough to remove.
I use ample Hornady One Shot case lube, and lube right before loading so it's all nice and slippery, it can help.
SIG brass [9mm and 10mm] nickel is next level hard. It chips off near the case mouth when flaring even slightly, and the chips are hard like glass.

Scout21 said:

Can the nickel flakes be removed from the die pretty easily? I don't mind brass getting scratched since it's somewhat disposable, but I wouldn't want my dies to be damaged.

Click to expand...

I wasn't able to. Had to replace the die. I can envision a deep enough scratch becoming a point of failure.

It would require something like a bronze or SS bore brush .10 larger than the die...chucked in a drill.
Not much fun.

No.

I’ve been reloading for over 30 years, never had an issue with nickel plated cases.

I remember this being a hot point of contention, decades ago. Even here on THR, I remember any mention of nickeled cases triggering an outpouring of such declarations.

My argument has always been this:

Someone scratches a die with brass cases - "Well that was dumb. I need to clean my cases better."

Someone scratches a die with nickel cases - "OMG!!! I gotta log on and tell everyone how bad nickel cases are!!!"

I wrecked a couple of dies early in my career, using brass cases that I didn't clean adequately. Since I started cleaning adequately, I haven't wrecked any dies, and I prefer nickel in general. The only downsides I have found is that nickel is more expensive, and some batches will fail very early on. (My experience has been that those lots which don't fail early will go on to last about as well as unplated versions. My experience is contradicted by that of some other folks, however.)

Scout21 said:

Can the nickel flakes be removed from the die pretty easily? I don't mind brass getting scratched since it's somewhat disposable, but I wouldn't want my dies to be damaged.

Click to expand...

Depends. If you know how, it’s easy.

CraigC said:

I wasn't able to. Had to replace the die. I can envision a deep enough scratch becoming a point of failure.

Click to expand...

Rubbing compound on a cotton wheel.

Nickel cases don't scratch hardened tool steel S7 , titanium nitride coated or carbide dies . They lube better and are harder than just brass cases .
Yes you can re-induce ductility back into the nickel case as well as Brass cases with Heat aka annealing . Pistol cases I DON'T Ever do period .
Rifle cases YES most definitely and without any problems what so ever . Over repeated annealing some inferior cases WILL begin to flake but I've found generally the cases fail before they crack peel or chip the nickel .

Nickel melts at 2,647 degrees F. Copper at 1983 F and Brass at 1710 F so ductility happens around 750 -900 F ,for all intent and purpose .


Traditional electrolytic nickel plating requires a catalyst and a direct current (DC) charge to start a chemical chain reaction to coat an object (the substrate) with a thin layer of nickel—however, with electroless nickel plating, no catalyst or charge is needed. Instead, electroless formulas include a chemical reducing agent (phosphorous) that allows the user to coat the substrate without further processing.

Both methods add a thin layer of nickel to the target surface, but electroless nickel plating (ENP) provides additional wear- and corrosion-resistance, lubricity, and ancillary performance characteristics compared to its electrolytic counterpart. Also known as autocatalytic coating, ENP can be used on projects with tight tolerance specifications and is easy to apply in uniform layers.

Electrolytic nickel plating, on the other hand, is typically thicker around the substrate corners and edges and can’t deliver the same level of precision. During electrolytic plating, deposit density is controlled by the length of time the product is submerged and how many amps per square foot are applied.

Personally I never had a problem with nickel plated brass and in over 40 years of loading I haven't a clue how many I have loaded. I am a believer in every now and then complete and through cleaning of my dies.

Ron

Over the years I have reloaded literally buckets of plated 38 SPL brass with zero problems. Many have the plating worn off them everywhere but the headstamp and the ejection groove. The look like regular brass otherwise. Some plated do split but if they last 10 reloads they seem to last and last. I mostly do minimal roll or taper crimps for light target ammo though.
As mentioned you can get gauling inside a die but the stuck material is so much softer than the hardened die it cleans up easily.

BushMaster-15 said:

Nickel cases don't scratch hardened tool steel S7 , titanium nitride coated or carbide dies . They lube better and are harder than just brass cases .
Yes you can re-induce ductility back into the nickel case as well as Brass cases with Heat aka annealing . Pistol cases I DON'T Ever do period .
Rifle cases YES most definitely and without any problems what so ever . Over repeated annealing some inferior cases WILL begin to flake but I've found generally the cases fail before they crack peel or chip the nickel .

Nickel melts at 2,647 degrees F. Copper at 1983 F and Brass at 1710 F so ductility happens around 750 -900 F ,for all intent and purpose .


Traditional electrolytic nickel plating requires a catalyst and a direct current (DC) charge to start a chemical chain reaction to coat an object (the substrate) with a thin layer of nickel—however, with electroless nickel plating, no catalyst or charge is needed. Instead, electroless formulas include a chemical reducing agent (phosphorous) that allows the user to coat the substrate without further processing.

Both methods add a thin layer of nickel to the target surface, but electroless nickel plating (ENP) provides additional wear- and corrosion-resistance, lubricity, and ancillary performance characteristics compared to its electrolytic counterpart. Also known as autocatalytic coating, ENP can be used on projects with tight tolerance specifications and is easy to apply in uniform layers.

Electrolytic nickel plating, on the other hand, is typically thicker around the substrate corners and edges and can’t deliver the same level of precision. During electrolytic plating, deposit density is controlled by the length of time the product is submerged and how many amps per square foot are applied.

Click to expand...

Bushmasterpedia

I would still love to see some pictures! Especially of early warning symptoms.

Pictures of cases that is—nickel that is flaking, cracking, peeling, but not a case splitting, that’s common.

and not to speak for OP, it’s on point for this thread, no?

Nope. Way back when I started reloading I was given a set of 357 mag dies that were “scratched from loading nickel cases”. I’m still using them and after a very intense cleaning process they are back to normal. They were loaded up with crud and it was compressed into all the nooks and crannies of the die. Carburetor cleaner seemed to be what finally did the trick on the dried lube.

CQB45ACP said:

I would still love to see some pictures! Especially of early warning symptoms.

Pictures of cases that is—nickel that is flaking, cracking, peeling, but not a case splitting, that’s common.

and not to speak for OP, it’s on point for this thread, no?

Click to expand...

Here is one. Some batches are quite prone to this.