tumbling NU-FINISH & primers

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fjlee

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I observe that a lot of folks who tumble their brass add NU-FINISH and/or mineral spirits to the tumbling media.

Including those who tumble _AFTER_ de-priming.

When I think of doing that myself, I get uneasy about the fact that it seems to me that the trace of NU-FINISH/mineral spirits in the primer pockets might contaminate the NEW primer that you insert.

I DO want to de-prime _BEFORE_ tumbling.

Those that tumble with NU-FINISH and/or mineral spirits after de-priming......
how do address this issue?

Thank you.....

FjLee
 
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>>>It would evaporate long before you re-primed. >>>

Thank you for the response.....but.......

Are you sure about that?

Most of the handloaders who tumble with NU-FINISH comment on the fact that the NU-FINISH leaves a nice _VERY_ thin waxy film on the exterior of the brass. A film that helps a bit in preventing immediate future tarnish.

Wouldn't that same film remain in the primer pocket? That's what bothers me. I don't want a film of ANYTHING in the primer pocket.

Thank you.......

FjLee
 
I have not added mineral spirits to my media but have used various polishes on and off over the years. But, I have not used Nu Finish though.

I cannot remember ever having a dud primer for any reason.

I have had a few squib loads when I first started reloading in 1980 but figured out quickly how to prevent that. They were always due to lack of powder, never that the powder got contaminated. Except for one squib 2 years ago during the start up of my progressive, I have not had a squib since.

If you swim your media in polish or mineral spirits, it might cause a problem, but the quantities used are very small and should not be an issue.
 
I've used NU Finish for years without a problem, I do normally wait at minimum 24 hours before priming, but simply out of routine then anything.
 
nu-finish + mineral spirits before reloading and after to make to bullets SHINEY!

IMO mineral spirits really does the trick
 
Primers are not as fragile as some might think. At any rate, mineral spirits evaporate so nothing would be there to harm the primer. If wax, the wax coating is on the brass and would not be able to get thru the paper that protects the priming compound.

Now, if you are that paranoid :), just use the red media with nothing else. The red stuff is jewelers rouge, or iron oxide. It is not able to harm priming compound. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewelers'_rouge
 
Really a little nu-finish or mineral spirits added to a tumbler full of media is going to leave enough film on a case to contaminate a sealed primer when primers can be soaked in water or WD40 and when dried still fire. Man I wish that is all I had to worry about.
 
Nu Finish is a car polish, not a wax. The slick finish it leaves is not wax. I believe it's a synthetic, but you'd have to google Nu Finish and read the ingredients to be sure.

In any case, over a decade of using a capful in with my tumbling media has caused no problems with primers or powder. Stuff is cheap, works great and is available at any Walmart.
 
DaveInFloweryBranchGA, you could not be more correct on that one. I throw in a teaspoon full about every other use of my Thumlers Model B. Works great. It does ot take much NU Finish to get jewelry looking brass.

The Red Rouge stuff works good, but I found it left red dust all over the place. To the point I had to tumble a second time to get the rouge off.
 
Thank you for the response.....but.......

Are you sure about that?
Click to expand...
Based on my experience, and the experience of many posters here who have discussed using mineral spirits, Nu Finish, and other polishes over the years, yes. :)
 
The other thought I had on this is when tumbling in dry media, the primer pocket does not get cleaned, leading me to believe that the walnut is not contacting the primer pocket enough to clean, and therefore transfer anything to the area.
 
>>>It would evaporate long before you re-primed. >>>

Thank you for the response.....but.......

Are you sure about that?

Most of the handloaders who tumble with NU-FINISH comment on the fact that the NU-FINISH leaves a nice _VERY_ thin waxy film on the exterior of the brass. A film that helps a bit in preventing immediate future tarnish.

Wouldn't that same film remain in the primer pocket? That's what bothers me. I don't want a film of ANYTHING in the primer pocket.

Thank you.......
Click to expand...

It would evaporate long before you re-primed.
Click to expand...

Take a look at Walkalong's post count, he knows whereof he speaks, he's not the new guy on the block who just showed up.

I've also deprimed then tumbled using Nu-Finish, and/or other liquid auto polish (others work just as well) and have been doing so for years with no problem..

BTW, Yes I'm sure!

You have nothing to fear,,,,,,,,,,but fear itself.
 
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+1 on NuFinish. I tumble rifle cases after I deprime them using Universal Decapping die in fine grit walnut and NuFinish. Once the cases are clean with light polish, they are resized and trimmed. No issues with residual NuFinish other than the residual polish on the brass surface helps with resizing pistol cases using carbide dies.

fjlee, priming compounds in the primer cups are well protected from moisture/oil/solvent by the use of covers/caps/sealants and very hard to deactivate.

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armarsh said:
Primers are not as fragile as some might think. At any rate, mineral spirits evaporate so nothing would be there to harm the primer. If wax, the wax coating is on the brass and would not be able to get thru the paper that protects the priming compound.

Now, if you are that paranoid :), just use the red media with nothing else. The red stuff is jewelers rouge, or iron oxide. It is not able to harm priming compound. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewelers'_rouge
Click to expand...
I agree. Many times we reloaders tend to over-think some "potential" problems. Personally I use a mix if walnut and corn cob (a few years ago I mixed some by mistake, worked well, so I still mix). I use no additives, no polish, no dryer sheets, nada. Occationally I'll drop about a tablespoon of mineral spirits in dirty media, but only if I think of it. I get clean shiny brass with my Lyman wobbler, and have never had a problem due to my brass cleaning methods. (BTW, I remember when you could recognise a reloader at the range; he had dull unpolished brass. Don't know when bright shiny brass became "necessary").
 
You don't need to dump the whole bottle of Nu Finish in the tumbler, just about a teaspoon will do, if you've got the primer pocket with residue in it when finished, then yes, you've got too much! Don't over analize this procedure, there are guys on THR who've never cleaned the primer pockets before they reload, think about this, instead of how much "wax" is in the tumbler!
 
fjlee said:
Wouldn't that same film remain in the primer pocket? That's what bothers me. I don't want a film of ANYTHING in the primer pocket.
Click to expand...

Mineral spirits will leave a film once the solvents in it flash off. It is one of the reasons you do not clean your auto brakes with mineral spirits. The film does make for poor brake performance.

As said by many, a table spoon of mineral spirits added to the tumbling media will not leave enough behind to affect your primer or powder.

I do not care for the smell of mineral spirits (ode de Stoddard solvent) so I do not use it for much if I can substitute something else. But that is one of my idiosyncrasies and not a statement on the performance of mineral spirits.
 
The mineral spirits evaporates in a minute or two. NuFinish contains a silicone "wax" that isn't a wax. It won't contaminate your primers in the minute quantity that would be in the pocket. Been doing it for years. What about the minute traces of oil from the walnut or corn hulls? Fingertip oils from handling?
Primers are really durable.
 
I might also add that I prime my cases with hand priming tools that do not have a tray of any kind. I use the K & M primeing tool which is sinilar to the Sonclair Tool and also have a number of the old/old style Lee tools that use the screw in shell holder. Each and every primer is picked up by my bare hands and inserted onto the tool. I've never experienced a hangfire or misfire using this method over the lastfew decades.

Why do I do it this way? Because I like to, plain and simple.

Tumble your cases and forgetaboutit.
 
I'm one of those guys who have never cleaned a primer pocket. I tumble with NuFinish and then deprime during the reloading process and have never had a failure in the thousands of reloads that I've shot that could attributed to a primer pocket not being cleaned.
 
i use nu finish before de priming never had any problems. you're going to have to clear the media out of the flash hole anyway before priming, just look at them if it makes you feel better.
 
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i use nu finish, mineral spirits, and red jewelers rouge in my media. i resize / deprime after tumbling, and then clean the primer pockets. trim, and flare if necessary. and then just for good measure, i wash them in HOT soapy water. rinse twice in hot water. then let them dry for a couple of days. doing it in that order, i do not have to worry about anything in the primer pockets, or on the outsides of the case as well.
 
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