IMPERIAL DIE WAX REMOVAL

[Jayplace]

I'm new to 30 BR and have a lot to learn.
I got the cases straightened out and they cycle fine, so, thanks to everyone on that.

I have the cases necked up, trimmed and neck turned. It's a lot more work than I expected, but they appear to be in good shape. I did lose some cases getting everything like I wanted, but I expected that would happen. I am now set to repeat what I've done and maybe lose no more cases. I've done 40, so I'm ready to go shoot.

My question now is, how to get the residual Imperial die wax out of the inside of the case. There isn't much, but between the expanding and turning of the necks there remains some wax. I thought Brake cleaner would do it easily, so I tried that. It doesn't get it totally clean.
They looked clean, but a little wipe with a Q Tip reveals some trace amounts.

So, how do most people get rid of the wax?
I'm sure it's easy, but only if you know how.

 

[SKWERLZ]

Tumble in walnut, corn or rice.
Or just load them up with a mild load and fire form them and burn it out.

 

[nettle]

I don't put Imperial Die Wax inside the case.

 

[JFrank]

Use a Q tip

 

[JimPag]

Just dribble some brake clean on a Q-Tip and swab it out. Pretty simple. When I neck up using mandrels I swab the inside of the neck with Hornady One shot on a Q-Tip. When I turn the necks on my lathe I use all different sorts of lubes and when I'm done I dribble Gun Scrubber on a Q-Tip and swab all the lube that is left in the case.

 

[nettle]

I use dry lube for the inside of the case.

 

[Sandstorm]

I use dry lube for the inside of the case.

So Im confused..how do you get Imperial inside the case again.

 

[Benchrest Braxton]

tumble in rice, removes all the wax as well as the carbon.

for me, tumbling for 4 hours removed probably 90-95% of carbon from inside the necks

 

[TheCZKid]

Maybe wash them all at once with some hot water and Dawn dish soap.

When I make 20 Vartarg cases from 5.56, I lube the outsides with Imperial Die Wax to size 3x. When I'm done I put all the brass in a bowl with hot water, and put in a decent amount of Dawn soap, churn them around with my hands until I get them clean.
Then I drain and rinse again couple times in the bowl, put in colander and get the water drained, then dry on cookie sheet, like you would if you use a ultrasonic cleaner. Probably would work fine on the insides too, don't see why not. That way you do them all at once.

 

[acloco]

Use carburetor cleaner instead of brake cleaner. Brake cleaners leave a residue as well.

 

[Jayplace]

For those who don't use the die wax inside the case, what do you use on the expander when you expand the neck going from 6mm to 30 and on the mandrel when turning the neck?

 

[JimPag]

For those who don't use the die wax inside the case, what do you use on the expander when you expand the neck going from 6mm to 30 and on the mandrel when turning the neck?

Hornady One shot when necking up. Pro Long, Motorkote, Sinclair or PMA neck turning lube when turning necks on my lathe.

 

[6BRA]

Acetone in a jar...

 

[dcali]

Acetone cleans it up pretty easily.

 

[Ranger188]

Tumble cases for 45 minutes in corn cob media to remove
the wax from the outside of the case.

 

[LHSmith]

You could just shoot them -they should really be fireformed anyway for best accuracy (after initial FF). You could run a bronze brush though with some solvent since you don't have a coating of carbon inside the neck (which is beneficial). Don't read too much into the accuracy results on the initial firing (FF) as it most likely will not be repeatable with the same load parameters.

 

[jimmymac]

Acetone. I have a bucket with the top cut off where there is only a few inches of bucket left. I then fill it most of the way with acetone. I put my brass in a stainless kitchen colander then submerge the colander. I pull the colander and let the solvent evaporate from the brass. Acetone gets put back in the 1 gallon can for next time. Fast and simple. I haven't tumbled in years.

 

[PopCharlie]

I use laquear thinner. I rinse the cases after the final sizing. Then let them dry for a bit, maybe half an hour. BTW: I use a full length bushing die and a Porter Pin Die to size the cases. I put Imperial sizing wax in the necks before I run them over the mandrel.
Laquear thinner evaporates quickly and leaves no residue.
PopCharlie

 

[JFrank]

I keep a small spray bottle of Alcohol in my reloading and bench stuff, spray a bit on that Q tip and you’re done.

 

[Dgd6mm]

More than one way to skin that cat.