Removing Imperial Sizing Wax from cases

John Kielly

John Kielly

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I have to body die several hundered cases at one time.

Does anybody have a quick & easy way to dewax them afterwards? I've never warmed to the idea of dumping cases in tumbler medium although I'm sure that it would be the least painful way of getting the job done. The idea of filling my carefully managed cases with dust & maybe grit just doesn't appeal to me.

I could spin them individually in my K & M caseholder & wipe them off with an old towel, but I reckon that I need a little extra help to get the job done. Anybody use a solvent that won't stir up asthmatic lungs?

John
 
I use such a small about of the lube that I've never had a need to remove it.
 
I wipe them off when priming.

After priming with a K&M tool, I hold the case firmly in the tool and wipe it with an old towel. I got this idea from Rex Reneau. Good shooting...James
 
Boiling with water/simple green in a fat fryer sure works good.
 
I lay them on an old bath towel, piling them up in the center. Then I give them a squirt of charcoal lighter fluid. Then fold the towel into thirds lengthwise, encapsulating the cases in the folds. Then grab each end of the towel, pick it up, and lifting one hand after another, tumble them back and forth in the towel for a minute or two. Cleans them up great. I even do this after taking them out of the tumbler to remove the red dust.
 
Man . . . . they don't call him Locoweed for nothing . . . . I sure hope he isn't a smoker.

- Innovative
 
Micro Fiber Towels

The small micro fiber towels are superb for wiping cases and one towel will last an amazingly long time before it gets too dirty to do the job. I had always used shop towels, paper towels, misc rags & etc until someone at the range handed me a micro fiber towel and said "try this". I was impressed.
 
I will second that. Paper towels don't do a good job of removing the lub they just push it around. After you try the micro fiber towels you will be hooked.
 
When I was shooting National Match, I would normally reload 200-300 .308 at a time (every single week during the season). Wiping of the sizing lub (I used several different kinds, including Imperial) was a time consuming pain in the butt. I friend I met at Camp Perry gave me the solution, and I have used it ever since... get a large coffee can (save the lid) and punch the bottom full of holes with an awl. Put your sized cases in the can and spray a liberal dose of CRC Brake-Clean over the cases, roll them vigorously, and repeat until they are completely free of the lub (usually takes me three doses). Blowing them dry with compressed air between doses makes the job go even faster. I have heard some hypothesize that this will leave residue in the case and primer pockets... Nonsense! The people who told me this, after some questioning, admit that they never tried it. Why some people feel they must punish themselves is beyond me... At any rate, try it. I never had an issue, and I have loaded many thousands of rounds of .308 and .223 using this technique.
 
Micro fiber towels

Could you share a brand name, and where to purchase??

Thanks.
 
Removing sizing wax

I use a spray bottle filled with denatured alcohol to remove sizing wax as well as spray lube. Lay a piece of paper towel or a cotton rag on your table, spray the cases with the alcohol, roll another towel over top and you're done.

Lou Baccino
 
I size my cases using imperial wax and then dump them in the tumbler for 15 min. Works great for cleaning off the wax. The only downside is getting media in the flash holes. I use lee trim studs for case length prep and usually just use one of those to clean out the flashole.

I have also just used a microfiber cloth when I have the case in the drill for trim and chamfer and debur, but only if I am doing 15 or 20 cases at a time.
 
Thanks, guys.

I forgot about rolling in towels with something. I used to do that years ago to get rid of RCBS soluble lube - one wet towel & one dry one.

John
 
Die Wax

Just get some Tru-Kote Die Wax. Wipes completely off with a Microfiber towel. Anything else is just doing it the hard way.

...Dave
 
Kielly,

I use lacquer thinner for almost everything around my shop. I bet it would work for cleaning stuff off of cases. One way of cleaning the stuff off would be to put some cases in the bottom of a coffee can and pour the thinner over them and pull the cases out and wipe them off with a rag. I would shake the cases off and let them dry before loading.

Lacquer thinner evaporates quickly. I am sure that any left would burn off when fired.:)

Let me know if this works.

Concho Bill
 
Microfiber Towels

WalkerTXRanger said:
Could you share a brand name, and where to purchase??

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can find them lots of places. I think I got them the cheapest at Harbor Freight when they were specially priced but I also got a few from Walmart. They last a long time.
 
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