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Old April 29, 2005, 08:25 PM   #1
brasszz
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sealing primers?

I want to seal my primers, but I dont want to use primer sealer at $8.oo a bottle. Is there any reason i cant use finger nail polish at $0.99?
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Old April 29, 2005, 08:34 PM   #2
novus collectus
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I can think of one possibility. When the polish flakes off when struck, where will it go? S&B ammo uses some kind of red shellac totally covering their ammo and it ends up all over the insides of my pistols. The stuff they use would be a lot less damaging to the moving parts than nail polish in my opinion.
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Old April 29, 2005, 08:45 PM   #3
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I'm not sure I understand why you would want to seal the primers. the press fit of the primer should be good enough to prevent moisture from causing any problems
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Old April 29, 2005, 08:50 PM   #4
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I've reloaded alot of .223 and I don't shoot my .223 very often. I want to seal the primers and bullets for storage.
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Old April 29, 2005, 09:02 PM   #5
Edward429451
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Have you ever tried sealing primers?

I have and its a pita. I could never get it right. Unsteady hand with a superfine brush didn't work. Painting the entire bottom of the case head was worse. I gave up on it. I know what you're after though, just a leetle extra peace of mind and confidence in your long term storage ammo.

I seen a vacuum sealer on tv that uses roll bags. Seal one end, dump in your (ammo) food and as it seals the other side it sucks the air right out of it. You can tell at a glance if its broken the seal. I want one. 210 rnd battlepak anyone?

Primers, clean brass that wont oxidize, even 1lb cans of powder, and ammo of course.
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Old April 29, 2005, 09:21 PM   #6
brasszz
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I don't think I will have a problem, i'm going to keep my reloads in an ammo can. I just wanted to take an extra precaution so i know that my reloads will be realible for years to come.
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Old April 29, 2005, 09:27 PM   #7
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.99 vs 7.00 = cheap & dirty vs. doing it right

If it's peace of mind you're after, use the product meant for the purpose. That's what it's made for.

For practical purposes, and using the ammo inside of say 5 years, I wouldn't bother. Commercial shotgun ammo which IS sealed on the shot end, and which could very well be dropped in the water by a waterfowler, or the mud or dewy grass by an upland hunter, then picked up and used--successfully I might add--is NOT sealed on the primer end. The press fit of the primers suffices. Does that tell you something?

Now if you're making ammo to stash away not to be used until TEOTWAWKI, that's another matter. But in that case you won't care about spending the extra 6 bucks.
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Old April 29, 2005, 10:15 PM   #8
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Ick...I tried it and it was a royal PITA. I was using a clear shellac, it worked pretty well until I fired the cases.

A few things happened, when the case heats up, that stuff gets all sticky (again). You can guess what happens next when they hit the ground.

After that, all that grunge from the tumbler media....care to guess?....that's right, it gets all over the case head and the only way I found to get it off was to use a wire brush wheel on a drill motor turning at slow speed.

Unless you're going to store your ammo in a really damp environment, don't worry about it, it will be fine. I recently shot up some stuff that I had loaded about 8 years ago, it was stored in the house, and it shot just fine.
To be honest, I didn't even know you could buy primer sealer, I've never seen it before (anyone care to share a link?), I know that almost all of the factory stuff is sealed, but I just thought it was some trade secret or something.
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Old April 30, 2005, 08:41 AM   #9
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Old loads - -

As a side note:

Four or five years ago, I ran across a long forgotten, partial box of .30'06 ammo I reloaded some time around 1966. I know, because I bought one box of Remington 150 gr. round nose soft point bullets (intended for the .30-30 ctg) the day I bought my RCBS dies and a can of IMR 4895 powder at Knight's Gun Shop in Fort Worth. I asked for a powder charge to use, and Hollis Pricer (R.I.P.) gave me his standard load from memory. No use mentioning it here, as it is well above currently listed maximums.

I was very careful when assembling those loads. I was well satisfied with them, but was a complete rookie with centerfire rifle. As long as I hit the target at 100 yards, all was well.

Thirty-some years later, I took that old ammo to a bench with proper sandbags and all. I used a Ruger 77 of known capability, and shot a group of a bit under one inch. The ammo had been stored in a pasteboard box - - Never wet but it had been subjected to some summer heat and winter cold. I had not used any sort of bullet or primer sealant on the cartridges.

I realize a single group hardly constitutes scientific proof, but I seriously considered taking the remaining three or four rounds hunting that fall. I decided not to, because my rifle was sighted in with 165 grain ammo. Maybe I was also a little afraid to spoil a good story.

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Old April 30, 2005, 08:59 AM   #10
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Years ago when Herter's was in business and they sold only "perfect" things I bought some of their red primer and bullet sealer. I knew factories used sealer and thought I better do it too. As posted above, it is a PITA and it was hard to make work without "too much" or covering the entire base and headstamp. Just as Johnny Guest said. I too found some .243 reloads from 1961 a bit ago. I deceided to try them out to see if they were any good at all. They worked fine in every respect and these were overwell over 40 years old. They were not subjected to terrible conditions, just sat in my reloading room forever. I suspect if you keep yours in an ammo can they will last a long time without the time spent trying to seal them up.
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Old April 30, 2005, 10:03 AM   #11
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It breaks down

I tried the nail polish- don't remember the brand. i think it was L'oreal or whatever my wife had on the bathroom counter.

Over time, stored inside the house. it seems to break down: goes from hard and clear to powdery-white, soft, and easily wiped off with fingers. it sealant properties are no doubt gone by then.

The 'real' primer sealant doesn't seem to break down- not as of yet anyway.
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Old May 1, 2005, 06:34 AM   #12
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in a dream-like state I dreamt........

George & Roys can withstand rising from submarine depth.
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Old May 1, 2005, 08:06 AM   #13
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I have a bottle of George and Roy's primer sealant. It's the size and shape of a finger nail polish bottle with a brush in the cap. I load my ammo boxes and simply dap a little on the primer. It spreads out just fine. So little is used (making it cheap), that I'm not about to go dinking around with other home made concoctions that may affect primer or powder. I seal my hunting loads, as they are going to end up wet from rain, snow, or condensation from coming in out of the cold. I don't bother with target loads, as I don't keep a massive amount loaded up for long term storage.
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Old May 7, 2005, 09:47 AM   #14
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Well I guess I'll be the only reloader who has had luck with Clear Fingernail Polish.

I seal primers on my hunting loads and my 'storage loads' in .41 mag.

I just ran a little around the edge of the primer, and as of yet, 5 years or so, have had no problems.

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Old May 14, 2005, 11:57 AM   #15
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I've been using nail polish successfully for 40 years. you can get different colors to mark different types of loads. It works for me!
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Old May 14, 2005, 12:05 PM   #16
novus collectus
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Quote:
I've been using nail polish successfully for 40 years. you can get different colors to mark different types of loads. It works for me!
Does it flake off when the firing pin hits the coated primer?
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Old May 14, 2005, 04:45 PM   #17
cheygriz
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Novus,

I apply the polish, then wipe the top off. The only polish left is in the little space where the primer rounds off in the edge of the pocket. This seals the primer/case interface without leaving excess polish on the part that the firing pin strikes. I suppose that if you didn't clean your weapon, you might get some on the breech face every thousand or so rounds.

It takes a lot longer to explain it than to do it.
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Old May 14, 2005, 05:15 PM   #18
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I found a box of ammo a few months ago that I made in 1986 stored in an undehumidified basement with no primer seal and it shot fine. Can't think of any critical path need for doing it so IMHO a complete waste of time and effort.
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Old May 14, 2005, 05:19 PM   #19
novus collectus
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Quote:
I apply the polish, then wipe the top off. The only polish left is in the little space where the primer rounds off in the edge of the pocket. This seals the primer/case interface without leaving excess polish on the part that the firing pin strikes. I suppose that if you didn't clean your weapon, you might get some on the breech face every thousand or so rounds.
Darn good idea!!!! Thanks for taking the time to post this. I am going to try it.
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