Cleaning brass

[lcq]

After removing from the Thumbler's Tumbler, I rinse and then lay my brass on a bath towel. Gather one end in each hand and with the brass laying in the formed pouch, Alternately raise and lower each hand rolling the brass back and forth in the towel. Then I take the brass and spread on a cookie sheet covered with foil, put it in the oven set on the lowest setting with the oven door cracked open for about 30 minutes. Clean and dry inside and out and doesn't get hot enough to hurt the brass. It takes a little longer, but if you deprime the brass first, the primer pockets will also be spotless.

Obviously you don't have a wife. I'd be shot if I put brass in the oven

 

[PLM]

Obviously you don't have a wife. I'd be shot if I put brass in the oven

Oh yeah, I've got a wife, a heck of a wife. By the time the brass gets to the oven it is good and clean so no smell, no muss, no fuss. Besides, if she complains she will have to learn how to do her own reloading!

 

[lcq]

Oh yeah, I've got a wife, a heck of a wife. By the time the brass gets to the oven it is good and clean so no smell, no muss, no fuss. Besides, if she complains she will have to learn how to do her own reloading!

lucky man

 

[PLM]

Thank you, Sir.

 

[JimP]

I just throw mine into the vibrator with walnut shells and let it work over night. Then dump them through the sifter pick up each case and tap it case mouth down on the sifter and I am done and ready to load them.

 

[Reiver25]

I usually tumble with walnut media, ultrasonic clean then Lee Zip Trim with Autosol once rounds are assembled.

 

[sestoppelman]

How do you Lee Zip Trim once rounds are assembled?? And what's Autosol?

 

[Reiver25]

Hi
I just fit the round to the Zip Trim and rotate it firstly against a cloth with a smudge of Autosol ( polish available from car accessories shops) then finish with a clean cloth. Brass is gleaming and as no polish is near the case head/ primer all rounds are 100% reliable in going off when fired.
Hope this answers your question, some may say it's a lot of hassle but I prefer clean cases which I carry in a wallet so no grit etc sticks to them. They are also easy to inspect for cracks etc.
Once polished I don't usually have to polish them again, I usually get 8-10 reloads per case for .270 using either Norma or RWS brass which are batched separately.
Best regards from Scotland

 

[Eddie P]

I dry in the oven, I figured that if you can put brass in boiling water with no ill effects, then an oven around that temp would be safe. I put on a baking tray, heat up, then take out and wait for them to cool. I don't get in trouble for that.

On the other hand I did get told off by the GF for baking the paint onto a cannon barrel in the oven.

 

[larry4831]

I tumble mine in walnut media and add flitz tumbler media additive. Then wipe with cloth and they shine better than brand new, and I mean shine.

 

[IronCowboy]

I have a Hornady Ultrasonic, a Frankfort Vibratory Tumbler, and a Thumler's Rotary Tumbler.

90% of the time, I only Ultrasonic clean my brass. I use walnut hulls right now in my vibe tumbler, and stainless pins in my Rotary. If I didn't have the Frankfort before I bought the Thumlers, I would not have bought it - the Thumlers is the better process. For my ultrasonic, I stole my "recipe" from 6mmbr.com - slightly modified to make the process easier to set up on my particular unit - which they called "Clean & Shiny" in the article. 25min of 50% vineagar with a drop of dish soap, 10min using Hornady 1 Shot cleaning solution, 10min in hot distilled water, then a thorough rinse in distilled water (they do 24min, 6min, 6min, and then 6min of distilled for rinse instead of my manual rinse). The result is clean & shiny inside and out, but not polished like a tumbler produces.

Every time I think about this cleaning process, it reminds me how reloading dies and equipment are designed to be used - decapping and resizing happens in the same die, and on a progressive or turret press, that's followed immediately by charging... I can't remember the last time I resized a dirty case (I use a universal decapper), and really can't remember the last time I primed and charged a dirty case... Had to be at least 20yrs ago.

 

[Ray B]

I've considered putting a bunch of dirty brass in a net bag and running it through the dish washer- but I haven't gotten up the courage to try it yet- seems like the heat in the dry cycle might injure the annealing of the brass- but it would really be bright and shiny.

 

[Grumulkin]

The dishwasher won't generate enough heat to injury your brass in any way. Think about it, at the temperature at which brass would be damaged, plastic would melt.

 

[gillettehunter]

You can't anneal brass until you get over 500 degrees. Boiling water at 212 isn't going to hurt nor will an oven drying brass at 225 or so. I use the tumbler with Stella pins. Nice and shiny as well as a clean surface to put in my dies. Bruce

 

[Ray B]

I don't have a tumbler and I'm hesitant to use chemicals on the brass, so is there any reason that I shouldn't load up a mesh bag and run them through the dishwasher?

 

[Clayton]

No reason at all. I've tried just about everything over the years. Been using a Lyman Vibrator for some years now & am happy with it.

 

[Pheroze]

I don't have a tumbler and I'm hesitant to use chemicals on the brass, so is there any reason that I shouldn't load up a mesh bag and run them through the dishwasher?

My concern with mixing dirty brass with my kitchen area is the chemicals and lead residue. Maybe no problem but just spooks me a bit.

 

[Grumulkin]

That would bother me as well.

 

[Clayton]

My concern with mixing dirty brass with my kitchen area is the chemicals and lead residue. Maybe no problem but just spooks me a bit.

Good point, but I would think using jacketed bullets shouldn't have any led residue issues. Never made it a habit and don't do it at all anymore. And maybe it would explain, and provide an excuse for some of my behavior and attitudes. Hmmm

 

[Grumulkin]

You forgot the lead styphnate in the primers.