Cleaning Brass - Page 2

4runnerman · January 22, 2015, 10:12 PM

Tumbeling takes none of my time other than to put it in and take it out. My brass gets thrown into tmbler when I get home from range. Sometimes it will tumble till I go to bed sometimes it will tumble for less. I guess I am in no hurry to pull it out as I have piles of brass. On the average I would say my brass tumbles at least 6 hrs or more. I shoot in wee hrs of the morning and have brass in tumbler by say noon. Will runit till 10:00 PM when I go to bed,or so. Takes no time for me to do this. Plug it in and walk away from it. After sizing I still tumble for maybe another 2 or 3 hrs after that. Again-dump it in,plug it in and walk away.
It's not a shiney clean thing with me, It's just I don't need that brass back for weeks. Dump it in and go about your daily things, when it gets unplugged is when ever.

mikld · January 23, 2015, 01:51 PM

It's cool that we as individuals have the freedom to do just about anything during our reloading process the tickles our fancy. As I noted in my first post, tumbling isn't necessary and for a new reloaders to not place a lot of importance on it. I never had a ruined die, or had/have dirty equipment (as a lifelong machinist/mechanic I know the value of keeping tools and equipment in clean working order). Inspection is just a matter of looking (some posts have said no inspection is done, just dump 'em in the tub), and spotting defects is simple. If one shoots in front of a crowd or has friends to impress, them tumble polish 'em up. If one's self image depends on shiny, new looking brass then tumble away. My main satisfaction is that 1" group from my M1

.

My posts are usually aimed at the entry level reloader and meant to take some of the pressure of what many forum experts say is needed. K.I.S.S. is foremost for learning...

Bucksnort1 · January 23, 2015, 10:49 PM

I use nothing but ultra-sonic cleaners with commercially available liquid cleaners. I use a little more cleaner than recommended. This will give you good results unless your brass is really dirty or you want ultra-shiny factory brass. I remove spent primers then use the cleaner. It cleans primer pockets fairly well and the inside of the case and case mouth. Dry medial will not do pockets or inside the case.

A seller of loading components at the Tanner Gun Show in Denver cleans thousands of cases at one time using one quart of mineral spirits, a lot of dry media and a portable mortar mixer like the ones you see brick layers using.

bledsoeG19 · January 24, 2015, 12:28 AM

Even though it is not necessary to tumble and have "virgin looking" brass, I still do it. Wipe off method may work for some but to me, dies are much more expensive than tumbling brass. I wont take the chance of tearing up my equipment. Also I take pride in everything I do so when it comes to reloading my rounds look better than factory.

Like someone has previously said, drop the brass in plug it in and walk away. If you dont have time for that, I'm sorry about your schedule....

**Unclenick** · January 24, 2015, 11:37 AM

As Mikld said, there's no functional necessity to clean well unless you've built up enough primer residue on the floor of the primer pocket to affect primer seating or reliability. Flash holes tend to blow themselves out once every firing cycle, and getting some cleaning media stuck in them is more of an issue than the primer residue. Cleaning far enough to remove dirt that could scratch a die is prudent if you value your tools. Otherwise, making the cases easy to spot in grass is the main purpose of cleaning any further than that.

Toward that end, if you clean in a citric acid solution, either in an ultrasonic or just by shaking in an old plastic milk jug, you get a good, easy to see yellow, but it is not shiny. I find it actually easier to see in most instances.

I proved that to myself the hard way one year. I got a bunch of nickel-plated brass to load for Camp Perry because I was tired of folks who, after the command to police brass was given, didn't look carefully and picked some of mine up. I always lost a few cases that way, and figured the nickel would make it a lot harder for someone to mistake my brass for theirs. That worked. Nobody else took mine, but I lost twice as many pieces that year as I normally did. The reason was the polished nickel reflected the color of the grass and dirt with near perfect fidelity since it didn't add any color of its own. It was like a mirror. And since the grass was taller than the cases were thick, the stuff just disappeared in it. Great camouflage.

Subsequently, I've found that in grass a polished brass case is a partial mirror, while a bright yellow but slightly matte brass case stands out best. I lose the fewest of those to the range gremlins. But the color does need to be brass yellow. Brown patina bears an uncanny resemblance to the color of dirt in this part of the world.

January 23, 2015, 10:49 PM	#28
Bucksnort1 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2013 Location: Littleton, Colorado Posts: 1,124	Cleaning Brass I use nothing but ultra-sonic cleaners with commercially available liquid cleaners. I use a little more cleaner than recommended. This will give you good results unless your brass is really dirty or you want ultra-shiny factory brass. I remove spent primers then use the cleaner. It cleans primer pockets fairly well and the inside of the case and case mouth. Dry medial will not do pockets or inside the case. A seller of loading components at the Tanner Gun Show in Denver cleans thousands of cases at one time using one quart of mineral spirits, a lot of dry media and a portable mortar mixer like the ones you see brick layers using.

January 24, 2015, 11:37 AM	#30
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,114	As Mikld said, there's no functional necessity to clean well unless you've built up enough primer residue on the floor of the primer pocket to affect primer seating or reliability. Flash holes tend to blow themselves out once every firing cycle, and getting some cleaning media stuck in them is more of an issue than the primer residue. Cleaning far enough to remove dirt that could scratch a die is prudent if you value your tools. Otherwise, making the cases easy to spot in grass is the main purpose of cleaning any further than that. Toward that end, if you clean in a citric acid solution, either in an ultrasonic or just by shaking in an old plastic milk jug, you get a good, easy to see yellow, but it is not shiny. I find it actually easier to see in most instances. I proved that to myself the hard way one year. I got a bunch of nickel-plated brass to load for Camp Perry because I was tired of folks who, after the command to police brass was given, didn't look carefully and picked some of mine up. I always lost a few cases that way, and figured the nickel would make it a lot harder for someone to mistake my brass for theirs. That worked. Nobody else took mine, but I lost twice as many pieces that year as I normally did. The reason was the polished nickel reflected the color of the grass and dirt with near perfect fidelity since it didn't add any color of its own. It was like a mirror. And since the grass was taller than the cases were thick, the stuff just disappeared in it. Great camouflage. Subsequently, I've found that in grass a polished brass case is a partial mirror, while a bright yellow but slightly matte brass case stands out best. I lose the fewest of those to the range gremlins. But the color does need to be brass yellow. Brown patina bears an uncanny resemblance to the color of dirt in this part of the world. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

January 22, 2015, 10:12 PM	#26
4runnerman Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,577	Tumbeling takes none of my time other than to put it in and take it out. My brass gets thrown into tmbler when I get home from range. Sometimes it will tumble till I go to bed sometimes it will tumble for less. I guess I am in no hurry to pull it out as I have piles of brass. On the average I would say my brass tumbles at least 6 hrs or more. I shoot in wee hrs of the morning and have brass in tumbler by say noon. Will runit till 10:00 PM when I go to bed,or so. Takes no time for me to do this. Plug it in and walk away from it. After sizing I still tumble for maybe another 2 or 3 hrs after that. Again-dump it in,plug it in and walk away. It's not a shiney clean thing with me, It's just I don't need that brass back for weeks. Dump it in and go about your daily things, when it gets unplugged is when ever.

January 23, 2015, 01:51 PM	#27
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	It's cool that we as individuals have the freedom to do just about anything during our reloading process the tickles our fancy. As I noted in my first post, tumbling isn't necessary and for a new reloaders to not place a lot of importance on it. I never had a ruined die, or had/have dirty equipment (as a lifelong machinist/mechanic I know the value of keeping tools and equipment in clean working order). Inspection is just a matter of looking (some posts have said no inspection is done, just dump 'em in the tub), and spotting defects is simple. If one shoots in front of a crowd or has friends to impress, them tumble polish 'em up. If one's self image depends on shiny, new looking brass then tumble away. My main satisfaction is that 1" group from my M1 . My posts are usually aimed at the entry level reloader and meant to take some of the pressure of what many forum experts say is needed. K.I.S.S. is foremost for learning...

January 24, 2015, 12:28 AM	#29
bledsoeG19 Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2013 Posts: 135	Even though it is not necessary to tumble and have "virgin looking" brass, I still do it. Wipe off method may work for some but to me, dies are much more expensive than tumbling brass. I wont take the chance of tearing up my equipment. Also I take pride in everything I do so when it comes to reloading my rounds look better than factory. Like someone has previously said, drop the brass in plug it in and walk away. If you dont have time for that, I'm sorry about your schedule....