Cleaning brass

INGunGuy · December 5, 2008, 10:55 AM

I am curious, but does tumbling brass clean the inside of the brass also? I have noticed that when I reload my .40 S/W the gun get's really filthy shooting second and third loads. I dont clean my cases other than a wipedown. Maybe I should do something more, I am not looking for NEW looking cases, just clean, and really cleaning inside.

Thanks,

INGunGuy

AF_Reloader · December 5, 2008, 11:04 AM

In my (humble) experience, using finer media like ground corn cob gets the inside as well, at least good enough for government work.

Of course, I love the look and smell of bright, newly cleaned and polished brass, although my wife says I've been sniffing too much case lube.

INGunGuy · December 5, 2008, 11:35 AM

I was going to mount a case brush to my drill press, and then run each case up the spinning brush, this works good, the problem is that the brush doesnt go far enough down the case because of the tip of the brush bottoms out. Do they have a brush that has bristles all the way to the bottom?

Thanks,

INGunGuy

AF_Reloader · December 5, 2008, 11:45 AM

I'm not sure, since here's my only experience with running a brush inside casings (quoted from Handloader #208):

"Most folks lube the inside of the case necked to ease the passage of the expander ball. Instead I...clean fired necks with a brass bore brush mounted in a drill motor. Five seconds generally does the job."

I've never bothered looking at the inside of my .270 casings, since the neck is decent sized, but now I'm curious to see what the inside of my .22-250 casings look like, since there isn't much room for tumbler media to get inside.

EDIT: Just re-read your first post. You're reloading handgun ammo (forgot about that), and I happen to have tumbled some .40 S&W recently, and the insides are pretty clean. As far as a brush, you could try that brass bore brush idea, but I've only used that to clean necks on rifle cases.

MADISON · December 5, 2008, 12:33 PM

It sounds like you need a TUMBLER!
Any tumbler is only as good as the motor driving it. I would get one locally, so I can take it back to the dealer.
WALNUT HULLS and corn cob media is what is used, along with a cap of "New Finish" car polish.
While corn cob media may work better it also gets dirty and un-usable twice as fast.

brickeyee · December 5, 2008, 04:27 PM

They work fine even when the inside is not shiny.

zxcvbob · December 5, 2008, 04:41 PM

It does an OK job of cleaning the insides. Doesn't polish the insides very well, but that doesn't matter.

I just bought a 50+ pound bag of 14/20 grit corncob media at Grainger's for $25. It's a discontinued item. It's a lot finer than the stuff I have been using; should do a better job. Not sure if I need to add some polishing compound or not -- Turtle Wax chrome polish, or some Barkeeper's Friend, or maybe just a big handful of that messy Lyman Tuffnut red walnut media. (The chrome polish and the Tuffnut work pretty good for charging the too-course corncob media I was using. I haven't tried BK's Friend yet, but its oxalic acid and very fine abrasive should do a great job on really nasty brass)

December 5, 2008, 10:55 AM	#1
INGunGuy Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2008 Location: Jeffersonville, Indiana Posts: 142	Cleaning brass I am curious, but does tumbling brass clean the inside of the brass also? I have noticed that when I reload my .40 S/W the gun get's really filthy shooting second and third loads. I dont clean my cases other than a wipedown. Maybe I should do something more, I am not looking for NEW looking cases, just clean, and really cleaning inside. Thanks, INGunGuy __________________ Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.

December 5, 2008, 11:35 AM	#3
INGunGuy Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2008 Location: Jeffersonville, Indiana Posts: 142	Case Brush I was going to mount a case brush to my drill press, and then run each case up the spinning brush, this works good, the problem is that the brush doesnt go far enough down the case because of the tip of the brush bottoms out. Do they have a brush that has bristles all the way to the bottom? Thanks, INGunGuy __________________ Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.

December 5, 2008, 11:45 AM	#4
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	I'm not sure, since here's my only experience with running a brush inside casings (quoted from Handloader #208): "Most folks lube the inside of the case necked to ease the passage of the expander ball. Instead I...clean fired necks with a brass bore brush mounted in a drill motor. Five seconds generally does the job." I've never bothered looking at the inside of my .270 casings, since the neck is decent sized, but now I'm curious to see what the inside of my .22-250 casings look like, since there isn't much room for tumbler media to get inside. EDIT: Just re-read your first post. You're reloading handgun ammo (forgot about that), and I happen to have tumbled some .40 S&W recently, and the insides are pretty clean. As far as a brush, you could try that brass bore brush idea, but I've only used that to clean necks on rifle cases. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

December 5, 2008, 12:33 PM	#5
MADISON Senior Member Join Date: January 1, 2000 Location: Roanoke, Virginia Posts: 2,678	Cleaning Cases? It sounds like you need a TUMBLER! Any tumbler is only as good as the motor driving it. I would get one locally, so I can take it back to the dealer. WALNUT HULLS and corn cob media is what is used, along with a cap of "New Finish" car polish. While corn cob media may work better it also gets dirty and un-usable twice as fast.

December 5, 2008, 04:41 PM	#7
zxcvbob Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2007 Location: S.E. Minnesota Posts: 4,720	It does an OK job of cleaning the insides. Doesn't polish the insides very well, but that doesn't matter. I just bought a 50+ pound bag of 14/20 grit corncob media at Grainger's for $25. It's a discontinued item. It's a lot finer than the stuff I have been using; should do a better job. Not sure if I need to add some polishing compound or not -- Turtle Wax chrome polish, or some Barkeeper's Friend, or maybe just a big handful of that messy Lyman Tuffnut red walnut media. (The chrome polish and the Tuffnut work pretty good for charging the too-course corncob media I was using. I haven't tried BK's Friend yet, but its oxalic acid and very fine abrasive should do a great job on really nasty brass) __________________ "Everything they do is so dramatic and flamboyant. It just makes me want to set myself on fire!" —Lucille Bluth

December 5, 2008, 11:04 AM	#2
AF_Reloader Member Join Date: February 18, 2008 Location: Beale AFB, CA Posts: 73	In my (humble) experience, using finer media like ground corn cob gets the inside as well, at least good enough for government work. Of course, I love the look and smell of bright, newly cleaned and polished brass, although my wife says I've been sniffing too much case lube. __________________ My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right. "...that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, —Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

December 5, 2008, 04:27 PM	#6
brickeyee Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2004 Posts: 3,351	They work fine even when the inside is not shiny.