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Old November 8, 2012, 11:03 PM   #1
brigond
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Cleaning Brass

While searching methods of cleaning brass i came across a YouTube video . The video showed an alternative method of cleaning brass. They used a recipe of water ,salt, vinegar and dish washing liquid . Of course, there was a string of comments on how bad this could be to the brass. Other comments disagreed with this . It turned into chemistry class. I remember mixing salt and vinegar as a kid and cleaning pennies with it. When I ran into another video of the guy from Midway using a similar recipe to clean antique brass I decided to give it a go. I only used a fraction of the salt and vinegar suggested. I also added the dish soap. It took me 15 minutes and the cost of a dash of salt and a splash of vinegar to get about 700 cases looking really good. I dried them off with an old towel and layed them in the sun on a towel. Of course this doesn't compare to a tumbler but it removed all the grit and shined them up pretty good. I did make sure to rinse them really well. Imo as long as the cases are clean they don't need to have that factory super shine. I think it would be interesting to see what the folks here have to say. Would you try this? I did, and Im gonna do it again and again.
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Old November 8, 2012, 11:19 PM   #2
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interesting to see what the folks here have to say. Would you try this?
This method, or variations of this method have come up a few times, and it's not uncommon. I've seen where some prefer to place the cases in a solution of baking soda and water to neutralize the acid prior to a final rinse, but other than that... I don't see any issues.

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Old November 8, 2012, 11:45 PM   #3
loademwell
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Wow.. whats the recipe for the chem... I went to walmart and bought Braso or something like that... Comes in a square can. Been using that but I KNOW that it eats away on stuff if you don't get it all off. And I don't clean the inside. I would love to give this a try.....
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Old November 9, 2012, 06:59 AM   #4
stev32k
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I'm using a wet tumbler with stainless steel pins. I de-prime before cleaning and the brass comes out looking like brand new inside and out including the primer pocket and flash hole. Here's a batch of 250 9mm cases after 4 hours in the tumbler.
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Old November 9, 2012, 07:43 AM   #5
hounddawg
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I just use water, dish washing detergent and a splash of vinegar. I use a old stainless bowl and some lukewarm water and let them sit for about 5 minutes then give them a good rinse. I used to dry tumble using a rig which I would chuck up in the lathe but when I sold the lathe tried this before spending money on a new tumbler or ultrasonic and it worked well enough so I kept on using it.

My only issue was the drying which would occur with any "wet" method so I built a case dryer using parts from a hardware store. Before that I would dry them in the sun or on a table in garage. If you use a wet method make sure that you deprime then let the primer holes dry out before re priming becasue sometimes a drop of water will remain in there.The case dryer parts ran me about 50 bucks so no money was really saved over buying a dry vibrator style tumbler but it sure a lot quieter and faster than dry tumbling.

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Old November 9, 2012, 09:08 AM   #6
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I use vinegar & salt on really dirty stuff. I allow it to soak for a few hours, rinse with hot water & into the oven at 120-150 till dry. From there I it goes in the corn cob if I want a real shine.



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Old November 9, 2012, 09:16 AM   #7
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next batch I might try adding the salt, was curious as to what it would do and found this


The salt will dissolve in the vinegar, which is mostly water. However, a chemical reaction will also occur with the vinegar's acetic acid (CH3COOH) and the ions of sodium and chlorine from the salt, producing sodium acetate and a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid.

If you place a tarnished copper cent in vinegar, some of the tarnish will dissolve. However, if you then add salt, the hydrochloric acid formed will rapidly remove the tarnish from the coin, leaving bare metal. (Not recommended on valuable coins)
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Old November 9, 2012, 11:03 AM   #8
243winxb
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google - dezincification
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Old November 9, 2012, 11:18 AM   #9
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I reserve wet chemistry for BP cartridges. Everything else goes in the tumbler with some walnut for an hour.
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Old November 9, 2012, 12:16 PM   #10
Exibar
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If you use the salt and vinegar method, always neutralize the vinegar with baking soda and water after... this will ensure that the acid from the vinegar won't still be eating away at your brass....

the last thing you want is to come back to your reloads a year later and see they're all eaten through because of the vinegar :-(


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Old November 9, 2012, 01:26 PM   #11
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I have discovered a couple of things that really work for me. I use corn cob media in my tumbler. I add a half a bottle cap of NuFinish (car polish) and I put (torn in 2) old dryer fabric sheet in the tumbler. The NuFinish makes the brass shine and the dryer sheet absorbs the crud. I have been using the same corn cob media for over a year now and have probably tumbled thousands of rounds in the same media. Works great. If you really want the brass to shine, run the tumbler overnight. The longer it runs, the shiner the brass gets. I replace the dryer sheet after each tumble and we generate enough of them at the house to keep ahead of my tumbling demand.
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Old November 11, 2012, 04:50 PM   #12
hounddawg
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Quote:
243winxb

google - dezincification
Slightly acid water that is low in salt and about room temperature may also facilitate leaching of zinc.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-dezincification.htm

interesting, looks like the salt has a added benefit. Not that I leave my cases (2 - 3 min) in my vinegar/soap solution long enough to really do any damage. Brass that had the zinc leeched out will appear a dull redish. If any of you ever see a case that has a copper looking streak in it, toss it becasue corrosion has already destroyed the zinc. Ammonia is really bad for brass which why you should never clean brass with any solution containing ammonia such as Brasso or a window cleaner
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Old November 11, 2012, 05:24 PM   #13
tkglazie
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r0sewood View Post
I have discovered a couple of things that really work for me. I use corn cob media in my tumbler. I add a half a bottle cap of NuFinish (car polish) and I put (torn in 2) old dryer fabric sheet in the tumbler. The NuFinish makes the brass shine and the dryer sheet absorbs the crud. I have been using the same corn cob media for over a year now and have probably tumbled thousands of rounds in the same media. Works great. If you really want the brass to shine, run the tumbler overnight. The longer it runs, the shiner the brass gets. I replace the dryer sheet after each tumble and we generate enough of them at the house to keep ahead of my tumbling demand.
same here, except I use 50-50 cob/walnut (lizard bedding). the dryer sheets help extend the life of the media to infinity. I just add a little of each type every few months to replace spillage and its good to go. I cut my sheets into strips but its good to hear half sheets work also.
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Old November 11, 2012, 06:14 PM   #14
4runnerman
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Before i got my tumbler I used to mix water,vinager,and a tablespoon of baking soda. Soak for 3 min's stir a little soak for 5 min's,Rinse and dry. Got the cases very clean inside and out,but was more work than dumping in tumbler and walking away from it for 4 hrs or so
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