Just getting started in reloading ...in fact my reloading equipment is just on it's way . Didn't want to spend a whole lot of $$ from the outset and was wondering about different ways to clean the brass without the dry/wet/ultrasonic cleaners .
I have cleaned about 1000 cases of .38 & .45 brass using a solution of hot water ,white vinegar , Simple Green cleaner & dish soap . Mixed it all together along with the brass & let it sit for about 30 -45 mins in a plastic container . Stirring and shaking it up from time to time. I rinsed it all off real well with more hot water & let it air dry overnight on a towel.
The brass comes out clean looking & pretty shiny .
Just how clean does the brass need to be ? ...any reason this method should not be used ?

Your method is inexpensive but time consuming. If you’re ok with it that’s fine and I see no reason to change it. I personally never did that. I use a Lyman Tumbler and ground walnut shells which I get a giant box from Northern Tool For cheap and it lasts forever. I add a bit of New Finish Polish and brass comes out clean and shiny.

You don't need a tumbler, but they are nice to have. Someday, when you can afford it, get an inexpensive dry one. Use ground corncobs and a bit of liquid auto polish. You might find a used one at a garage sale. My first one was a rock tumbler I bought for $5 at a garage sale.

Should work it's best to remove the primers first, as long as the brass is clean enough to not scratch up the dies. I'd check the cases for moisture after you remove the primers if you didn't before cleaning with water.

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How clean does the brass need to be? Depends on what you want to accomplish. At the bare minimum, you want to remove as much grit and debris from the brass as you can to prevent it from getting into your dies. Your method will accomplish that and should work well to get started. If you want nice clean shiny cases and loaded ammo, a tumbler or ultra-sonic cleaner is the next step up.

I’ve only been reloading for 7 years and my methods have changed. Put some money into it but what else am I gonna ask for for Father’s Day, birthday, or Christmas?

I started with dry tumbling and it works very well. But it doesn’t clean the insides or primer pockets as well as I’d like, so here’s my new routine:

When I come back from range with my brass to clean I wet tumble without pins. Primers are still in and not resized. This gets the dirt off before they touch my dies. Also don’t have to deal with separation of pins.

After they dry I lube the cases in the batch and resize and deprime, followed by expanding the cases.

When there’s enough for a true wet tumble I tumble the big batch with pins. Insides and primer pockets are now clean When they’re dry I give them a quick dry tumble Only reason for that is the wet tumble gets them so clean that they sometimes get hung up in the seating and crimping dies The dry tumble polishes them and makes them slick.

It seems like a lot but the machines are doing all the work and it’s not like I’m standing there when they tumble. I set the tumbler and walk away.

Sparkling brass is like chrome on a Harley, form over function! Highly polished brass doesn't shoot any better that really clean brass.

Your method will work fine until you start cleaning 1-2K at a time. I used to clean brass several times a year running a couple of Lyman vibratory cleaners with walnut and polish. Usually at least a 5 gallon bucket of brass. These days more like once a year since I'm down to shooting 2-300 rounds a month and no longer "runnin' and gunnin"!

It sucks to get old....'s

If you are using carbide sizing dies you method is very good. If you use high speed steel dies (normal dies) The cases will need a lubed, depending on the lube used, it can mix with the powder fouling and make a paste that stains any cloth or porous surface.

You may find only cleaning every other or every third time works best for you. Powder fouling is a carbon compound and works like a graphite lubricant. It just looks funky, that is all.

Mud and dog poop from range pick-up brass, is a different story and the method you used sounds fine for that too.

In my ammo for my 1000 yard rifles and varmint rifles, I like the stainless pins and soapy liquid method with. With depriming and sizing first the brass appears brand new! It has never been scientifically proven this makes the ammo shoot better, but psychologically, you know you did every thing possible to have the most accurate ammo, and that will make you shoot better!

Confidence in your ammo is a huge factor in better shooting! My father-in-law loaded all the ammo the Police department in Columbus, Ohio used for almost 30 years. He had won two world championships in police practical combat shooting. At the lunch break, on the second day of 38 Special revolver training, he would tell them this was the same ammo he trained and competed with. He had 37 cadet classes of statistics that proved that the cadet scores improved after that announcement! (He would also give a demonstration of accurate shooting with a cadet's revolver and a handful of ammo from the same bucket they were using!)

Ivan

I just make up a solution of about two tablespoons/gallon of Citric Acid, with a shot of dishwashing detergent. I buy Citric Acid in bulk, but many supermarkets sell a product called Lemi-Shine for use in dishwashers. It is just Citric Acid with an anti-caking agent added. You can reuse the solution several times without diminished capability.

Just how clean does the brass need to be ? [/QUOTE]

It needs to be clean enough that the sizing die isn't scratched from grit or dirt that may be on the brass. Any cleaning beyond that has cosmetic value only.

I separate my brass at the range, usually shooting all I have of one caliber, then sweeping them up and bagging them. I dump them in my gallon size plastic dollar tree containers by caliber and when I get a full one, I run them through the wet tumbler without pins in hot water, a little dawn detergent, and a half teaspoon of Lemishine. That gets enough crud off to deprime and resize without damaging the dies. After depriming, I run them through the wet tumbler with pins this time and clean hot water, dawn, and Lemishine mixture for three hours, which is the max setting on my Lyman tumbler. When done, I rinse them well, separating as many pins as I can and spread them on an old towel and put them out in the sun for a few hours. I’ll mix them around a bit every couple of hours to help them dry. I usually let them sit in an open pan in my garage for a few days before I reprime to make sure they’re really dry. I reprime the clean cases with a hand primer and store them. That way I have several thousand primed cases ready to reload with whatever powder charge and bullet I want to use.

I like clean brass

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

My method is quite similar, except I deprime first with a universal depriming die, and then I dry them in the oven in the kitchen at the lowest temp setting.

The oven can hold 6 metal trays, and I separate by caliber.

That's clean enough. My usual method is to simply put my cases in a coffee can and hose them down with brake parts cleaner. I can pour the cleaner from can to can to do multiple cans.

Have fun with your new hobby.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Almost my exact method. I did recently get a brass dryer instead of laying them out in a towel like I used to. After I de-prime I expand them so when they come out of the wet dry with pins and brass dryer I can hand prime and put them in bins ready to be loaded when the mood strikes. I’m on a .380 kick now. Moving on to .38 Special after that. I’m seriously low on those calibers.

I like clean brass too. Tumblers do all the work so it doesn’t really bother me. And there is something about taking range pick up brass that looks filthy and returning it to like new.

I just tumble mine in corn cob with a little nufinish car polish in it. They come out looking like brandnew!! my vibratory cleaner came with a tumbler to remove all the corn com also. only cost about $30 or so

I decap first, then wash in hot water, citric acid, dishwashing liquid,and vinegar. ( decapping first lets them dry quicker) Rinse with clean water and put in the sun to dry. The shells come out clean, and somewhat shinny. After all, they will just get dirty again when you shoot them.

I’ve tried using a little vinegar in my final tumble thinking it would make them even shinier. Instead, they had sort of a burnished brass appearance. I don’t know if it was a reaction of the acetic and citric acid mixing or what, but I stopped doing it.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

I like my brass clean enough to see any cracks or other flaws emerging....

Randy

Unless brass is very dirty (such as being retrieved from a mud hole) any flaws, cracks, potential case head separations, etc. should be readily visible even before cleaning.

I send my brass to the CDC to be sterilized hospital clean, just to be safe. But they're kind of busy right now, so I've had to resort to my little rock tumbler and lizard bedding.

Yeah, but it’s a lot easier to see when the brass is shiny clean. Especially for us old(er) farts who don’t have 20/20 any longer. Inspection time is cut way down for me and any imperfection is much more readily apparent with shiny brass. Especially with .357 mag because of the slender and deep casing. Priming is so much easier as well when your primer pockets are clean.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

[QUOTE=tlawler;140812696]Yeah, but it’s a lot easier to see when the brass is shiny clean. Especially for us old(er) farts who don’t have 20/20 any longer.

You bring up a good point, one that I hadn't really thought about...

Stains on the case are nothing, but if it's not IN the metal and is crud ON the case, it needs to be removed.

I did it the same way you do for a long time until I broke down and bought a vibrating cleaner for about $60. I understand though. I have to reload on the cheap and it took me years get the vibrator high up on the priority list enough to buy it.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I no longer bother to clean most straight wall pistol and revolver brass. I don't use range pickup brass so the cases don't get gritty. The exception is after shooting lubricated bullets. Jacketed, plated and coated bullets don't leave grit attracting residue. Minor ash deposits from primers and inside the cases doesn't harm anything.

I appreciate all the responses...thank you !

By a gallon of the concentrate HVAC guys clean AC coils with. Best I’ve found for deep clean, not shine. Birchwood Casey sells case cleaner in concentrate form too.

First thing I do when I get home from the range is de-prime everything. I just use a dedicated de-priming die. This keeps all the crud from getting in my dies. Then I wet tumble with stainless steel media, a touch of dish soap and a tiny bit of lemon brite (I think is the name). This gets them literally sparkling inside and out as well as the primer pockets. They come out looking like jewels. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner, but it doesn't even come close to wet tumbling. This pic is from tumbling for 1 1/2 hours.

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