Hi, I've looked and seen online a lot of different cleaners, even homemade ones, and I was wondering what people here like to use.

Thanks
Bob

...which contains crushed untreated walnut particles. You'll need a screen, which fits over the center stem, to separate the cases from the walnut.

When cleaning black powder fouled cases, I used a rock tumbler ("Thumler Tumbler") with ceramic particles, & a low suds liquid cleaning agent. Makes the brass look like factory new, but is very labor intensive compared to a vibrating tumbler.

Best Wishes in your choice, Hank M.

Youtube has many videos on Cleaning brass. There is no rule on how clean brass must be. Some people don't clean it at all. Very bright and shiny like factory new does not last long.

I've tried just about every method there is over my 45 years of loading and a wet tumbler cleans brass better then any method I've used.
Clean inside and out, even the primer pockets get sparkling clean.

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SWHF #595

I use an old Thumblers Tumbler and lizard cage bedding (crushed walnut). Gets cases as clean as I need them to be.

I've tried them all over the last 50 years .
Wet tumbling is effective but I didn't care for the water mess and the need for complete drying ...just time consuming ...So I'm back with Treated Walnut Shell media from Midway , a big vibrating bowl type case tumbler w/ top and a big plastic colander (strainer) to separate cases out .
I also have a rotary Thumbler's Tumbler but the vibrating unit is faster , easier to use and the clear top lets you keep an eye on the brass without stopping and undoing several wing nuts to get the top off .

I tend to take the easy way to do things ...some like to do things the hard way ... they both work ...So...
You pays your money and you take your choice !
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I have used a vibrating tumbler for 40 years with ground corn cobs.

I began using corn cob media about 1980, and I still use it, along with a little brass brightener. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but putting my range brass in a tumbler and forgetting it for a few hours and it's ready to reload is awfully easy and not much mess or bother.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Wet tumble, no pins. I use a very small bit of Lemi-Shine, a small amount of dishwashing soap and hot water. Works well for me, but I am not doing precision rifle loads, just handgun loads for the range.

I also have tried various methods since the 70's. I have found the brass does not need to be super shiny, just clean. I also like easy and cheap. For the last 20 or so years a vibratory tumbler with ground corn cob and a tablespoon of car polishing compound every 3 or 4 batches.

I use a rock polishing tumbler with water and stainless steel pins with Lemi-shine, which is basically citric acid.
After 2 hours the brass is very clean, then I put it in the sun to air dry, then sift the ss pins from the brass in a sieve.

There are dozens of ways to effectively and safely clean brass for reloading. When I started 30+ years ago, I bought a Lyman Turbo 1200 vibratory cleaner. It still works, I guess it will at some point wear out. I always used crushed corn cob. Add in a little liquid metal polish and the brass comes out clean and shines almost like new. A used clothes dryer fabric softener sheet can also be added and it will trap a lot of dust.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Some clean with the primer in or out.......
however I like to remove the primer but then it also adds the step to check the primer hole to make sure it is not plugged with an object, before adding a new primer.

I am a corn or walnut man with my equipment, for now.
I don't need them "Brand new" like the wet style , that some use.

Need to add that getting brass "perfectly clean" will cause the brass to stick in sizers, leading to using case lube, even with carbide dies.
Guns and ammo do not have to be surgically clean, and a little residual polish from the media on brass is a good thing.

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Science plus Art

Ya might want to change that media.

I use a Lyman and a Dillon vibrating unit with walnut media in the Lyman and corn cobb in the dillon. I put three tablespoons of Brasso in the Lyman and four tablespoons of Nu Finish in the Dillon. Also have a thumblers Tumbler with walnut and Nu Finish for those I want to really shine.

I started another thread about changing your media.

Thanks everyone for all this info.

I have the baby Lyman Turbo 600.
Don't think they are made any more but it is still going strong after 35 years.
Just big enough for 50 cases which is my standard loading project.
I use the walnut shell with rouge powder media and every load add a few drops of Flitz tumbler media additive.
That keeps the dust down and brightens things up even more.
I throw away the media roughly every ten or so loads.
Don't really keep track but when I can see it getting blacker, it's time to go.
I got the replacement bowl and screen for the 1200 to decant the job into and separate the brass.
Good luck and have fun with whatever you choose.
Handloading offers so many variables to play with you can be occupied for life.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

I use a 5 gallon bucket, add a gallon of water, tablespoon of citric acid, a squirt of dawn dish washing liquid, and a cup of white vinegar. Swish it around a bit, rinse with fresh water, let dry in the sun....cheap, and quick.

Well these days I use a Lyman sonic cleaner and my own concoction for fluid. Includes orange Kool-Aid, (no sugar) some Dawn and metal cleaner from Hornady or Lyman. I clean everything when returning from the range which usually doesnt amount to more than a few boxes. Takes maybe 10 minutes per box, AFTER decapping then into my Lyman dryer. Can do 5 different boxes at a time. Just turn it on for a bit then find something else to do-- there;s always something. Then each box gets a polish and finally loaded when needed. Yes, I take special care with my brass because I can.

I use a Hornady sonic cleaner, with a glug of their solution in warm water. Gets 95% of the brass as clean as I need it. If they’re older and quite tarnished, I’ll run them in the vibrating polisher with crushed walnut, but will first add a bit of brass cleaner to my hands and make sure I rub a little on all the cases... primers in.

^This recipe is a good one for wet tumbling. Exactly what I use, except I throw in a tide pod as well. The vinegar and citric acid gets the pH down to about 3, which helps get the brass really clean. I use a wet tumbler with stainless steel pins. Two hours gets them sparkling like new. Here's a batch I just did yesterday.

Attached Images

IMG_3788.jpg (126.5 KB, 39 views)

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What could possibly go wrong?

LOL!
What next, change my socks too?

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

After my first two RCBS vibratory units died, I purchased two of the cheapest replacements I could find at the time.

One Frankford Arsenal and a Lyman 1200. I used corncob media with F/A cleaning additive in both. They have far outlived the much more costly green ones.

One I use for the tougher jobs, range pickups, etc.

The other I use mostly for post sizing lube removal (mink oil) and "Bar-B-Que Brass." (The shiny stuff I carry on my gunbelt.)

My brass is cleaned according to application.

Bolt action stuff I many times use a quick twist in 0000 steel wool to clean the neck and shoulder area, then brush the neck before collett neck sizing.

I do clean primer pockets in a separate step using an RCBS Trim Mate Case Prep Center.

If I'm in a hurry, I don't need to be handloading!

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter

Warm water, salt, lemon juice or vinegar, and Dawn. Cleans that brass up right now!

I quit tumbling because of the toxic dust generated. The process listed above happens in our utility sink in the basement.

I clean my brass way before it'd be needed; so I do wet tumble with SS pins (sometimes brass from outdoor range is really filthy) and after drying I run it through vibratory tumbler for polishing, because after wet tumbling it's so squeaky clean that it keeps sticking to powder through die

A colander is handy. I finally broke down and got a vibrator tumbler.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I no longer clean any brass. To much trouble and time involved. Plus deciding what method to use just took the joy out of it,


I just buy new brass every time I want to load something.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I dry tumble with 50/50 walnut & cob, but there is a quck & dirty wet solution.
Mix up 1/2tsp lemishine with gal of water, couple drops of dish so. Soak a terry towel & wring it out so it is still wet but not dripping. Dump the brass in & roll it around for 2-3m. Rinse the same way witn a wet towel & water only. Dries In minutes & no decapping required.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Vibratory cleaner and crushed walnut.

Home Depot has bulk cheaper than most sources. I ordered course and I am happy.

For me there is a huge difference between cleaning brass and polishing brass. I have tried it all and found that all I need is clean smooth brass and not mirror polished brass. I have settled on crushed walnut and an occasional dose of Brasso. How does my black powder brass turn out? Squeaky clean and smooth and discolored, but what does that really matter? I change out my walnut media once and twice a year.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

You know Rule3 has brown eyes. He is way too frugal to buy new brass.

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S&WHF 366

OMG.
A Rebel you are!


Brasso? Someone will comment is has 5-10 % of ammonia in it! Some Oxalic acid (Bar Keepers Friend) and alcohol.


Your brass will dissolve.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Long long ago in a different decade I made a quantity of polished, surgically clean .44 magnum brass, it don't stay that way! I was very careful to do all the 'magical' case prep recommended by our case cleaning / reloading perfectionists.

Today's results are truly a spectacle to behold. Dull grey heavily oxidized cast lead bullets, brown brass that looks like it was frosted with dark brown mustard, and the accuracy is just what you would expect from a worn out 72 year old shooter -- a really tight pattern at 25 yards that any shotgunner would be proud of on a trap field. On the bright side, I had 17 out of 18 shots on a 25 yard replacement bullseye center target. It would have been 18 causalities.

My next action is to find a milder load so the right wrist and shoulder (torn rotator cuff surgery) can endure 100 rounds instead of 50. The really bad news is that because of greed (never say NO to brass) and two great Forum sale purchases, I have over 2,000 rounds of robust 44 mag ammo, and a 8-3/8", 7-1/2", 6" (2) and 5" revolvers to shoot them.

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S&WHF 366

I have found that "surgically clean" brass can stick and gall in the sizing dies, (almost all of mine are carbide)
leaving metal that will scratch later rounds.
These dies then need to be cleaned with bat-drill, jag, patch, and some bore compound like JB.
Not a bad idea to do annually or so anyway.
Leaving the rouge powder from vibe-cleaning on the brass and any other substances in there helps lube the cases,
especially if you doing a no-lube pass in carbide dies.
Even just rubbing them with your fingers puts enough oil on to make a huge difference.
It doesn't take much.
With nickel plated cases I do squirt a very small amount of case lube on the brass before using carbide dies.

As far as a milder 44 mag load, try anywhere from 6-7.5 grains of Universal or 6.5-8 grains of Unique with your 240 bullets.
These should all be sub-sonic and way easier on the bod.
I have osteoarthritis in my hands and wrists and have gone to the 44 special as a result.
Those loads above are special to special+p level.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

I too have been considering a change. I use corn cob for a higher gloss or pet sand for a more dull look in my turbo 1200. I just hate the dusty mess though. I wear a mask and flipping the thing upside down and dumping out the media is a royal pain.

Just this week I tried some Lemi and dawn in a tall sealed container. I threw some 223, 357's in there with the hot water and shook them a while and let them sit a while. They look pretty good. I also have some 9's I had just finished running through my turbo so they were "clean" and I wanted to see how much more junk I could get out of them. I did two different batches. The first I did the shake and bake and they looked good. Then I have a few I did the same and set the container down to go do something else and came back a few hours later and dumped them out and wow could I see the difference. They were very shiny.

This is much easier and cleaner than the turbo and the media so I think I am going to give it a go. I just hate the media getting stuck in every little nook and cranny and the dust!

SS pins, lemi-shine. Looks newer than new.

My new corncob is not dusty now. If it gets that way, add some car polish.

Have not disolved any brass so far. Actually I squirt some on the walnut media after I run a batch of brass. It usually sits for at least a week, so it is dry and guessing no ammonia is left.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

I have pretty much settled on vibratory tumblers with walnut media. I get the media at Harbor Freight, probably the only thing they sell that is made in America. All of the vibratory tumblers are essentially the same. They use a c-frame motor with an off center weight on the shaft to give it the vibration. While it produces the desired effect, this is rough on the motor bearings. Imagine the crankshaft on your car without any counterweights. Not going to last long. I liked the old Hornady M-1 tumbler. You could pull the motors and oil the bearings when they got a little noisy + they had good air flow to the motors. The new M-2 tumblers are junk. I currently use a big RCBS tumbler and a Lyman 1200. The RCBS was replaced under warranty when the motor died after 18 months. Thankfully they have a two year warranty and RCBS has great customer service. While the Lyman does not clean as well as the big green one, I have had no issues with it. Another thing that kills these tumblers is that people overload them. If you want nicely polished brass, put a little Dico red jewelers rouge in with your media...........that’s all I gotta say about brass tumblers.........tdan

Correction to previous post. The older Hornady tumblers were the M-2’s. For some reason Hornady calls the latest version the M-1. The current version is the one that wouldn’t go a year for me. Same for the replacement sent to me under warranty.