When I started cleaning brass, I went through a lot of media and wasn't getting the results I wanted, quick enough. The media was getting so dirty, so quick.
Well, here's my recipe for my brass cleaning. And it's cheap too.
I wash my brass in a 5 gal. bucket. I don't count it out, I just put about 3-5 inches of brass in a bucket, cover it with hot water. I add a dollop of "Dawn" dish soap and about a heavy splash of concentrated "lemon juice" maybe 1/4-1/2 cup, depending on how much brass. I buy the lemon juice concentrate for a couple bucks for a large bottle. I give the brass a couple of stirs with a long screwdriver. In less than 5-10 minutes the brass is clean and bright! For some reloader's..they're done with cleaning at this point. I rinse the brass in hot water using a large sieve. I even save the mixture for a couple more rounds. But it's so cheap to put together, I redo it to get the hot water again.
After rinsing well in hot water, I lay out the brass on large heavy towels, laying the brass flat to dry them off. If it's sunny, I'll lay them in the sun to dry while doing other things.
If there's any small amount of moisture remaining, the media absorbs it.
The cleaning mixture removes all the carbon and dirt. (the brass smells good too
) The tumbling process is shorter and cleaner. The corncob media w/polish gives the brass a smooth glossy shine like new brass.
In my experience the walnut shell media seems to be more course and won't shine like the corncob does. The media lasts so much longer by not having to deal with all the dirty brass to begin with. For me, this process cleans and polishes the brass better and faster.
Check out some .40 S&W I've done. Look inside the cases to see how clean they are. (sorry for the double attachment, I couldn't remove it)
Ready for the tumbler!
