Cleaning brass

[Empe]

I am very new at reloading and do not yet have a case cleaner / tumbler. What I have tried though is just soaking the cases in a solution of hot water , dish soap , simple green and vinegar for 45 mins or so . I shake it all up several times while soaking then rinse with hot clean water followed by laying them out on an old towel and air dry. These are for the most part once / twice fired cases and they come out looking pretty clean .
Just how clean do they need to be ?

 

[rockquarry]

I am very new at reloading and do not yet have a case cleaner / tumbler. What I have tried though is just soaking the cases in a solution of hot water , dish soap , simple green and vinegar for 45 mins or so . I shake it all up several times while soaking then rinse with hot clean water followed by laying them out on an old towel and air dry. These are for the most part once / twice fired cases and they come out looking pretty clean .
Just how clean do they need to be ?

The brass needs to be free of dirt, debris, etc. to prevent damage to your sizing die. You can do this with a cloth. They don't need to be fastidiously clean. Soak in your solution if you wish; it will do no harm, but isn't really necessary.

 

[arjay]

Clean is nice,but not really necessary. I’ve washed them using barkeepers friend mixed with water and they are so squeaky clean they are kind of “sticky” in the resizing die.
The dust from a vibratory cleaner acts as a lubricant if you go that route.

 

[cracker57]

Washing them works just fine, be careful of how much vinegar you use as it is an acid. If I wash brass with vinegar I always add baking soda to my rinse to neutralize the vinegar.

 

[GypsmJim]

The brass needs to be free of dirt, debris, etc. to prevent damage to your sizing die.

i have been reloading for 51 years. With work and kids, never had the time to tumble or clean otherwise. Now being retired I bought all the stuff and now perfectly clean every case before reloading. My reloads now look pretty.

Nevertheless, in the past I never had a failure of any kind. I'm still using the dies I used 51 years ago with dirty cases.

Am I missing something here? Are my sizing dies about to fail?

 

[AlHunt]

i usually rinse my dirty cases with brake parts cleaner. A coffee can works. I prefer it because it dries quickly.

As above, getting the gritty stuff off is the big thing.

 

[max]

What you are doing should work fine. My guess is that you can find a cheap tumbler of some sort on EBAY or somewhere. You can really get it looking like gold if you want, just takes time.

 

[vinn]

cleaner; diesel oil is a cleaner. rinse with gasoline'

 

[2152hq]

I've been a reloaded since the early 60's. I've never had a case cleaner, tumbler, or other type of case cleaner machine.

My dies are not worn out and the ammo they make is just fine.

Maybe I don't make enough ammo to wear the dies out,,or maybe I don't use dirty brass cases to reload.

Mud caked brass certainly would need to be cleaned. But I think it's been overdone what the need is to clean brass before reloading.
The squeeky clean and perfect polished look of factory new brass is taken a bit far IMO.

Maybe I'm just too laid back. But there are too many other things to do and be concerned with than that.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

To answer your question directly, dirty is fine. As long as there are no spider nests inside, or objects blocking the flash hole, or heavy caked on dirt, you are fine.

I reloaded a lot of brass before I got my first tumbler with no ill effects. I didn't even wash them. I went from the range bucket straight to the reloading bench. Tumbling is not mandatory, though you will never go back once you try it.
Forgive me if this is a long winded post but I have some strong opinions on this topic, including some aspects I never see discussed. Once you are ready to buy a tumbler, get a good quality rotary tumbler that uses a wet cleaning solution and stainless steel pins. I say this having owned the other types. The wet tumblers aren't any more expensive than a vibratory tumbler and the process is faster once you get a system down. I would also advise you to get a universal decapping die and decap every case before tumbling. Clean primer pockets are nice but that's not why I do it and this brings us to the part no one talks about. The primary danger of lead exposure comes from the spent primers. A vibratory tumbler breaks the remaining primer compound down and concentrates the lead in the media, creating contaminated dust that can spread in the air and settle all over your work area. Decapping before tumbling reduces the lead exposure tremendously but the contamination from the cases will still concentrate in dry media.

This is my process, and it's always evolving. I decap with a universal decapping die, then I wet tumble with pins and a solution of D-Lead soap. I rinse the cases thoroughly, separate the pins out, then tumble again with brass polish and no pins. Then the cases go on an old cookie sheet that is never used for food and placed in the oven at 250* for 15-20 minutes or so. My cases come out brighter than factory new and I know that the lead exposure risk has been reduced. The entire process is actually faster than with a dry tumbler.

I am sure some geezers will chime in to say how they have been shooting/reloading/casting for 900 years and they have never had a problem with lead poisoning. Well, you just don't know that unless your lead levels have been tested every year. Lead is a cumulative poison and it is most dangerous to younger people, not so much for older people.
Now after trying to sell you on a wet rotary tumbler I will also point out how practical the ultrasonic units can be. A good one is smaller, cheaper, and faster than either a vibratory or rotary tumbler. As a bonus, you can use it for all kinds of other things like cleaning guns, car parts, etc. The single downside is that while cases come out clean, they are not shiny.
These are my opinions based on a lot of research and experimentation.

 

[pantannojack]

I been using a Thumbler's Tumbler, Auburn Wa, for over 40 years. It is a rock tumbler in a sealed can, the racket can drive some guests nuts, Sayonara.

 

[9mmPatriot]

I use a Frankford Arsenal Tumbler Lite.
I prefer clean shiny brass.


[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Leakproof-Polishing-Reloading/dp/B07KT8NQS8[/ame]

 

[DWalt]

To me, case cleaning is purely cosmetic, so long as the brass is free of dirt, inside and out. I wouldn’t waste a penny on buying a tumbler. I occasionally give my brass a bath in a citric acid solution (Lemi Shine) to make it look a little better. That works fairly well.

 

[reddog81]

Hot water works fine for cleaning brass. For cases that touch the ground (revolver cases) sometimes I don’t even bother rinsing off. The carbon fouling on a case doesn’t hurt dies.

 

[Frailer]

I use hot water with a bit of dishwashing liquid in a large plastic Folgers coffee “can.” I let it soak for a while, swirl it around a bit, rinse, and dry the brass in the sun (or in an oven on low heat if my wife’s not home).

If I reloaded in large quantities I’d probably get a tumbler for the sake of convenience, if nothing else. But I don’t, so I won’t.

 

[Tu_S]

Depending on your expectations, for pistol rounds and carbide die's, you really don't have to do anything. Over the years I don't think my dad ever cleaned any pistol caliber brass when reloading and it all worked out, where I am still using the same Lee dies he did in the 70's.

For rifle caliber case it's a little different, where cleaning is another step like trimming cases and lubing the things, but is more important because of the dies.

Personally I decap and run everything through a Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ, but also use an ultrasonic setup for the stuff I'm spending the time on when putting together target loads and not the bulk stuff on a progressive press.

Honestly not sure if it makes a difference at my skill level, but when it comes down to it, reloading is another hobby to master, where I don't mind spending the extra time and effort.

 

[TXBryan]

Cleaning cases is "mostly" cosmetic but not entirely. One of the most important things about cleaning cases is the opportunity to inspect them. It is, for the most part, easier to detect defects in clean brass than filthy. Admittedly, I am 99% German stock and that influences my approach to almost everything, but I take some pride in reloaded ammo that looks factory new. And yes, I decap before cleaning.

I still use corn cobs in a vibratory tumbler sometimes but have largely made the jump to stainless pin wet tumbling. Early on the labor seemed excessive but the more I do it the faster I get.

I echo the caution about using vinegar. Some like LemiShine (I'm one of them) and citric acid is gentler than acetic acid. Simple Green is my soap of choice. Spread out on a towel in the summer sunshine after a couple fresh water rinses usually dries brass in under an hour where I live.

Likely few wrong ways to do this but lots and lots of opinions!

 

[gwpercle]

Your cleaning method is fine ... they simply need to be mostly free of dirt , grit and grime . You are cleaning them ... so it's good .

Anything above and beyond what you are doing just makes them shine brighter ... some like "like new" brass cases but honestly it's just show .
a wash and wax job on your car doesn't make it run any better ...
simply cosmetic .

I've been doing this since 1967 and started cleaning cases just like you are doing ... since that time I've tried every cleaning method known to man , dry walnut shell , rotary tumbler with liquis , with pins with sand , kitty litter , rice ...tried em wet , tried em dry ... here is what I've discovered ... the easiest , fastest , least messy , least costly way is a nice big vibrating case polisher with Treated Walnut Shell Polishing medium ... like the media and machines sold by Midway USA .
If the cases are really dirt encrusted ... wash them off first before putting in polisher ... Tip buy a large unit , bigger is better , they need room to move around and #1 mistake is overcrowding . When cases are bright ...
you can scoop them out with large slotted spoon or dump contents into a sifter to seperate brass . They are ready to load .
I don't like any water method because seperating out the pins , filling , dumping and splashing water gets all over my bench and Drying ... now you have to buy a case dryer and get every drop of water totally removed before loading and water / pin cleaning leaves the brass subject to tarnishing ... if you want the brite case to stay brite now you have to treat each one ...
My advice ...Keep On Keepin On and save up enough money to buy a BIG vibrating case polisher along with Midway Treated Walnut Shell Polishing Media ( this stuff leaves a protectant on the case ...they stay bright )
Gary

 

[rockquarry]

Your cleaning method is fine ... they simply need to be mostly free of dirt , grit and grime . You are cleaning them ... so it's good .

Anything above and beyond what you are doing just makes them shine brighter ... some like "like new" brass cases but honestly it's just show .
a wash and wax job on your car doesn't make it run any better ...
simply cosmetic .

I've been doing this since 1967 and started cleaning cases just like you are doing ... since that time I've tried every cleaning method known to man , dry walnut shell , rotary tumbler with liquis , with pins with sand , kitty litter , rice ...tried em wet , tried em dry ... here is what I've discovered ... the easiest , fastest , least messy , least costly way is a nice big vibrating case polisher with Treated Walnut Shell Polishing medium ... like the media and machines sold by Midway USA .
If the cases are really dirt encrusted ... wash them off first before putting in polisher ... Tip buy a large unit , bigger is better , they need room to move around and #1 mistake is overcrowding . When cases are bright ...
you can scoop them out with large slotted spoon or dump contents into a sifter to seperate brass . They are ready to load .
I don't like any water method because seperating out the pins , filling , dumping and splashing water gets all over my bench and Drying ... now you have to buy a case dryer and get every drop of water totally removed before loading and water / pin cleaning leaves the brass subject to tarnishing ... if you want the brite case to stay brite now you have to treat each one ...
My advice ...Keep On Keepin On and save up enough money to buy a BIG vibrating case polisher along with Midway Treated Walnut Shell Polishing Media ( this stuff leaves a protectant on the case ...they stay bright )
Gary

Good post.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

I will 2nd the comments by Paul in Nevada vis-a-vis lead exposure and the use of dedicated decapping dies. My dies, for the most part, look almost unused...

But, I also clean all my guns upon returning from the range UNLESS I plan to go back within a short while to shoot the same ones: my guns typically look almost new, even the ones I've been shooting regularly for years.

The other point about the multiple opportunities to inspect the brass is also very relevant, IMHO. Only have ever had one case failure that I probably could have avoided: somehow an old Winchester 45acp got in with what should have only been twice-fired cases.

And, as Mom also always used to say, "Cleanliness is Next to Godliness!"

CHEERS!

P.S. Since I'm 75% German (& 25% Black Irish) I do have to wonder what TXBryan's OTHER 1% is...?