This is NOT a clean or don't clean brass thread.

[SteveOak]

Not looking for a discussion of whether or not brass should be cleaned. There are already an abundance of threads covering that topic. I am truly not looking to stir the pot here. I can't claim that I never do or never would but this time I am not.

This is a question for those that do a krazy cloth or Ballistrol exterior only or similar process.

I have seen posts of people that have an exterior only process that said that after a while they get carbon flaking from the inside of the case. It would seem that if only the exterior of the case was cleaned that carbon would accumulate inside the case and eventually said flaking would occur.

Has this occurred for you?

At what point, if ever, would this become a concern or a problem?

Please make any other comments on your experience or thoughts with an external only cleaning process.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

I wipe the outside of the case necks with NevrDull and make one pass on the inside of the neck with a worn nylon bore brush. None of my brass has seen the inside of a tumbler in this century. Seems to work OK.

 

[BenPerfected]

Maybe the level of reasonable brass cleanliness isn’t important to accuracy.....
Ben

 

[jimmymac]

I tumble mine between relays.

 

[dcali]

I don't think I've ever seen carbon flake off the inside. They've all just turned black and stayed that way. Maybe that's powder dependent. I used to just wipe down the outside of the case with a rag, but it doesn't work very well and if you're going to spend more effort than that, you might as well clean them properly. I agree with the above posts that cleanliness has nothing to do with accuracy. It has more to do with keeping my hands and gear clean.

 

[Sniper338]

I've used krazy clothes and nylon brush the necks... my observations were... krazy clothe is messy and a PITA to whipe a case, then whipe it all off the case... ain't worth the hassle. I couldn't tell any differences leaving the carbon in the necks and just brushing either. Neck tensions were still wacky. I've gone back to cleaning the brass good and using neck lube. Works much better.

 

[JohnKielly]

I have gotten flaked carbon in cases, but that was maybe 20 reloads with an obsolete powder that had a fair bit of inhibitor in it.

I decarbon necks with upper engine cleaner on an old towel. It dries off without evident residue.

 

[alinwa]

I tumble mine between relays.

LOL!!

 

[jds holler]

I guess I've got about as horrible "case hygiene" as anyone I know. I've got many cases that have been fired many times. I usually put them in the plastic ammo box, necks down after firing, and I don't see any, or very much carbon falling out of them.

Sometimes if the outer necks get too grungy with that smokey greasy build-up, I'll wipe them down with a rag or paper towels with a smidge of mineral spirits on it. It quickly cuts the grunge and evaporates.

By the way, starting a thread like this and telling us what not to turn it into, is like saying "Whatever you do, don't look behind you." jd

 

[msinc]

For me it depends on where the brass came from. If it was bought new or nice once fired stuff I don't clean it, I just load and shoot. There was a time when I "chemically" cleaned brass after it had been loaded several times and was starting to get cruddy by washing it in very hot water and Purple Power or whatever other "409 like" liquid cleaner I had at the time. Did a nice job on the outside although it kinda discolored it, but did nothing for the inside or the primer pockets. I used to vibrate dry polish my hunting ammo just to make it pretty, but that was after it was loaded. Then I discovered STS cleaning and all of a sudden I could make unusable dirty range brass all look like brand new, so I did that too.
From perfectly clean, not a molecule of anything but brass to four times loaded and not touched I could not tell any difference in the way any of it shot. It is nice to have perfectly clean bright brass when you are going to anneal, but then I couldn't tell any accuracy difference in that either. Well, actually, sometimes it got worse. Load and shoot dirty stuff that was not annealed and shoot a decent group, but see ES/SD all over the place....anneal and see fantastic ES/SD numbers and watch the groups open up.
I still STS it if it is unusable as is, but other than that I don't do anything but load and shoot. These days the only way I even shoot a clean primer pocket is because it got "uniformed". I like my brass cases like I like my Mexican hookers...dirty, nasty and just as common as they can get!!!!!

 

[WillyTP]

Yep, wipe down necks with krazy kloth to remove carbon and run a nylon brush in and out for the interior of neck. That’s all, wait to wipe them down after resized...no apparent problem that I can see or think of.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

I wipe the outside of the case necks with NevrDull and make one pass on the inside of the neck with a worn nylon bore brush. None of my brass has seen the inside of a tumbler in this century. Seems to work OK.View attachment 1051537

You've got a really bad, consistent flyer. Gun seems to be throwing a shot to the far left . Might check your bedding

 

[SteveOak]

...STS...

What is STS?

 

[WillyTP]

What is STS?

Stainless steel tumbling with pins.

 

[urbanrifleman]

If I decided to stainless tumble I only do it for about 10 minutes and I use 10 lbs of pins. Still peens the necks a bit... If I have my loads really shooting, my cases are very clean and a little dunk in a plastic coffee tub with Dawn and Lemishine and some swirling gets rid of the sizing wax. Dunk in denatured alcohol and dry. Load.

If I had to choose, I would choose not to clean at all. A little carbon inside the neck is a good thing. Makes the seating smooth.

 

[Richard Coody]

i use a lot of different methods

with my benchrest cases which are taken out of the box, loaded into the rifle, plucked out of the rifle chamber and returned to the box i decap and wipe down with a rag dampened with ballistol at the range while the range is cold.

most other stuff i throw them in a tumbler with corn cobb media.

i have seen powder flakes come out in the tumbler with brass that had many reloads on it. that is why i bought an ultrasonic. used it religiously for a while but found that dirty brass shoots better. that carbon in the necks is precious if you are looking for ultimate accuracy. now i still use the ultrasonic occasionally like after 20 reloadings just to clean the inside of the cases. takes a while to replace that carbon in the necks though.

 

[swd]

My cases go from my rifle right back in the box. If I'm lazy, and I often am, I don't even wipe them off before I swipe a little sizing wax on them and size them. (if I feel any grit I do wipe them off) Sometimes if I tap the case mouth on the bench I get a few fine carbon flakes. The BRX I shoot the most at 1800 rounds shoots cleans with a high X count loaded that way. If I was a BR shooter I might worry about it but the results on target for F Open won't make me change how I load.

 

[KenOath]

Not looking for a discussion of whether or not brass should be cleaned. There are already an abundance of threads covering that topic. I am truly not looking to stir the pot here. I can't claim that I never do or never would but this time I am not.

This is a question for those that do a krazy cloth or Ballistrol exterior only or similar process.

I have seen posts of people that have an exterior only process that said that after a while they get carbon flaking from the inside of the case. It would seem that if only the exterior of the case was cleaned that carbon would accumulate inside the case and eventually said flaking would occur.

Has this occurred for you?

At what point, if ever, would this become a concern or a problem?

Please make any other comments on your experience or thoughts with an external only cleaning process.

I think answers will vary depending on how many firings an individual puts on there brass...

 

[Steve Ladino]

Not looking for a discussion of whether or not brass should be cleaned. There are already an abundance of threads covering that topic. I am truly not looking to stir the pot here. I can't claim that I never do or never would but this time I am not.

This is a question for those that do a krazy cloth or Ballistrol exterior only or similar process.

I have seen posts of people that have an exterior only process that said that after a while they get carbon flaking from the inside of the case. It would seem that if only the exterior of the case was cleaned that carbon would accumulate inside the case and eventually said flaking would occur.

Has this occurred for you?

At what point, if ever, would this become a concern or a problem?

Please make any other comments on your experience or thoughts with an external only cleaning process.

I clean externally only and have seen flaking rarely which is almost immeasurable. I like the outside of the case pretty free of any lubricant and the necks and shoulders especially clean for my .001" total clearance and annealing. I feel the carbon on the inside of the necks serves as a non polluting bullet lube and don't brush it out nor ever tumble.

 

[BoydAllen]

For the outside of cases after firing, I use 0000 steel wool on the outside of the necks, run a worn bore brush in and out of the neck twice, lube and size. After sizing I wipe off the lube with a suitable solvent and dry. If I am using RCBS Case Lube II, the solvent is water. If I had dropped any cases then I would wipe them off. Usually I don't.