Best way to clean your brass-inside and out

[butchlambert]

Found this post on Accurate Reloading forum. Sounds like the very best way.
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2511043/m/2281046731
Butch

 

[Hal]

Thanks for the tip Butch.


Hal

 

[NorCalMikie]

I picked some up and gave it a try. The brass comes out looking like new, inside and out. I did a batch of 22 BR that hadn't been inside cleaned and the results are amazing. Depending on the caliber, you might end up with a few "sticks" getting stuck crossways in the necks. Not a biggie. Small needle nose pliers takes care of that.
I only used about 2 pounds to try it out. Just enough water with a squirt of dish soap and you're done. Brass looks better than new, water is "black". A little extra work to wash and dry the brass but the results are well worth it. ;D

 

[Forum Boss]

Last week, we published a complete report of a test by a Forum member.

http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/reloading/brass-cleaning-with-stainless-media/

FYI: Watch the top center of the home page for new articles.

 

[butchlambert]

That's what happens when you don't check all of the forums features.
Butch

 

[artbosco]

Pretty brass isn't required for accuracy and can be time consuming and an added expense. I know of a national competitive winner who doesn't even wipe the outside of the neck on his brass.

 

[butchlambert]

Outdoorsman,
I'm not a national competitive winner. I don't clean mine either, but some of the guys do try to clean their brass. I think they understand that, but ain't hurting anything if they do it. Some of us wear our Super Shoot T shirts to the matches and I found out it didn't help either. I sure look suave though.
Butch

 

[shot410]

My wife has always said: "It's not how well you do it. It's all about how you look doing it."

 

[wapiti25]

My girl friend hates it when my camo is not color cordinated. It's a woman thing.

 

[M14AMU]

If I didn't take the time to clean my brass....well...I'd just as soon walk around with a TURD IN MY TROUSERS!!

 

[BoydAllen]

Pretty is as pretty does. I prefer not to remove all of the powder fouling from inside case necks. This is not something that I wish to trade for the sake of appearance alone. To each his own. If I needed to clean some really ugly brass, that would be the way that I would do it.

 

[M14AMU]

Pretty is as pretty does. I prefer not to remove all of the powder fouling from inside case necks. This is not something that I wish to trade for the sake of appearance alone. To each his own. If I needed to clean some really ugly brass, that would be the way that I would do it.

And just WHY.....would you not wish to clean the interior of the case necks? Accuracy comes from constant and reliable neck tension so dirty necks can change the neck tension!!

 

[jo191145]

Ummnn Consistently dirty is dirty but still consistent ;D

Actually I twist a brass brush in mine. Thats it for cleaning.
Boyd did say he preferred not to remove "all" the carbon from his necks. Not speaking for Boyd but thats how I do mine. Keep some carbon in or remove it all. The only two consistent methods.

Like the signature. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

 

[Tozguy]

Doesn't carbon build up on the inside of the case body with repeated reloading to the point of reducing case capacity? Sometimes when body sizing, flakes of carbon will fall out of the shell. Seems like a complete cleaning would be good at that point.

 

[jo191145]

Toz

JMO but build up in the case will have less effect on accuracy than going from dirty to clean neck ID's. There IS a big difference between clean and dirty necks. No doubt about it. Test it in a small bore long jump rifle if you don't think so.
Theres also a difference between clean necks and highly polished necks. Jewelers rouge on a nylon brush and a drill press = highly polished Same test, small bore, long jump.
Jammin in the lands with a PPC you might not see a difference.
Annealing is another spot that will throw off a load. I've found Imperial dry graphite mimicks dirty brass pretty close for that first firing after annealing.

We must keep in mind some of us here shoot stuff like the PPC where we constantly moniter and adjust our loads to meet conditions. Those conditions can be external or internal or both.

I'll agree with Boyd on this. If I was looking for clean brass I'd definately buy some SS media and go that route. I have an ultrasonic I just refuse to use ;D
Maybe its just me but my ultrsonic is just a PIA to use. I went for consistently dirty.

 

[BoydAllen]

I usually recycle my bore brushes into neck brushes. My neck ID cleaning method is to push the brush in, and pull it out, rapidly, about three times. This removes the "rocks" and leaves a translucent gray haze, through which, I can see brass. In my experience this give me more consistent bullet seating feel. The other reason that I don't clean it all out, for ammo that may be stored for a while before being shot, is cold welding. I think that having something between the case and the bullet likely reduces the tendency for this to happen.

 

[Tozguy]

Joe and Boyd,
Are you saying that you have no use for complete cleaning ever?
I understand the advantages of keeping necks uniformly coated with fouling (not to say dirty) for consistency. That is what I do most of the time. I always clean the outside of the necks to a shine before sizing but only brush the inside to 'clear' any boulders that might be lurking there. There is no arguement on that.
It still seems interesting to eventually give the brass a thorough cleaning if there is evidence of excessive carbon accumulation inside the body. This is no worse than starting a new batch of brass. Its not just about the necks and even tension when other conditions crop up that need to be addressed.
It may very well be that there are certain closely monitered loading methods that reduce case fouling or work hardening of the brass. If this eliminates the need for complete cleaning or annealing so much the better.
Regardless, I thought this thread is about cleaning with SS media, not about whether we should or should not clean.

 

[BoydAllen]

As to how we got off track...someone asked me a question, and I answered it. As to the suitability of the method...I think that the pictures tell the story. The results seem to be outstanding. Am I going to invest in a tumbler and some stainless cleaning media on the off chance that it might gain me some accuracy? No, because I have no reason to believe that it will, and the equipment is not cheap. On the other hand, if someone furnishes definitive proof that my thin necked (.0086) 6PPC cases will produce smaller groups after something different is done to them, that would be a different matter. Currently, this seems to be a matter of conjecture.

 

[M14AMU]

I shoot LOTS of large brass.....50 2 1/2 on down to 45/70 and clean all my brass with ceramic media. I have the smaller ceramic media which will also work on cases down to 6.5 and in a Thumblers Tumbler....after 2 hours the brass comes out looking like fresh from the factory!! It even cleans the primer pockets like new!!

 

[queen_stick]

It's hard to make an argument about how clean or how dirty brass is, and the effect it has on accuracy. It's personal preference.

I'll post what Jason Baney told me... Bare metal is the only thing that can be replicated. You can't repeat a 'dirty' condition (is it half dirty, completely dirty ...???)

With that said, plenty of guys touch up the necks with some steel wool,, and won't even clean the primer pockets. They win matches like that too.

Maybe clean vs dirty makes a difference, but it's so small that it's not noticeable? Can anyone dig up an article that compares group sizes with dirty case to group sizes with clean cases? I'm sure this has been tested thousands of times?