??? Brass cleaning.....sonic or SS media barrell tumbler ??

[garandman]

After all the research, I still can't decide.

Cost is less of a factor than getting clean brass - esp. primer pockets.

Do sonic cleaners leave cleaning solution residue? How long is cleaning soluton good for?

Any drawbacks to rotary tumbling with SS media?

ANYTHING that convinces you, one way or the other would be helpful. Thanx !

 

[jepp2]

Any drawbacks to rotary tumbling with SS media?

After using dry media vibrating tumblers for years and years, I finally switched to SS wet pin tumbling. I did not try ultrasonic cleaning so I can't comment on that method. I know that the SS method cleans the primer pocket and case interior as well as the exterior squeaky clean. Something dry tumbling can't do. And all the nasty stuff from the case interior is captured in the liquid and goes down the drain after each session. With a dry tumbler you are just recirculating it.


After wet tumbling I do throw my cases in a dry media tumbler with 20/40 sieve size corn cob and Meguiars cleaner wax liquid. This both dries the brass and puts a protective finish on it to resist oxidizing. Otherwise it will oxidize fairly quickly.

Most of the sizes I tumble are too small to catch pins in the neck, but on 25-06 I do check the case necks to make sure I don't have a pin lodged in the neck. Happens once in a while.

 

[shoot4fun]

I use all three methods at times.
Corn cob with a little Flitz brass cleaner added in a Dillon vibratory machine gets things nice and shiny but takes a long time (hours). I don't see it doing a thing for the inside of the brass.
Ultrasonic cleaning with Hornady Hot Tub and their brand brass cleaning solution doesn't get brass spit shined and, if not rinsed off as soon as it comes out of the tub, will actually tarnish. As for the inside, it comes out dark like it went in but I wind up making a mess on the bench with all the flakey residue that comes out of the cases during the loading process. Also primer pockets not as clean as I would prefer.
SS media in a Thumbler's Model B will give me an as-new shine inside and out and clean the primer pockets spotless(remove the primers first) in as little as 1.5 hours. The downside is that some report peening of the case mouth by the pins and the clean up is, to me anyway, more time consuming. I pour off the water and pour brass and pins into my Midway Rotary Sifter to get every cleaned up. A cold water rinse, drain and then into a dryer (food dehydrator works great or Frankfort Arsenal model) for about two hours.

 

[Comrade Terry]

1 vote for wet tumbling with stainless pins.

Hogpatrol, pass the popcorn, please.

 

[butchlambert]

I use the Thumbler SS pins also. Got a big feedsack of corn to give away. I will not ship.

 

[butchlambert]

I use the Thumbler SS pins also. Got a big feedsack of corncob to give away. I will not ship.

 

[msinc]

I have them all. They all have their good points and bad points. If you have really dirty cruddy brass and/or you are the kind of person that likes spotless, brand new looking bright and shiney brass to start off with then STS is the way to clean. One thing I will say, I have not had any of mine "oxidize" or otherwise discolor as a result of the STS cleaning method. Maybe my water is different, maybe the guy that posted about that above don't use Lemi-Shine, but mine don't oxidize or otherwise discolor and I have some I tumbled a year ago that look like the day i did it.

Edit: Probably the two things I have found regarding STS cleaning that may be considered negative is A: if you leave the brass in the solution after it is done you can get a weird dark coating that does not want to come off very easily. You would think it can just be rinsed away or cleaned off with some sort of cleaning solution like Purple Power...but it will not come off. The fix is to drain the dirty water and run the brass again. and B: the case neck being bare clean brass does not grip or release the bullet the same as brass cases that have been fired and have a carbon coating on them. This can affect accuracy, velocity and ES/SD. I use resizing lube or graphite on the bullets and case necks when they are perfectly clean bare brass.
Third thing...sometimes the pins can get jammed in a flash hole. You must inspect the finished cases and push out any stuck pins. I have heard stories about pins staying in the cases and ruining a barrel, but I have personally never had that happen and cant imagine anyone letting it.

 

[Sniper338]

Another for stainless pins.. i use the sonic cleaner if they are just slightly dirty or to get lube off usually.. most to clean parts than anything now..

 

[bulwaagh]

I have them all. They all have their good points and bad points. If you have really dirty cruddy brass and/or you are the kind of person that likes spotless, brand new looking bright and shiney brass to start off with then STS is the way to clean. One thing I will say, I have not had any of mine "oxidize" or otherwise discolor as a result of the STS cleaning method. Maybe my water is different, maybe the guy that posted about that above don't use Lemi-Shine, but mine don't oxidize or otherwise discolor and I have some I tumbled a year ago that look like the day i did it.

Edit: Probably the two things I have found regarding STS cleaning that may be considered negative is A: if you leave the brass in the solution after it is done you can get a weird dark coating that does not want to come off very easily. You would think it can just be rinsed away or cleaned off with some sort of cleaning solution like Purple Power...but it will not come off. The fix is to drain the dirty water and run the brass again. and B: the case neck being bare clean brass does not grip or release the bullet the same as brass cases that have been fired and have a carbon coating on them. This can affect accuracy, velocity and ES/SD. I use resizing lube or graphite on the bullets and case necks when they are perfectly clean bare brass.
Third thing...sometimes the pins can get jammed in a flash hole. You must inspect the finished cases and push out any stuck pins. I have heard stories about pins staying in the cases and ruining a barrel, but I have personally never had that happen and cant imagine anyone letting it.

As for msinc's experiences with SS tumbling, that is my EXACT experience, to a "T" minus the stuck pins. I have municipal water, so I drop in a 9mm case of Lemishine (dish soap additive) in a 1.5gal tumbler (Frankfort Arsenal) and mine come out shiny and new, and brass I've just kept in a baggie (not airtight) were as shiny one year later as they came out of the tumbler. Leave them in the solution after tumbling, they turn dark and grimy looking; you've got to empty that sucker out and not let it sit. I do the exact same things with my case necks with the imperial dry case lube.

If you get stuck pins in flash holes, your pins are out of spec or your primer pockets are out of spec. the pin diameter must be < 1/2 the diameter of your flash holes, so two pins at a time can float through, but not the third (thus binding things up).

 

[RonAKA]

What makes you think you have to clean your cases? I never do it, as I consider it a waste of time.

 

[msinc]

What makes you think you have to clean your cases? I never do it, as I consider it a waste of time.

Well....there you have it!!!! I not only have to toss my borescope in favor of a "much more useful" bore sighter this week, I also got to get rid of the stuff I have to clean brass. Why would anyone waste their time shooting clean ammo when grimed up, sandy, dirty brass works just as good??? And it's so good to put in your gun!!!! I never realized it until now, but it's a proven fact....sand on the brass to gunch up the chamber and rifling causes any decent hi-powered rifle to shoot more accurate. What was I thinkin all these years?????

 

[RonAKA]

Well....there you have it!!!! I not only have to toss my borescope in favor of a "much more useful" bore sighter this week, I also got to get rid of the stuff I have to clean brass. Why would anyone waste their time shooting clean ammo when grimed up, sandy, dirty brass works just as good??? And it's so good to put in your gun!!!! I never realized it until now, but it's a proven fact....sand on the brass to gunch up the chamber and rifling causes any decent hi-powered rifle to shoot more accurate. What was I thinkin all these years?????

I don't shoot or reload range brass.

 

[dickn52]

I have used them all. SS media in a tumbler for heavy dirt range pick ups. Walnut treated in a Tumbler for nice shine. And vibrator (not as much now) for long time cleaning needs. Again with walnut.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I use a STS tumbling set-up. I always wondered about the claims of "peening of the case mouths". Not too long ago I put 3 SS brakes in my tumbler to get all the hard to reach fouling out of them. Here is what resulted:

1. The brakes were virtually as clean as a new unfired brake
2. The finish of the brakes was a bit more polished and no longer matched the barrels as they originally did.
3. Two of the brakes could NOT be put back onto the barrels because the SS threads had changed dimensionally. Peened or otherwise, the SS threads were adversely effected.

 

[wedgy]

If the heat goes up too high on the ultrasonic cleaner it will turn the brass a dark color, I had to tumble them in corn cob to get them shiny again. As someone mentioned Lemishine in the ultrasonic will make them shiny, but don't let it get too hot.
The ultrasonic gets them so clean the bullets are a lot harder to seat, I assume because there is no longer any carbon in the neck.

 

[garandman]

Thanx for LOTS of great input.

I gotta say....the SS pins making boolits tricky to seat, or causing velocity variances seems like a really not good thing.

Right now, I'm thinking of either staying with my vibratory cleaner, or getting a rotary to use with walnut....

 

[1shot]

I found the same problem with ultra clean brass. The PSI gage on my arbor press was all over the chart. I tried an experiment using moly coated bullets and the problem went away. I have since found that my rifles shoot closer to center on the first few shots down the barrel and cleaning is easier. Fixed a problem i didn't intend to!
I hope this helps,

Lloyd
Buckeye Bullets and Brass, LLC

 

[Jammer Six]

Stainless and Thumbler's.

I used use corn cob in a concrete mixer.

I'm happier now.

I don't clean brass to have clean brass, I clean brass because shiny brass is much, much easier to inspect than dirty brass. I insist on inspecting brass carefully. Things that make that easier are welcome.

 

[Shynloco]

I use walnut media after using corncob for years in a vibrating cleaner. Have had friend try the ss pins and ultra sound (seemingly forever residue) and they didn't like the outcome or effect on their brass (dings, stuck pins, etc). Gotta figure out what makes you the happiest and works best for YOU.

Alex

 

[BCBRAD]

In an effort to lower ES I've stopped using the vibratory cleaner and the ultra-sonic cleaner.

I put the brass in a Lee universal chuck on the drill motor and as it spins use 000 steel wool on the case, shines it up nice and can easily see any anomalies.

The bonus is not requiring lube on clean brass as the carbon acts as the lubricant.

I get much more consistent seating pressures now.