Brass CLEANING

[Pres100]

Another caveat, be careful what cleaners you use. I have found anything with citric/acidic cleaners will destroy the powder causing failures to fire and/or vertical issues. lemishine and dawn dish cleaner caused this problem. I use a pH-neutral cleaner...problem solved.

[br]
WTF??? Do you have any evidence to support this contention? My cases are tumbled with stainless pins, Lemishine, Lemishine Rinse and Ajax Lemon detergent, then rinsed in hot water. I do not have vertical issues in .308 Win, 6BR, .284 Shehane or .300 WSM. I've won matches with rounds assembled several months prior from cases cleaned that way. If you are rinsing your cases after tumbling and seeing the issues you describe, look somewhere else for the cause.

I agree. I have used the steel pins for a couple years. No problems what so ever. I did 4,000 223, 100 ppc, 200 30br, 6.5x47L, and multiple others. I sure don't know where 'ell the idea that it will cause problems. Nothing else comes close cleaning and shinning the brass inside and out. I have done it all, corncob, walnut, ultra sonic, and with additives.

Agree 100%. Tumbled in corn cob 25 yrs, ultra sonic and media tumbling 2 years and NOTHING comes close to wet tumbling with stainless steel pins. Volume of cases and pins needs to be conservative as with time so you don't damage case mouths. I find that an hour is plenty and the caseslook as good or better than new.

 

[hogpatrol]

Few years ago I bought a cheap ultra sonic cleaner from Harbor Freight. Tried the home made solutions described in articles on AccurateShooter.com and they worked fine, just a lot of steps that take time. Then I discovered the TurboSonic liquid that Lyman sells. It's fast, easy and all I do is rinse in distilled water with a bit of baking soda added. It cleans the inside and the primer pockets like brand new. Just my 2c.
Mike

+1 That stuff works.

 

[Bayou]

I just got a tumbler and some stainless steel pins.

Question: Can I tumble brass with the pins DRY, or does it only work wet (and with whatever chemicals)?

Congrats on getting your new tumbler (what kind?) and SS pins. I've wet tumbled thousands of brasses over the past few years. I'm continually amazed at the brilliant results - even now.

I've never dry tumbled using SS pins, but do not think it would be a good idea.The SS pins are too dense relative to the brass, and the brass may get damaged. In addition to containing the cleaning agent, the water acts as a lubricant between the pins and the brass.

Suggest that if you wish to dry tumble, sticking with a less dense media, such as corn cob and the like, would be a better choice.

Just IMO.....

 

[Juma]

This dude thinks otherwise. Interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD4RZbRkG6A

 

[butchlambert]

Looks like any other dry cleaning. It ain't shinny like the wet steel pins and I'll bet the primer pockets and the ID of the brass is not clean.

 

[Cort]

How clean does brass need to be? None of my rifle brass ever hits the ground so I just wipe the outside off with a soft cloth and reload it. I do use a vibrator on my pistol brass because it does get carbon from the light loads that I use.

Cort

 

[kcomeau10x]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD4RZbRkG6A
If you notice, he does not de-prime the cases and does not offer a view of the inside of the cases. Some one needs to expand on this with further testing. Might just be a cheaper alternative to the pins, though I doubt it.

 

[Bayou]

How clean does brass need to be?

How clean? That's a personal call. I like brasses impeccably clean inside and out, but they wouldn't need to be so shiney just to function well.

 

[tclaunch]

I tried something different this weekend and ran a batch thru the sonic cleaner while I had a batch running with the pins. I then ran the batch from the sonic cleaner thru the pin cycle (3hrs) and I mean those were the best I have seen yet!! Amazing.