brass
- Thread starter rwk
- Start date
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
NorCalMikie
Gold $$ Contributor
LOTS of folks don't bother to clean their brass. Wipe the dirt off the outside so it doesn't get into your dies and go for it.
Clean, or polish? Cleaning is important, but only if you want to protect your dies from scratching by grit. Polishing, in the sense of creating bling, is not.
I put my brass in a solution of 1 drop of dish soap and an ounce or so of distilled vinegar. I leave it for an hour or so, slosh it around, and dump the solution. I then rinse it several times, shake it for several seconds, and place them in an oven preheated to 160 degrees where it remains for an hour or two.
When it cools, it's set to go.
I put my brass in a solution of 1 drop of dish soap and an ounce or so of distilled vinegar. I leave it for an hour or so, slosh it around, and dump the solution. I then rinse it several times, shake it for several seconds, and place them in an oven preheated to 160 degrees where it remains for an hour or two.
When it cools, it's set to go.
One of the main reasons I clean brass is to keep carbon out of my dies.... If you have a bunch to do and not a lot of time to get there , clean the necks as stated above and be sure and clean your dies when done... Other than that get r done... It's nice to have shiny brass but not a must...
dcali
Bullet Maker
You can jack that temp up quite a bit and speed things up. I do the same at 225 and there is plenty of margin between that and any temperature that might cause annealing. 20 minutes does the job. Ive found that the brass starts to discolor somewhere above that, but it won't anneal (on a reasonable time span) until it gets much hotter.
Your asking a "loaded" question. 
I didn't start wet tumbling until my sons talked dad into buying firearms that throws perfectly good brass away and makes you go look for it. My AR15 brass bounces all over the ground and picks up dirt and grit that will end up scratching the brass if not scrubbed clean.
If you are shooting a bolt action at the range and eject the cases into your hand and lovingly place them back in the case is a different story. These type fired cases can be wiped clean with a rag or 0000 steel wool.
So it boils down to how clean is your brass and how clean you keep your dies.
I didn't start wet tumbling until my sons talked dad into buying firearms that throws perfectly good brass away and makes you go look for it. My AR15 brass bounces all over the ground and picks up dirt and grit that will end up scratching the brass if not scrubbed clean.
If you are shooting a bolt action at the range and eject the cases into your hand and lovingly place them back in the case is a different story. These type fired cases can be wiped clean with a rag or 0000 steel wool.
So it boils down to how clean is your brass and how clean you keep your dies.
Some of you guys need to read the ops question: I am short on time, can I reload without cleaning? He didn't ask: What is the best way to clean brass?
You do not have to clean brass but any debris should be wiped off. I never clean in the sense that most people do. My "cleaning" is to use a microfiber cloth while turning the brass using the Lee shell holder (the one in the neck trimming kit) in a portable drill. I use this method as I check to see if the necks need to be trimmed to length. Then I brush the necks and I am done. If you want your brass to be "pretty" you can use a couple drops of Flitz on the cloth. You can just wipe the brass with a cloth or steel wool.
You do not have to clean brass but any debris should be wiped off. I never clean in the sense that most people do. My "cleaning" is to use a microfiber cloth while turning the brass using the Lee shell holder (the one in the neck trimming kit) in a portable drill. I use this method as I check to see if the necks need to be trimmed to length. Then I brush the necks and I am done. If you want your brass to be "pretty" you can use a couple drops of Flitz on the cloth. You can just wipe the brass with a cloth or steel wool.
Not what you asked for but my 2 cents; range pick up- dish soap, cover 2X deep with water, soak, cover and shake. Disolves the dirt. Rinse til water is clear, pour on a towel. I use the hair dryer, on hi, that I use on the dogs after their bath; agitate, 15 min and you can't hold a case. This gets the dirt and trash out of the cases.
Then tumble as you wish.
Then tumble as you wish.
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