cleaning brass everytime, is it necessary really?

[JRS]

please tell us why ?

Look at the chemicals it contains. Too many have been led to believe it is a polish. It is neither a polish or a wax.

 

[Johnny_V]

If you are like me, and want to take as many of the variables out of the equation, then you will clean your cases every time. If you are a hunter and you're taking your reloads into the field, then you want to make darn sure that you do everything right from cleaning and inspecting your fired cases to using a gauge to make certain your rounds chamber properly - everytime. Just my 2¢, but it's 2¢ to take to the bank. Another added benefit I failed to mention is I like clean and shiny dies and cases.....

 

[SG4247]

I corn cob tumble for 1 hour after depriming.

Then resize

Corn cob Tumble for another hour.

Then Load

I ultrasonic clean them after five firings. This removes carbon build up from the case, restoring the case volume back to original.

No loss of accuracy with this cleaning schedule, in multiple competition rifles.

 

[MrBottleneck]

Used to SS tumble every time but, what I found was it isnt really needed.
When I am chamfering and cleaning the primer pockets again I simple run the appropriate size case brush through it three times.
Then grab big bottle of denatured alcohol and wipe the cases clean before running through my Redding FL S type dies.
No problems I have ever encountered.

 

[retired]

well you just made my ignore list.
bye
it is a polish
it cost aprox 1/2 of what
"brass" polish costs.
i have used it for well over 20 years. my customers used to ask if my 1x fired brass was actually new brass.
over 10 years selling retail and wholesale. i guess i handled more brass than most shooters. at one time i handled all the brass from 7 ranges, one was an "agency" range with over 40 user agencies. brass sales well in excess of $100,000 per year.

Look at the chemicals it contains. Too many have been led to believe it is a polish. It is neither a polish or a wax.

 

[6MMsteve]

I use scotchbrite pad and acetone mostly, and pins every once inawhile

 

[Forum Boss]

Elaborate cleaning -- not necessary.

I wipe cases (while still warm when Possible) with patch with a little aerosol Ballistol. That removes any dirt and gets carbon off the neck.

Nylon brush in the neck a couple strokes -- you don't want to remove all the carbon.

For my smaller cases, another quick case wipe with aerosol Ballistol on patch is all the lube I need for FL sizing, but YMMV. Some guys need and prefer die wax or other thicker case lube.

A lot of guys waste too much time cleaning -- they would be better off trying different bullet types with their loads. One tip: measure the diameter of your bullets -- it's a variable that most people don't consider. Within the same nominal caliber, some brands/lots of bullets are fatter than others.

 

[thekriebles]

...I wipe cases (while still warm when Possible) with patch with a little aerosol Ballistol. That removes any dirt and gets carbon off the neck. Nylon brush in the neck a couple strokes -- you don't want to remove all the carbon...

I find wiping the case necks immediately after shooting a group is a quick and easy way to clean the outside of the necks. The carbon is so much easier to remove at this point vs. waiting until a future time to clean them. I use a piece of cloth and put some Hoppes 9 on it, and the necks come up really clean. For me, leaving carbon inside on the fired necks provides me more consistent bullet seating feel and more consistent grouping vs. inside necks that are squeaky clean... YMMV.

 

[fguffey]

has anyone on here who doesn't have ocd and has an experimental nature, taken a step back and tried it both ways to see what happens to your groups and es and stuff?

Most 'modern?' reloaders discover everything all by themselves, and during the process they rename everything.

I would suggest you go to the library to determine if they have R. Lee's book on modern reloading. I am one of the few that have the book, I have read the book, I do not agree with R. Lee on a number of things but he did cover case cleaning.

I tumble cases before sizing and I tumble cases to remove case lube. I do not want anything between the case and chamber but air; I do not want a lot of air, if there is dirt, grit and grime between the case and chamber when the air is blown out the dirt, grit and grime is leaving with it.

F. Guffey

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Most 'modern?' reloaders discover everything all by themselves, and during the process they rename everything.

I would suggest you go to the library to determine if they have R. Lee's book on modern reloading. I am one of the few that have the book, I have read the book, I do not agree with R. Lee on a number of things but he did cover case cleaning.

I tumble cases before sizing and I tumble cases to remove case lube. I do not want anything between the case and chamber but air; I do not want a lot of air, if there is dirt, grit and grime between the case and chamber when the air is blown out the dirt, grit and grime is leaving with it.

F. Guffey

Ok, I’ve read that last sentence three times now and I’m still scratching my head!

 

[marchboom]

Look at the chemicals it contains. Too many have been led to believe it is a polish. It is neither a polish or a wax.

I checked (the best I could) the chemicals that are in NuFinish and I don't see anything wrong with it. It may not be a polish or a wax, by definition, but it works well. If there is something in this product that harms brass (like ammonia) please enlighten us.

I have used other brands of polish but NuFinish works just as well and is cheaper.

 

[Brians356]

Generally my brass does not hit the ground. If it was dirty I would wipe it off. People that are into shiny will make their brass shiny, but I have never known one one short range benchrest shooter who used a tumbler or vibratory cleaner on his brass on a regular basis. In that situation I use some 0000 steel wool to remove powder fouling from the outside of case necks and wipe the residue off. That is the extent of my usual case cleaning.

Converting brass cases into jewelry is one of the fastest growing hobbies. It really deserves its own forum, thereby relieving this one of the congestion.
-

 

[Iowa Fox]

All I do is de cap and wash in hot water with dish washing soap, rinse good and let them dry. Sometimes a little lemi shine. Everyone should use a 12x loupe to look at their necks. Tumbling really beats them up.

 

[fguffey]

Ok, I’ve read that last sentence three times now and I’m still scratching my head!

I understand reloading is a mind boggling thing, I understand reloaders have trouble keeping up with factors. I could say time is a factor but that would cause other reloaders to scratch their heads.

F. Guffey

 

[Richard Coody]

I understand reloading is a mind boggling thing, I understand reloaders have trouble keeping up with factors. I could say time is a factor but that would cause other reloaders to scratch their heads.

F. Guffey

guffey

you are one funny guy. i assume you are retired but what did you do in real life?

 

[hogpatrol]

I use the cheap crushed walnut from Horror Freight, two different grits, less than a buck a pound and you can use their 20% off coupon.

https://www.harborfreight.com/catal...re,f,EAFeatured+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=walnut

 

[retired]

in 12 years of commercial brass sale, not a single dealer in the brass biz used walnut...not one. one company used a wet process, everyone else used fine ground corn cob( sold as blasting media).
if we could save a penny some where we would, not happening with walnut.

I use the cheap crushed walnut from Horror Freight, two different grits, less than a buck a pound and you can use their 20% off coupon.

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore,f,EAFeatured+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=walnut

 

[dickn52]

To me, cleaning brass is done to protect the inside of my dies. Has nothing to do with being 'purty'.

 

[KenOath]

As you can see most people like to clean to keep dirt out of their dies etc.... I actually run it twice , once before I resize and once after to get the imperial out of the necks so the powder doesn't stick to the inside of the necks....

I do the same as this^^
I shoot 40 to 50 rnds per match (benchrest) so for me it’s easier to throw them in tumbler when I get home while I’m cleaning my rifle, they need to be wiped of once finished and ready for reloading.

 

[hogpatrol]

in 12 years of commercial brass sale, not a single dealer in the brass biz used walnut...not one. one company used a wet process, everyone else used fine ground corn cob( sold as blasting media).
if we could save a penny some where we would, not happening with walnut.

Bean counters don't use the best. They use the cheapest, corn cob blasting media. I recycle mine. They couldn't be bothered. I'm sure their lawyers prescribed it too.