Cleaning Brass

[onelastshot]

After spending untold hours setting up my new reloading room I decided that I was going to update a few things, one being the brass cleaning process. I ordered a new tumbler with the stainless steel pins. I was just wondering what the favorite additive is that everyone is using to clean brass. The only thing I've ever used until now is corn cob media.

 

[Just Dave]

I found that by using more pins than "usual", it gives faster results ,, ( I use the Rebel17, with 7.5# of pins in it )
First wash cycle is only 20-30 minutes, just a squirt of dawn, and a sprinkle of Comet,, then rinsed thoroughly
Second cycle is about 30 minutes long, and is just Dawn, and a pinch of Lemishine ,, rinse thoroughly
Last cycle is no longer than 45 minutes MAX ,, and is just Blue Coral car wash concentrate, and more clean water..
.
I just don't like banging my cases together for 4 hours like some do, and don't have the time to wait,, and this still gets 95% of all soot, I may have to run a wire brush in the primer pockets, but that happens during case prep anyway.

 

[Richard Coody]

Well a real simple method to clean brass is to wipe it down with ballistol. Benchrest shooters have been doing it for decades.

I do it at the range while i am waiting for the barrel to cool or for people to post targets. I deprime with a harvey depriming tool and wipe down the cases with a rag damp with ballistol. Put them in a ziplock in my range box. When i get home they are deprimed, clean and lubed for resizing. Wipe them off or throw them in the tumbler to remove the ballistol after sizing.

 

[divingin]

I was just wondering what the favorite additive is that everyone is using to clean brass. The only thing I've ever used until now is corn cob media.

I use about 1/16 tsp Lemishine powder and a couple of tablespoons of Turtle Wax wash and wax car wash. Running in a Thumlers AR-12 (12 lb capacity) tumbler.

I honestly don't know if the wax does anything to prevent tarnish, but it doesn't seem to hurt anything either. Seems to last a bit better than using Dawn and Lemishine, though that may be a placebo effect.

 

[Someoldguy]

You're going to get as many opinions as responders.
I like 1 Tbs Dawn, 1 Tbs powdered citric acid and 1 Tbs Armor All Wash 'N Wax per gallon of water. Tumble for 1 hr.

 

[onelastshot]

You're going to get as many opinions as responders.
I like 1 Tbs Dawn, 1 Tbs powdered citric acid and 1 Tbs Armor All Wash 'N Wax per gallon of water. Tumble for 1 hr.

Thanks.

 

[5spd]

1 Tbs lemi shine, 1 Tbs Dawn in my Frankfort tumbler.

 

[spclark]

ArmorAll... Turtle Wax... Comet?

Oh my....

MY recipe: couple hundred 308 cases, 4-5 pounds of pins, hot water to fill Thumbler's B, maybe 1/2 tsp Dawn dish liquid, 1/2 -3/4 tsp LemiShine (citric acid mostly).

Set on tumbler, spin for 60-90 minutes.

Separate pins from cases using pair of Midway separator halves, rinse cases in two changes plain water (usually saved from my dehumidifier's discharge tube), shake cases out (old Remington 44MAG plastic ammo holders are GOLD in my reloading room!) & air dry for a couple days sitting next to dehumidifier's air output grill.

Takes longer to key in (w/ one finger on my iPhone) than it actually does to complete... almost.

 

[Joe R]

After spending untold hours setting up my new reloading room I decided that I was going to update a few things, one being the brass cleaning process. I ordered a new tumbler with the stainless steel pins. I was just wondering what the favorite additive is that everyone is using to clean brass. The only thing I've ever used until now is corn cob media.

I made this video for guys at my range that kept asking me about ss pins, it may help you as well.

 

[Art Dirindin]

It didn't say in your post if you have a magnet to separate your pins from your brass if you don't have one get one they are invaluable
I tried the sst/steel pins for a while but FOR ME PERSONALLY it simply was to complicated and time consuming vs using crushed untreated walnut in my Lyman vibratory cleaner the tool I use to clean my primer pockets does a superb job and removes all the burnt primer residue in 3-5 seconds and I personally feel brass cleaned with dry media is every bit as accurate as brass cleaned with wet media and dry media IMHO is much less hassle and time consuming
But stainless pins work great and if you are going to go that way like I said get a magnet to separate your pins from your brass it's a HUGE help
When I did it I used a quite small squert of Dawn DWD and a dash of Lemon shine powder deprimed my brass using a $8 Lee universal depriming die and tumbled my brass but even after 2.5+ hours my primer pockets were still quite dirty and I wasn't willing to wait 3.5-4 hours for clean primer pockets so I went back to vibratory cleaning with crushed walnut

You might love stainless pins, I just perferd the dry method.

 

[alb]

With the FA tumbler, if it's full I'll use about a 9mm case of Lemishine (a little citric acid goes a very long way, there's no need to go overboard with it) and about of cup of the orange Armor-All wash and wax. Typically I'm cleaning Lake City 5.56 or 45 ACP that's been reloaded with W231; both of those tend to be very dirty, and the FA tumbler holds a lot of brass, so adjust given your own circumstances.

Usually 1.5 hours is plenty with that mix. Rule of thumb, if after you open the tumbler there are no suds, you needed more soap. Basically, you're washing stuff; use soap. If after 90 minutes things aren't clean, they probably aren't going to be any cleaner an hour later -- work on your mix.

I used to use Dawn, and it does work very well, but I find the wash and wax leaves the brass looking much nicer, and it's a reasonably inexpensive product.

A magnet, as mentioned above, is a must-have, but I'd also recommend two gold panning trays, the kind that fit on top of a 5 gallon bucket. Get one with mesh smaller than your pins, the other with 1/4" mesh. Really speeds things up.

 

[1shot]

Try finding a honey strainer. They snap ofer a 5 gal. bucket, they are made of plastic and you will never lose any pins.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd

 

[Joe R]

..... cup of the orange Armor-All wash and wax.

I used to use Dawn, and it does work very well, but I find the wash and wax leaves the brass looking much nicer, and it's a reasonably inexpensive product.

alb,
IMO you should stay away from Wash and Wax cleaners. What they do is wax-in some of the diluted carbon. It will look OK the first few times, but after that the cases will take on a darker shade. Also, some of the wax/carbon film left on the cases will likely be transferred to the dies during the sizing process. Your dies will get dirtier and likely to be scratched by the carbon. Carbon is one of the hardest substances on the planet, with enough time and pressure it will turn into diamonds. Not in your rifle, but you get the point. Additionally, some of that wax/carbon will also be transferred to your barrel chamber by the heat and pressure.

In F-Class we work diligently to remove all possible variables so that we can have consistent results. The wax is an additional variable introduced that it will not help and could possibly hurt things.

IMO the biggest advantage of ss pins is that it removes the carbon from the whole process. Your dies, cases and even the barrel don't benefit from carbon blasting around in there.

Kindest regards.

Joe

 

[Richard Coody]

alb,
IMO you should stay away from Wash and Wax cleaners. What they do is wax-in some of the diluted carbon. It will look OK the first few times, but after that the cases will take on a darker shade. Also, some of the wax/carbon film left on the cases will likely be transferred to the dies during the sizing process. Your dies will get dirtier and likely to be scratched by the carbon. Carbon is one of the hardest substances on the planet, with enough time and pressure it will turn into diamonds. Not in your rifle, but you get the point. Additionally, some of that wax/carbon will also be transferred to your barrel chamber by the heat and pressure.

In F-Class we work diligently to remove all possible variables so that we can have consistent results. The wax is an additional variable introduced that it will not help and could possibly hurt things.

IMO the biggest advantage of ss pins is that it removes the carbon from the whole process. Your dies, cases and even the barrel don't benefit from carbon blasting around in there.

Kindest regards.

Joe

Opinions vary

Many appreciate the carbon in the necks.

 

[dickn52]

After spending untold hours setting up my new reloading room I decided that I was going to update a few things, one being the brass cleaning process. I ordered a new tumbler with the stainless steel pins. I was just wondering what the favorite additive is that everyone is using to clean brass. The only thing I've ever used until now is corn cob media.

Purchase a spare (second barrel) tumbling barrel and use a mix of crushed walnut (pet store lizard bedding) and a polishing compound. The SS media is great for really discolored range pickups, but the crushed walnut and polish will clean and polish normal brass. I use the Tumblers and have two drums. I left my tumbler on all night once (usually 2-3 hours) and the brass was so bright inside and out that it looked better than new.

 

[randy x]

+1 on Joe R

 

[SheepDog]

I use a paste silver polish with my walnut media because it does help speed up the cleaning process and it has a corrosion inhibitor that keeps the brass from tarnishing when stored long term. If you are not a hunter or don't store ammo long term then it probably adds nothing for you.