Compressed Gas Cleaner

[ArmoryBrat]

I recently started using a compressed gas cleaner (electronics duster in aerosol form) for the removal of any ground walnut case cleaning media residue from inside of my brass casings after they've been tumbled. I typically spray a quick, one second blast of the aerosol into the case neck opening. It works great in removing any residual cleaning media from inside of a brass casing that might be present after I've tapped the casing upside down on a hard surface.

The brand name of the aforementioned commercially available compressed gas cleaner is "Surf Onn." According to the label on the 10 oz aerosol spray can, the compressed gas contents contain the chemical 1,1-diflouroethane (HFC-152a). My question to those of you who are savvy about chemistry as well as reloading, will the repeated use of the chemical ingredient in the aerosol be detrimental to the brass composition of my casings and shorten their useful life?

 

[RegionRat]

You are not soaking your brass in the stuff, you are just blowing the vapor in open air and will be fine.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I don't know but doubt it will hurt anything. The compressed air cans that I buy just to keep in my range box and misc uses is expensive for what it is. I use an air compressor and blow nozzle to do the same thing. I can't imagine how many cans I'd go thru using it for this purpose but I bet I could pay for a cheap air compressor pretty quickly and not have any concerns of the chemical aspect...fwiw.

 

[Webster]

I recently started using a compressed gas cleaner (electronics duster in aerosol form) for the removal of any ground walnut case cleaning media residue from inside of my brass casings after they've been tumbled. I typically spray a quick, one second blast of the aerosol into the case neck opening. It works great in removing any residual cleaning media from inside of a brass casing that might be present after I've tapped the casing upside down on a hard surface.

The brand name of the aforementioned commercially available compressed gas cleaner is "Surf Onn." According to the label on the 10 oz aerosol spray can, the compressed gas contents contain the chemical 1,1-diflouroethane (HFC-152a). My question to those of you who are savvy about chemistry as well as reloading, will the repeated use of the chemical ingredient in the aerosol be detrimental to the brass composition of my casings and shorten their useful life?

I like the small cheap air compressor idea as suggested by gunsandgunsmithing.

I reload very little anymore, getting up in age. I buy the Blow Off Duster cans at Harbor Freight and Marcs. About $5.95 a can. I blow the water out of cases after wet tumbling. Just shaking the cases hard by hand sometimes leaves a surprising omount of water in the case. My oven drying method seems to take care of it but I blow them out any how for safety reasons.​

 

[Old Navy]

I have a really old version of this. Works great. https://www.dillonprecision.com/21045

 

[RegionRat]

My guess is the OP was concerned about the risk of fluorine reacting with the brass?

While history is full of failures of metals when exposed to reactive chemicals like chlorine and fluorine, the propellent in those duster cans isn't the same risk as those instances.

We limit the exposure of certain critical metals like titanium from exposure to HCFC solvents in order to avoid issues, but just blowing brass cases with a duster isn't a risk to the brass.

 

[Taylorbok]

I agree with the cheap air compressor option. It has more uses than that around the house also.

 

[ArmoryBrat]

Thanks everyone for your response to my inquiry!

I'll soon be looking for a small and relatively inexpensive air compressor to use in lieu of the compressed gas aerosol method for the removal of cleaning media residue from inside of my brass casings. It will definitely be a more viable and cost effective long term option.

 

[DeltaBravo]

I'm using a Ryobi battery powered compressor. The battery fits a lot of other tools, too. Works fine and cost less than $50 IIRC.

 

[Old Navy]

Remember that there is water in compressed air and if it is an oil lubed compressor there will be oil in it also. Dry oil free air is the purpose of the canned air.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Remember that there is water in compressed air and if it is an oil lubed compressor there will be oil in it also. Dry oil free air is the purpose of the canned air.

Oil in the air? An air compressor is a pump, similar to a car engine. The oil is separate from the air in the same way as it's separate in your car engine. Not saying it's impossible to have a measurable amount present with the right equipment, but lets just call it an inconsequential amount, if any. Moisture is another story but simply keep it drained and run a drier if necessary. Where you keep the compressor and its size also have a lot to do with the moisture build up. Bottom line, body shops use air compressors to spray the paint on cars etc, which is really not tolerant of water being introduced, and certainly not oil. Yes, they generally run driers of some sort. There are cheap ways and there are elaborate, more expensive ways to dry the air but it's not a big deal in this application if you just drain it every use or day if it stays plugged in all the time.

 

[Old Navy]

I worked as a Millwright in the industrial maintenance business for over 30 years. Our plant had over 500 building and ever kind of compressor you can imagine. Some of them were 700 HP IRs. Most of them had oil reservoirs just like you car. Depending on the condition they would pass a little oil and a lot of water. The smaller ones had oil/water separators that were self draining. A lot of them blew down down oil and water. The bigger compressors of course used the same setup to keep the oil from contaminating the 300 gallon tank desiccant beds. A lot of the small compressors out there for your shop are oil less now just for that reason. Probably no big deal for reloading. We were building rocket motors and the compressed air was used right on the products. Our dewpoint was -40 degrees or better. Most of you post is right on the money.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I worked as a Millwright in the industrial maintenance business for over 30 years. Our plant had over 500 building and ever kind of compressor you can imagine. Some of them were 700 HP IRs. Most of them had oil reservoirs just like you car. Depending on the condition they would pass a little oil and a lot of water. The smaller ones had oil/water separators that were self draining. A lot of them blew down down oil and water. The bigger compressors of course used the same setup to keep the oil from contaminating the 300 gallon tank desiccant beds. A lot of the small compressors out there for your shop are oil less now just for that reason. Probably no big deal for reloading. We were building rocket motors and the compressed air was used right on the products. Our dewpoint was -40 degrees or better. Most of you post is right on the money.

You likely have a fine understanding of it then. I simply think, while you're very likely technically correct about oil being in the air, that the amount should be so little to not be a factor at all. And yes, the little oil less type would certainly take care of that aspect and are the less expensive ones, too. Noisy little suckers is about all I can say bad about them though, given their price. In a nutshell..we ain't building rocket motors. Lol!

 

[RegionRat]

In terms of cleaning guns... I like to use the canned air when I am too lazy to fire up a compressor or where I don't have one like cleaning in the middle of the prairie or in a camp.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

In terms of cleaning guns... I like to use the canned air when I am too lazy to fire up a compressor or where I don't have one like cleaning in the middle of the prairie or in a camp.

It is handy in the range box, especially when someone dumps powder in the gun due to extracting a live round and the bullet being stuck. Fine mess, I'm telling ya. Lol! Triggers too.

 

[RegionRat]

It is handy in the range box, especially when someone dumps powder in the gun due to extracting a live round and the bullet being stuck. Fine mess, I'm telling ya. Lol! Triggers too.

I'm a sling shooter and I don't jam, but.... Can't tell you how many times I ran to my truck for the cleaning kit in the middle of a relay to clean someone's action after they yanked a bullet on the line. Same goes for keeping a cleaning rod ready to knock out their bullet.

 

[Old Navy]

You likely have a fine understanding of it then. I simply think, while you're very likely technically correct about oil being in the air, that the amount should be so little to not be a factor at all. And yes, the little oil less type would certainly take care of that aspect and are the less expensive ones, too. Noisy little suckers is about all I can say bad about them though, given their price. In a nutshell..we ain't building rocket motors. Lol!

I have a 5 HP oil less in my garage. It is so dry I have to put oil in the air chuck fittings. Mine is so noisy that my neighbor could hear it at night. I turn it off now when I don't need it.

 

[Webster]

I have a 5 HP oil less in my garage. It is so dry I have to put oil in the air chuck fittings. Mine is so noisy that my neighbor could hear it at night. I turn it off now when I don't need it.

Cannot rember the details but some guys were using small battery powered devices for blowing air down their barrels to cool them. Really cheap. They are not compressors but blow a good stream of air. Good enough for cleaning water or tumbling junk out of cases.

 

[MislMan]

For you folks who use compressors, you can get a reusable canned air set-up at hobby shops such as Hobby Lobby. This is a canned air set-up that has an air fitting for refilling the canister. Comes in handy when you need to step away from your work bench need a shot of air. I also use different lengths of small diameter plastic tubing and rubber hose to reach any hard to reach areas with a shot of air. Such as dropping a primer under the loading bench that can’t be moved. Get them motivated out of corners pretty well.

 

[Trigger-Jerker]

I have a small pancake compressor in my reloading room that works great. I run an inline water/oil separator to prevent any possible moisture issues. And always keep a can or two in the range box just in case.