Brass cleaning help

[Fred762]

Been reloading off and on for years but really got back into it when obummer made ammo so expensive. I use a vibrating cleaner [w walnut shell media] which does a pretty good job of polishing the used brass, but still often leaves a residue of burnt powder inside the cases. Is there any easy way to clean the inside of cases too??? Ideas??

[Fred762]

Found a simple solution, as I got an idea from the ad of a comm'i reloader: they were advertizing that they used a "dilute acid solution" to clean their brass before reloading the cases. So, I tried sloshing some cases in..vinegar for a few minutes. It worked well, and the vinegar is cheap and can be used on several batches of cases. It even loosens the residue in the primer pockets. Note, I tumble cases in walnut, then de-prime/resize them..then give them a 5-10 minute slosh in the vinegar solution...followed by a rinse in clean warm water..and a look at the primer pockets. IF there is any remaining residue there I clean it easily with a pipe cleaner. and or bristle brush..both work pretty well. Takes a bit of time, but I get pristine brass inside and out, to reload.

[C. Richard Archie]

The very best method I have found is the use of hot water, dish washing detergent (Ivory is what I use to great effect) a small touch of Lemi Shine and stainless steel cut pins for media, all in a Thumbler's Tumbler(rotary, not vibratory.)



Picked this method up years ago from an Old Hand who knew his stuff, said it kept the reloader from blowing primer residue down the throat which in his expert opinion was the most damaging of all things outside of bad cleaning habits on a barrel.

I deprime then tumble, get the inside and primer pockets clean as new.

[Fred762]

Yeah I too tumble, then resize and deprime caes. I use walnut media and add a 1/4 cup comm'l brass cleaner to each load of media and vibrate for about an hour.. THEN I take the cases and let them sit in vinegar for up to 12 hours. Any residue in the primer pockets is easily removed w a stiff bristle brush! Works for me, though it is a bit slower than reloading dirty cases!

[Fred762]

Did a buncha .38 spl brass today..they come out clean as new brass and this process gives me a chance to look at the cases and pick out the few cracked or bent ones...I go ahead and prime them (they're already resized and deprimed b4 the vinegar soak) and then run them thru my Dillon for the last 3 steps...nice shiny ammo...looks new.

[Fred762]

Came up w another idea (recently heard on another board)and tried it this week...

After tumbling about 200 .38spl cases, we resized, inspected and deprimed'em. Then dropped them into hot water bath w dish detergent and let them sit over nite w occasional shakes. Then rinsed'em a couple times and then dropped them into a container of straight Coca Cola..straight coke. let them sit in the coke bath for 2-4 hours...man did them cases come CLEAN!!! Big bottles of coke are cheap and smell better than vinegar!! Hint..coke is MORE acidic that vinegar so don't let them sit in the coke too long!!!

[KPH]

The method I use is the stainless steel pins some water some soup some lime away and the pins they come out factory clean primer pockets and all.