Cleaning Large Amounts of Brass (Boiling?)

hobit

hobit

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I’ve been given a very large amount of brass (.303, 9mm & .223) and am trying to figure out a way of quickly but thoroughly cleaning it all. My current setup is a Thumbler Tumbler with 2 smaller containers, great for maintaining a collection of brass but certainly not ideal for my current need. I’ve been searching and reading up on possible solutions and building a larger tumbler was where I was leaning but I’ve also been seeing a few articles on boiling it clean. Obviously waters boiling temp of 212F shouldn’t harm the brass but being newish to this reloading gig I’d really like to hear what you all think.

So my ask is if we can have a discussion on the pros and cons of boiling brass and what you might add to the water to aid the cleaning (lemon, soap etc).

Thanks to all and happy Easter 🐣.
 
I would think that the question of what are you trying to clean off of the brass is a big one. Chemical detergents and acids are okay for light soiling or tarnish, but don't do much for caked on dirt or firing soot. Frankly I find that a mechanical cleaning is pretty much always necessary for best results.

A cement mixer is a common solution to the big batch problem. Easily rented or borrowed in just about any town, and a couple of bags of sandblasting grade walnut are not expensive.
 
I never tried boiling the brass but I did try bucket cleaning using hot from the tap water and a dash of dish detergent and about a 1:4 white vinegar to water mix. It sort of worked but wasn't really great. Good enough until I got my ultrasonic cleaner unpacked.

For rifle brass I de-cap with a universal decapping die then clean in that same mix in the ultrasonic at 50°C for 15 minutes. The brass comes out looking like new inside and out. The only downside is the need to set it aside for 3 to 4 days to ensure it's fully dry. Mind you that can be sped up by baking the brass at a low "warming" temperature for an hour or so if you need it in a hurry.

I started with vibrators and media and happily switched to the ultrasonic. I've since added a small stainless pin media cleaning setup for my black powder cartridges. NOTHING else can clean THOSE ! ! ! ! ! But having tried all of these options my favorite is just the plain "no media" wet method in the ultrasonic for all the smokeless cleaning I need to do.

And if you try this at least ultrasonic cleaners are pretty cheap these days.
 
Homemade Firearm Cleaners & Lubricants
Chemical Case Cleaning Solutions
https://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm#Solutions

While tumbling cases in an abrasive media provides the best finish, extremely dirty cases can be decapped first (using a non-sizing die) and then washed in one of the following solutions. The final rinse in soapy water helps prevent tarnishing. All of these methods were approved by Frankford Arsenal and will not weaken your brass.

A 5 percent solution of citric acid (available from your drugstore) and warm water for about 10 minutes. If your water is very hard increase the amount of citric acid. You can add some Dawn™ or Cascade™ dishwasher liquid soap (which does not contain ammonia--be careful some do), 409, or Awsome to the solution for extra grease cutting ability. Follow with a rinse in hot soapy water (Ivory™ works well) and allow to dry. Don't overuse the citric acid or the brass may discolor.

A solution of 1 quart of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry.

A solution of 1 quart of water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup laundry or dishwashing detergent, 1/8 cup salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry. This may leave brass with a slight pinkish cast which will disappear with a short tumble in media.

Military arsenals use a heated 4 percent sulfuric acid dip with a little potassium dichromate added. The solution is heated until bubbles rise slowly without it boiling and the cases are dipped into it for 4 -5 minutes using a basket of copper screening or plastic. A final rinse using plain hot water is followed by hot water with Ivory™ soap in it and the cases are left to drain and dry. Because of the use of heated sulfuric acid this method is probably impractical for home use but is given here to show what can be safely used.

Cases which have been fired several times and which show signs of carbon build up internally can be rinsed in straight paint & varnish makers (P&VM) naphtha available at any paint store. Decap, soak for 5 - 10 minutes, drain, allow to air dry and then tumble as usual. Cases will be sparkling clean inside and out but not any shinier.

An interesting idea is to use an "air stone" and a small air pump from a fish aquarium tank to agitate the liquid cleaning solutions.

Thanks to Randy Wood for this tip.

Another case cleaning method is the use of an ultrasonic cleaning unit. These units are available from several online sources and the biggest problem is finding a reasonably priced unit with about a 2 liter capacity. While you can only clean small quantities of cases at a time this way they will be clean as new, inside and out. Once you've acquired the unit you'll need to also acquire a glass beaker of sufficient size for your use and make a cover and beaker holder.

Cut a piece of Plexiglas to cover the tank and cut a hole the size of your beaker (use a fly cutter and a drill press or jigsaw it out). Make a collar for the beaker out of plastic foam that fits very snugly so the beaker can be raised or lowered. You want the beaker to not sit on the pan of the cleaner.

Fill the cleaner tank with water and by adjusting the level of water in the tank, the liquid in the beaker, and depth of the beaker in the water it can be "tuned" so that the liquid in the beaker appears to boil while the water in the tank is calm. This has a major effect on how long it takes to clean the cases.

For cleaning you can use either of these procedures but the second one leaves the cases the shiniest.
24 minutes - 50-50 Vinegar and water + 1 drop dish soap per
8 ounces water Use cool water. Do not use hot water!!!
8 minutes - Baking Soda & water (1 grain BS per ounce of
water)
8 minutes - Hot Water
8 minutes - Distilled Water 24 minutes - 50-50 Vinegar and water + 1 Drop Dish Soap per
8 ounces water Use cool water. Do not use hot water!!!
6 minutes - Birchwood Casey Case Cleaner*
6 minutes - Hot Water
6 minutes - Distilled Water
* The Birchwood Casey case cleaner is listed as their "Brass Cartridge Case Cleaner # 33845"

This idea was originally presented on the 6 mm Benchrest site at http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html by Jason Baney, and more info and test results are published there.
 
A 5 percent solution of citric acid (available from your drugstore) and warm water for about 10 minutes. If your water is very hard increase the amount of citric acid. You can add some Dawn™ or Cascade™ dishwasher liquid soap (which does not contain ammonia--be careful some do), 409, or Awsome to the solution for extra grease cutting ability. Follow with a rinse in hot soapy water (Ivory™ works well) and allow to dry. Don't overuse the citric acid or the brass may discolor.
Click to expand...

Lemishine is citric acid avalable at hardware stores up here
 
My question is what is considered big? I usually get 3-4 5 gallon pails of brass at a time and use my FA tumbler to power though it all. It takes me about a day per pail, about 5-6 runs per 5g pail for 2 hours per tumble.
 
+1 on citric acid. Sometimes you end up with pink brass, but it's festive when you shoot.

Recently got an ultrasonic. Wish I had done it much earlier.
 
hobit said:
I’ve been given a very large amount of brass (.303, 9mm & .223) and am trying to figure out a way of quickly but thoroughly cleaning it all. My current setup is a Thumbler Tumbler with 2 smaller containers, great for maintaining a collection of brass but certainly not ideal for my current need. I’ve been searching and reading up on possible solutions and building a larger tumbler was where I was leaning but I’ve also been seeing a few articles on boiling it clean. Obviously waters boiling temp of 212F shouldn’t harm the brass but being newish to this reloading gig I’d really like to hear what you all think.

So my ask is if we can have a discussion on the pros and cons of boiling brass and what you might add to the water to aid the cleaning (lemon, soap etc).

Thanks to all and happy Easter .
Click to expand...

How many is "a very large amount"? For a guy with the tiny thumbler, 2k cases of 9mm might be a large amount, for those of us with a FA, 2k is just 2 loads. Anything I can lift by myself isn't a large amount.

Boiling won't clean very well. Not much more than just using your water hose outside with some pressure will.
 
Cantire has a light duty electric cement mixer on sale for $250. Looks like it would be perfect for cleaning a 5 gal pail of brass in one go.
 
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