Effects of cleaning brass.

[thebigslide]

I've never tumbled brass. I usually give the inside of the case a quick brush, wipe the lube of the outside to remove anything that might damage my chambers and I'm on my way.

Is there any other benefit to cleaning your brass besides appearance?

 

[tjhaile]

Brass needs to be free of any grit before it is resized to prevent damage to the sizing die. The inside doesn't really matter. Anything more than that is cosmetic.

Tumbling is less labour intensive than wiping down every case. Washing your brass is another option, but you then have to let it sit out to dry.

 

[Onagoth]

Dirty brass can disguise case flaws as well. A small crack, signs of head separation, mouth splits, etc.

 

[blacksmithden]

Dirty brass can disguise case flaws as well. A small crack, signs of head separation, mouth splits, etc.

I'll second that. I've had 300 win mag brass that looked ok go into the tumbler and come out with very obvious cracks. That's not to say that I inspected every case with a microscope before I tumbled it. Just that it is definately easier to see smaller imperfections in clean brass.