Brass Cleaning - My solution

I used the Lye early today with 500 pcs of 40 s&w in 3 litres of boiling water. The results were not bad for the most part cleaning the burnt up powder inside the empty cases.
 
762nato said:
Any one try just boiling the brass for the same period of time in water only as a control? Perhaps the lye is not doing much of anything....
I still have a hard time thinking getting my brass wet, will improve the quality of or speed up my reloading experience...
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I think that this thread is more in line with "another way to skin a cat." Personally, I think the tumbler is probably the best and easiest way to clean up the brass. Just my $.02 worth.
 
One gallon pail of very hot water, 1 quart of common white vinegar, one tablespoon of salt and a capful of dishwashing detergent.
Soak your cases in it and swirl them (with rubber gloves to avoid scalding yourself).
10 minutes later, drain, rinse and dry them by hopping inside a big beach towel.
If a very shiny finish is required, just tumble in a vibratory tumbler with treated corncob after the washing step.
PP.
 
Well I put some well tarnished brass in the lye solution a few days ago. It didn't remove the tarnish but cleaned the inside of the cases a bit. So I left the brass in solution and looked at them today. After 3 days they looked as if I just put them in there. I'll stick with the case tumbler from here on.
 
Ultimate cartridge cleaner

Google stainless tumbling media. They sell stainless steel media (pins) to use in a wet drum polisher with hot water, "Lemi Shine", and dish washing detergent.
Cases should be deprimed before polishing. If the carbon build-up is not thick, the media might not be needed. Cartridge cases come out shiny and smell good. Cases need to be fully submerged in water. Rinse in warm water, roll them over a towel and dry in oven at 170 F.
 
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