First, a little personal background. I work for a local materials testing company as a senior materials technician, as a result my attention to detail and desire to produce consistent testing and documentation is relatively high. I "discovered" this compound at a previous job while cleaning concrete off of a piece of equipment. I thought "Hey! Powder residue is a carbon residue, like grease and oil, so why shouldn't this stuff work on brass?" I've attached a youtube video of my very first attempt. I cleaned several casings in 50% solution and cut one in two with a hack saw. The results were pretty good. One can clean brass simply by soaking a cloth with the solution and wiping the brass. Poof! Clean! Although the brass will begin to oxidize within 10-15 minutes. It is important to wash and protect cleaned metals after exposure to this product.
Here is my recipe! The LLCRD Compound!! I've used this successfully for the last three years with no issues. I have cycled two lots of 50 pieces of .308 brass about seven times with no complications in reloading or with the rifle. My biggest concern, being that the solution has a pH of 5 and is considered to be acidic, is that it may cause corrosion and oxidation of my barrel. So far no issues have been detected. My muzzle velocities have been very consistent and I have been able to mark targets well past 500 meters.
The chemical is an organic salt compound used as an acid replacement for concrete removal. While the pH is low, the solution is not a strong acid and is unlikely to cause burns at full strength, unless one has very sensitive skin. For comparison, white vinegar, also known as acetic acid, has a pH of 2.5 and is obviously considered an acid. I have fully submerged my hands in the solution with little more than dry skin. However, this solution will cause discolouration of stainless steel and chrome if not rinsed soon after exposure. The compound works by stripping off a molecular layer of material, leaving the newly stripped metal open to oxidation.This means that any most ferrous metals will experience oxidation soon after exposure. I would NEVER suggest using this to clean a rifle! EVER!! I typically do a 5-6 minute clean in an ultrasonic cleaner and immediately wash in hot water with a drop or two of dish soap and a rinse with hot water. After the cleaning cycle I pat dry with a towel and allow the casings to stand for a few minutes. The hotter the water used to rinse the faster the moisture will evaporate from the casings. Once the casings are done cleaning I dump them into my corn cob media tumbler and run them for a couple of hours. My secret to shiny casings is a small volume of Mother's Scratch Remover! Blinding!! Once the casings are polished they are removed from the media and a full inspection is done to remove any media caught inside the casing or in the primer pocket. At the same time the primer pocket is inspected to determine how much residue remains. The beauty of the LLCRD is that it either totally removes the residue or it softens it enough to remove with the spin of a Q-Tip. I haven't used a primer pocket cleaner in several years! Always happy to remove a step! In addition, I have used the same gallon of solution for two years without adjustment. Of course the powder residue from the casings contaminates the solution and gives it a "used" appearance; I have had no loss in its ability to clean casings. I figure, if one can save ALL of the solution after cleaning cycles, there's no reason why one couldn't make this stuff last forever!
The beauty of using this product and following up with a trip through some corn cob media is that there is virtually no removal of material with the exception of trimming and chamfering. Stainless steel media is harder than brass and therefore is more likely to result in a greater removal of brass.
Enjoy!
See below for step by step:
Solution: 8:1 of Lloyds Laboratories Concrete Remover and Degreaser with tap water.
1) Ultrasonic Cleaner: 5-6 minutes.
2) Rinse with hot soapy water.
3) Rinse well with HOT water.
4) Towel dry and allow to stand for a few minutes to allow some air drying.
5) Place all the casings into a vibratory tumbler with corn cob, or walnut, media.
6) Add a bit of car polish. ie: Mother's Scratch Remover or Nu-Finish. Just a little bit of it! About a tablespoon for Lyman's smallest tumbler.
7) Polish, Polish, Polish! About 1-2 hours depending on the condition of the brass.
8) Remove casings from media and remove all the media from the primer pockets and the case interior.
9) Spin a Q-Tip in the dirty primer pockets.
10) Done! Continue on with your reloading!
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LLCRD MSDS: http://lloydslaboratories.com/msds/Concrete%20Cleaner%20Degreaser%2082104%2082120%208 2145.pdf
Acklands Grainger site:https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/AGIPortalWeb/WebSource/ProductDisplay/globalProductDetailDisplay.do?item_code=LYL82104
Here is my recipe! The LLCRD Compound!! I've used this successfully for the last three years with no issues. I have cycled two lots of 50 pieces of .308 brass about seven times with no complications in reloading or with the rifle. My biggest concern, being that the solution has a pH of 5 and is considered to be acidic, is that it may cause corrosion and oxidation of my barrel. So far no issues have been detected. My muzzle velocities have been very consistent and I have been able to mark targets well past 500 meters.
The chemical is an organic salt compound used as an acid replacement for concrete removal. While the pH is low, the solution is not a strong acid and is unlikely to cause burns at full strength, unless one has very sensitive skin. For comparison, white vinegar, also known as acetic acid, has a pH of 2.5 and is obviously considered an acid. I have fully submerged my hands in the solution with little more than dry skin. However, this solution will cause discolouration of stainless steel and chrome if not rinsed soon after exposure. The compound works by stripping off a molecular layer of material, leaving the newly stripped metal open to oxidation.This means that any most ferrous metals will experience oxidation soon after exposure. I would NEVER suggest using this to clean a rifle! EVER!! I typically do a 5-6 minute clean in an ultrasonic cleaner and immediately wash in hot water with a drop or two of dish soap and a rinse with hot water. After the cleaning cycle I pat dry with a towel and allow the casings to stand for a few minutes. The hotter the water used to rinse the faster the moisture will evaporate from the casings. Once the casings are done cleaning I dump them into my corn cob media tumbler and run them for a couple of hours. My secret to shiny casings is a small volume of Mother's Scratch Remover! Blinding!! Once the casings are polished they are removed from the media and a full inspection is done to remove any media caught inside the casing or in the primer pocket. At the same time the primer pocket is inspected to determine how much residue remains. The beauty of the LLCRD is that it either totally removes the residue or it softens it enough to remove with the spin of a Q-Tip. I haven't used a primer pocket cleaner in several years! Always happy to remove a step! In addition, I have used the same gallon of solution for two years without adjustment. Of course the powder residue from the casings contaminates the solution and gives it a "used" appearance; I have had no loss in its ability to clean casings. I figure, if one can save ALL of the solution after cleaning cycles, there's no reason why one couldn't make this stuff last forever!
The beauty of using this product and following up with a trip through some corn cob media is that there is virtually no removal of material with the exception of trimming and chamfering. Stainless steel media is harder than brass and therefore is more likely to result in a greater removal of brass.
Enjoy!
See below for step by step:
Solution: 8:1 of Lloyds Laboratories Concrete Remover and Degreaser with tap water.
1) Ultrasonic Cleaner: 5-6 minutes.
2) Rinse with hot soapy water.
3) Rinse well with HOT water.
4) Towel dry and allow to stand for a few minutes to allow some air drying.
5) Place all the casings into a vibratory tumbler with corn cob, or walnut, media.
6) Add a bit of car polish. ie: Mother's Scratch Remover or Nu-Finish. Just a little bit of it! About a tablespoon for Lyman's smallest tumbler.
7) Polish, Polish, Polish! About 1-2 hours depending on the condition of the brass.
8) Remove casings from media and remove all the media from the primer pockets and the case interior.
9) Spin a Q-Tip in the dirty primer pockets.
10) Done! Continue on with your reloading!
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
LLCRD MSDS: http://lloydslaboratories.com/msds/Concrete%20Cleaner%20Degreaser%2082104%2082120%208 2145.pdf
Acklands Grainger site:https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/AGIPortalWeb/WebSource/ProductDisplay/globalProductDetailDisplay.do?item_code=LYL82104
