Brass cleaning

Can't help you on the interior as i am just starting out myself I was told a good way to go is put you brass in a tough plastic container with media and through in a dryer for a couple of loads ...haven't tried it yet
 
I've been doing a bunch of reading about the ultrasonic cleaners. Looks pretty good for cleaning the brass expecially around the primer pockets (if you pop them out first).
 
I use Birchwood Casey liquid case cleaner very successfully for pistols and rifles. You just mix up a batch from concentrate and put the brass in it for a while (says 3 mins on the bottle but I do more like 10) and swirl it around with your hand (gloved).
Then I rinse them and wrap them in a cloth and put them on a heater to dry. Once they are dry then I use a little steel brush that fits in the primer pocket (RCBS make) and polish the brass while I size it with extra mild steel wool.
 
Tumbling is the easiest way to go without question, but I've heard that it can be a problem is you don't set up the tumbler in the garage because the media eventually gets contaminated with lead dust and when you run it you're putting lead dust into the air. Definitely not something you want in the house with kids around especially. I know, I know, you're supposed to change your media regularly, but not everyone is that up on it.
That's why I fart around with the liquid cleaner.
 
If you are worried about lead dust just save the wife’s old dryer sheets and throw 1 in with the tumbler, it sounds crazy but it works and works well. I saw a guy do it on you tube I thought he was nuts but I tried it anyways works great they come out full of lead dust. And if you have kids its for sure you have lots of old dryer sheets. Then just throw out the dryer sheets in a safe manner
 
kharlingca said:
If you are worried about lead dust just save the wife’s old dryer sheets and throw 1 in with the tumbler, it sounds crazy but it works and works well. I saw a guy do it on you tube I thought he was nuts but I tried it anyways works great they come out full of lead dust. And if you have kids its for sure you have lots of old dryer sheets. Then just throw out the dryer sheets in a safe manner
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Plus it makes your brass smell downey fresh. :)
 
shootist22-250 said:
Can anyone tell me why one would be concerned about cleaning the inside of a case???

Sure if you dropped it into a mud puddle, etc. But if you pick it out of your rifle and put it into your ammo box right off; what is the deal???

Cheers
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For a lot of us, our reloads are hunting ammo. Even in a bolt gun 90% of the time the first cartridge fired at game winds up on the ground. Reloading is automatic after a while - so is picking up the case off the ground where it landed in the snow, a puddle, the dirt.....not to mention that it is possible to have old ammo fire okay but leave compacted powder grunge still in the case. A tumbler is great if you don't forget to turn then off in time - you can actually erode the brass. And I don't deprime anything under .25 caliber before tumbling - spent too much time picking the media out of the primer holes and tapping all the stuff out of the cases. .22-250's gotta be the worst. Lead dust is a serious health hazard alright, but rare enough if you only use modern jacketed bullets. Cast guys yes, it can be present. Biggest PITA for me is I don't have a sifter - dig, dig, dig!
 
FWIW, cheapest sifter going for me is a metal meshed garbage can from the dollar store and a 5 gallon pail.
 
Tumbling can sometimes take hours I doubt that you will run a 220W appliance long enough to get a desired finish. Just buy the tumbler, or in a pinch a low end rock polisher. Anything that agitates the brass against media. It cleans inside and out.
 
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I am waiting for someone to ask how lead dust can get into the tumbling media. No one has asked, so I will. How does tumbling brass contaminate the tumbling media with lead????
 
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