clean brass

gobrob

gobrob

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One of the only things i haven't figured out in all my reading, is the proper procedure/step for cleaning brass.
I want clean brass.
The Lee book i have, doesn't mention cleaning.
2 different gun club/sales people said shiny brass doesn't shoot any better...
The website i refer to, cleans the brass after depriming and resizing.
I went to the outdoor range last week and picked up around 150 pieces of once fired brass, and took it home....... and then wasn't sure what to do.
What i did was cleaned it out with soap and water, a little soap, then let it dry, then deprimes it, then soaked it in 'brass cleaner' then polished it on my 'Lee zip trim' with some steel wool.

Basically, i'm soon going to buy a tumbler in the next few weeks, and want to know whether to clean it before or after depriming/resizing.

I have also read that depriming/resizing dirty brass wil 'gunk up' your dies.

Thanks,
Rob
 
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My first step is to tumble the brass. If you deprime it first then media will get stuck in the primer and/or flash hole. Throw in a couple of 1" squares of old bounce sheets into the tumbler along with your brass - it'll greatly cut down on the tumbler dust that'll stick to your brass otherwise. Now after tumbling, you can deprime them all and carry on with resizing, etc.
 
I use a tumbler with the red walnut media.
I take my brass home from the range, and put it in the tumbler.
I check from time to time to see if the brass is shiney enough for my liking, then when it is done I take it out.
I pour the entire contents into a larger strainer with extra large holes ( I drilled them large enough for the media to get out, but not large enough for the shells to fall through.)
I shake the brass until most of the media is out of the strainer, then I do the shells by hand, tipping them upside down and shaking them out to ensure their is no media insdide the case.
Then wipe down the "red" off the cases.
then deprime, reprime and load.

with my Dillon 550 ( set up for pistols) I just clean my brass, then throw it all in a box ( after the media is seperated) and then throw them right into the loading process....

Rifles:
1) clean brass
2) deprime/ resize
3) trim
4) prime
5) powder
6) seat bullet
7) check COL with calipers.

Pistols:
1) clean brass
2) deprime/ resize
3) powder
4)bullet seating
5) check with caliper.

if you deprime, then tumble, you get media stuck in the primer pockets.. and this is a pain in the but. You need to pick it out before puting in another primer....

Clean your dies after a few thousand rounds, or when you see that they are dirty.. I use regular gun solvent etc, and then wipe dry.
 
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I tumble mine twice once before depriming (to avoid scratching dies)
and once after depriming and trimming to get rid of the lube and possible brass trimmings
 
daniellybbert said:
I tumble mine twice once before depriming (to avoid scratching dies)
and once after depriming and trimming to get rid of the lube and possible brass trimmings
Click to expand...
I do the same thing. However, I don't give a #### about shiny - just that they're clean. I use untreated corncob media.

Hell, you should see the color of some of my old 45ACP brass. They look like wood.
 
Clean with what-ever spins your crank. Most tumble in some sort of media, others liquid clean (chemical or ultrasonic) and oven/air dry.
Does shiney brass shoot better than dirty.....no. It's easier to find after though ;) . It will also help you see problems before they strike (ie: case head separation)
If you go the tumble route, clean before you deprime. Crap in the flash holes is a major PITA.

(E) :cool:
 
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