Cleaning Brass

I was wondering do you guys just pour brasso into the tumbler? wouldn't it be a mess if it sticks to all the media? How's this work?
 
What about an ultrasonic cleaner, with distilled water and some of that citrus cleaner someone mentioned? Ultrasonic cleaners are the perfect size, and can be had for about 1/3rd the price of a tumbler, but I dunno how well they work. Anyone?
 
Boer seun,

Pour a few caps full of the liquid cleaner into the media and tumble it for 5 to 10 minutes. That'll mix it. After it's mixed, toss in your brass and tumble until they are clean. I usually tumble for three or four hours. I find that clean brass works better in my press.

John
 
poweredbybeer said:
What about an ultrasonic cleaner, ..., and can be had for about 1/3rd the price of a tumbler
Click to expand...

I paid 100 bux for my tumbler, that will clean several dozen '06 cases or a few hundred 9mm.
If I could find an ultrasonic for $35 that would even be large enough to hold a rifle bolt or a pistol slide, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
 
I have a tumbler and polishes my cases well except for the case necks there are always some residue on the damned things and it is starting to piss me off, I tried that Birchwood Casey brass cleaner but does not really help.
The Liquid cleaner you mentioned JMC what product is that?
 
I roll the necks of the casings between my thunb and forefinger with 000 steel wool. A little tedius but it works great. A little "nu Finish" automotive wax/shine works good in the tumbler media also.

Darryl
 
Solution

If I have a lot of mixed range pick-up brass, I take a big pail, pour in about five liters of very hot water in it, add two full measuring cups of white vinegar, a tablespoon of salt and a good ounce of liquid dishwashing detergent (sunlight).
I dunk the cases in the pail, swish them around for about five minutes then rinse them with cold water to kill the suds.
When the water is clear, I fill the pail with hot water again, put about two drops of blue dishwasher rinsing agent in it and drain the water. Use of a big colander helps.
I then transfer the casings in a big beach towel, tie up the four corners and make the shells hop in it to drain any remaining water.
I put the cases in a dry place and let them finish drying.

When I clean pistol casings in that way, I always spray a whiff of case lubricant on them to avoid brass galling inside the tungsten carbide sizing dies. It's that squeaky clean!
PP.:)
 
I really find that PerversPépère's method works best when cases pickup a film of very heavy oil on them, it's almost like a hard cast bullet lube. Tumbling on its own doesn't seem to touch that gunk.
 
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