Handwashing brass
- Thread starter saltbait
- Start date
A couple of liters of warm water, a small squirting of dish soap and a teaspoon or so of citric acid or lemishine. Soak for a few minutes, stir for a few minutes, check the primer pockets to get an idea of cleanliness. When clean rinse in cold water with a half teaspoon of baking soda (to neutralize the acid), then rinse in cold water.
When I clean multiple batches in my ultrasonic cleaner this is what I do to presoak the batch that's waiting, and the mixture I use in the cleaner. They often look pretty good going into the cleaner and I don't stir them much if at all.
To dry, I put my brass on an old towel and roll them around, then dry the inside with compressed air, then they go back on the towel once more. I let them sit for at least a day or two before priming. Pretty simple.
When I clean multiple batches in my ultrasonic cleaner this is what I do to presoak the batch that's waiting, and the mixture I use in the cleaner. They often look pretty good going into the cleaner and I don't stir them much if at all.
To dry, I put my brass on an old towel and roll them around, then dry the inside with compressed air, then they go back on the towel once more. I let them sit for at least a day or two before priming. Pretty simple.
Homemade Firearm Cleaners & Lubricants
http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm
Below I have a gallon jug of the mixture highlighted below, "BUT" the longer you leave the brass soak the pinker the brass will get. You can let the brass soak much longer using dish washing soap and LemiShine as stated above and just agitate by hand which I have done many times. When I want more bling I just wet tumble with stainless steel media.
NOTE, I hand wash my pistol brass more often to keep from peening the case mouth and not have to use a deburring tool every time when wet tumbling. I use a Lyman type "M" die to expand my pistol cases with plaited bullets and have better results with less brass shavings from a peened case mouth.
Chemical Case Cleaning Solutions
While tumbling cases in an abrasive media provides the best finish, extremely dirty cases can be decapped first (using a non-sizing die) and then washed in one of the following solutions. The final rinse in soapy water helps prevent tarnishing. All of these methods were approved by Frankford Arsenal and will not weaken your brass.
A solution of 1 quart of water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup laundry or dishwashing detergent, 1/8 cup salt. Soak with some deburingagitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry. This may leave brass with a slight pinkish cast which will disappear with a short tumble in media.
A 5 percent solution of citric acid (available from your drugstore) and warm water for about 10 minutes. If your water is very hard increase the amount of citric acid. You can add some Dawn™ or Cascade™ dishwasher liquid soap (which does not contain ammonia--be careful some do), 409, or Awsome to the solution for extra grease cutting ability. Follow with a rinse in hot soapy water (Ivory™ works well) and allow to dry. Don't overuse the citric acid or the brass may discolor.
A solution of 1 quart of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry.
A solution of 1 quart of water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup laundry or dishwashing detergent, 1/8 cup salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry. This may leave brass with a slight pinkish cast which will disappear with a short tumble in media.
Military arsenals use a heated 4 percent sulfuric acid dip with a little potassium dichromate added. The solution is heated until bubbles rise slowly without it boiling and the cases are dipped into it for 4 -5 minutes using a basket of copper screening or plastic. A final rinse using plain hot water is followed by hot water with Ivory™ soap in it and the cases are left to drain and dry. Because of the use of heated sulfuric acid this method is probably impractical for home use but is given here to show what can be safely used.
Cases which have been fired several times and which show signs of carbon build up internally can be rinsed in straight paint & varnish makers (P&VM) naphtha available at any paint store. Decap, soak for 5 - 10 minutes, drain, allow to air dry and then tumble as usual. Cases will be sparkling clean inside and out but not any shinier.
http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm
Below I have a gallon jug of the mixture highlighted below, "BUT" the longer you leave the brass soak the pinker the brass will get. You can let the brass soak much longer using dish washing soap and LemiShine as stated above and just agitate by hand which I have done many times. When I want more bling I just wet tumble with stainless steel media.
NOTE, I hand wash my pistol brass more often to keep from peening the case mouth and not have to use a deburring tool every time when wet tumbling. I use a Lyman type "M" die to expand my pistol cases with plaited bullets and have better results with less brass shavings from a peened case mouth.
Chemical Case Cleaning Solutions
While tumbling cases in an abrasive media provides the best finish, extremely dirty cases can be decapped first (using a non-sizing die) and then washed in one of the following solutions. The final rinse in soapy water helps prevent tarnishing. All of these methods were approved by Frankford Arsenal and will not weaken your brass.
A solution of 1 quart of water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup laundry or dishwashing detergent, 1/8 cup salt. Soak with some deburingagitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry. This may leave brass with a slight pinkish cast which will disappear with a short tumble in media.
A 5 percent solution of citric acid (available from your drugstore) and warm water for about 10 minutes. If your water is very hard increase the amount of citric acid. You can add some Dawn™ or Cascade™ dishwasher liquid soap (which does not contain ammonia--be careful some do), 409, or Awsome to the solution for extra grease cutting ability. Follow with a rinse in hot soapy water (Ivory™ works well) and allow to dry. Don't overuse the citric acid or the brass may discolor.
A solution of 1 quart of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry.
A solution of 1 quart of water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup laundry or dishwashing detergent, 1/8 cup salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry. This may leave brass with a slight pinkish cast which will disappear with a short tumble in media.
Military arsenals use a heated 4 percent sulfuric acid dip with a little potassium dichromate added. The solution is heated until bubbles rise slowly without it boiling and the cases are dipped into it for 4 -5 minutes using a basket of copper screening or plastic. A final rinse using plain hot water is followed by hot water with Ivory™ soap in it and the cases are left to drain and dry. Because of the use of heated sulfuric acid this method is probably impractical for home use but is given here to show what can be safely used.
Cases which have been fired several times and which show signs of carbon build up internally can be rinsed in straight paint & varnish makers (P&VM) naphtha available at any paint store. Decap, soak for 5 - 10 minutes, drain, allow to air dry and then tumble as usual. Cases will be sparkling clean inside and out but not any shinier.
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I soak in dish detergent and hot water, stir occasionally. Let it sit until the water is cool, drain water, rinse under the tap, and then back submerged into clean boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water, dump the brass on towels or newspaper and let the residual heat dry the brass. 15 minutes and pick it up and put it away.
I have used naptha (coleman fuel) to soak brass that had carbon stains and buildup that wasn't being removed by the hot water and dish soap. You can keep the naptha in a sealed container and reuse it several times until it gets grungy.
I have used naptha (coleman fuel) to soak brass that had carbon stains and buildup that wasn't being removed by the hot water and dish soap. You can keep the naptha in a sealed container and reuse it several times until it gets grungy.
Bustercluck
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fort McMurray
Is cleaning brass a critical step?
The last few batches of reloads I've done, I just scrubbed the necks with a brush and neck-sized them dry.
The last few batches of reloads I've done, I just scrubbed the necks with a brush and neck-sized them dry.
I had experimented with adding vinegar and salt to the mixture I mentioned above, but found the cases were turning dull and pink. Having said that, I don't care too much about the bling effect, my goal is to get the inside of the case and primer pockets clean.
For benchrest everything is critical. For any other kind of shooting, there's 3 reasons to clean your brass:
1-You don't like to manipulate dirty brass. Can just wear gloves and problem solved;
2-Dirt and grime can scratch the inside of your dies. If you don't mind polishing dies often and replacing them quite often too, then it's not a problem either;
3-To inspect cases. It's a lot harder to inspect cases for cracks and any other problems if the brass is dirty. With clean cases, every tiny crack at the mouth becomes obvious.
Personnaly I'd nover bother hand-washing cases, unless they were 50bmg or something big and expensive like that.
redbirddog
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Maple Syrup land Ontario
i use a 2 cap fulls of CLR in a hot water bucket. soak for 5 min then a warn rinse and air dry. If they are really dirty 3 caps fulls and 10 min
sparkle shine
sparkle shine
The only effective option that would satisfy you is a wet tumbler with SS pins. Mechanical cleaning is the only way to clean pocket primers, so it's wet tumbling with SS or primer pocket cleaner. For the inside of cases it's either a small brush with gun cleaner (which would take forever) or, again, wet tumbler with SS pins.
Removing the burned powder requires some friction. That's what happens in a tumbler. It works well because the burned powder is less bonded to the brass than the strength of the brass itself. So if you want to replicate that, you'll need to create some friction too, using some tools.
If you want to use chemicals to dissolve the powder residue without any mechanical effort, you'll need something that will dissolve carbon residue but won't attack brass. There's isn't really any product that does that very well, especially if you factor prices in the equation. Try gun cleaning products. I'd start with Remington action cleaner, and if that doesn't work well, try bore solvent, but bore solvent will attack brass to some extent, so try with small amounts of cheap 9mm cases that you don't mind ruining at first.
I've tried almost every cheap and convenient household chemicals before I bought a SS tumbler, and nothing works very well. Soaking the cases into an acidic solution is especially useless and hard on the brass. I've tried mild stuff like vinegar and stronger acid like chloridric acid (in varying concentration, soaking time and temperature), and everything attacks brass more than it dissolves powder residue. The last 2 things I was gonna try but didn't (because I bought a SS tumbler and concluded the tumbler was the way to go) were bleach (doubt it'll work well) and Oxi clean stain remover (which I have used successfully to remove stains similar to powder residue on clothes).
Actually I'm quite happy with the ultrasonic cleaner that I have. It gets the primer pockets and insides very clean. As I mentioned in my first post I just presoak soak some brass when doing multiple batches. I thought about making a ss tumbler, but don't see the need at this point.
Bustercluck
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fort McMurray
Just curious. What's your routine for reloading when you shoot benchrest?
As much anal as critical for most people.
I like to clean the brass enough so my dies don't get so dirty so fast. Dies should be cleaned regularly too, of course, even if you use cleaned brass. I have loaded rifle brass uncleaned, or just scraping out the primer pocket with a hand tool. Dies get contaminated quite quickly.
There is not always a right/wrong way to do things, and especially so with reloading. If un-cleaned brass works for you then there is no reason to feel like you're doing something wrong. Your brass is clean enough for your needs and don't worry about it. There may come a time when you do find a need to clean the brass but until you do then let your experience and judgement guide you.
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I don't. You need to devote insane amount of resources (time+$$$) to be even mildly competitive. Tried once for fun using a friend's rifle, read a bit about it, then quickly figured out it wasn't for me. It's a rabbit hole one could enter and never come out imho.
Saltbait, you did not mention what you are shooting. Cleaning well enough for handgun reloading is a far cry from cleaning for benchrest rifle. For a while a buddy and I were hand washing in a mixture of roughly 1:8 vinegar to water with a dash of liquid dish detergent in a bucket where the brass was rolled around once ever 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. Then it's rinsed thoroughly using a big sink of fresh water and lots of rolling and repeated drainings using a colander to ensure the insides of the casings are fully rinsed. Then they were laid out to dry on an old towel for a few days to fully dry. You can warm them in an old toaster oven if you're in a hurry. Or you could buy a $50 dehydrator from Wally World.
But this hand washing only got them half way clean. To really do a number on them you want to buy an ultrasonic cleaner. A 15 minute run time with the same solution mix results in the brass coming out looking like you just took it from the bag. This includes the primer pockets for rifle brass that is deprimed ahead of time. For handgun brass I leave the old primers in place as I reload progressively and it would be an extra lever pull to de-cap them. Long cases like .38Spl and .357Mag still have a light shadow inside because of leaving the primers in place. But .45acp and .44Mag come out clean as a whistle inside and out thanks to the more larger mouth. Rifle brass would likely be slightly shaded inside too if it were not for de-capping prior to cleaning. The extra opening allows the brass to come out shiny clean inside and out.
Again a really good rinse using a colander to dunk, fill, lift, roll around to drain and repeat at least 4 times to ensure the insides are fully flushed.
But this hand washing only got them half way clean. To really do a number on them you want to buy an ultrasonic cleaner. A 15 minute run time with the same solution mix results in the brass coming out looking like you just took it from the bag. This includes the primer pockets for rifle brass that is deprimed ahead of time. For handgun brass I leave the old primers in place as I reload progressively and it would be an extra lever pull to de-cap them. Long cases like .38Spl and .357Mag still have a light shadow inside because of leaving the primers in place. But .45acp and .44Mag come out clean as a whistle inside and out thanks to the more larger mouth. Rifle brass would likely be slightly shaded inside too if it were not for de-capping prior to cleaning. The extra opening allows the brass to come out shiny clean inside and out.
Again a really good rinse using a colander to dunk, fill, lift, roll around to drain and repeat at least 4 times to ensure the insides are fully flushed.
Bustercluck
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fort McMurray
That's kind of how I feel about most things shooting related.As much anal as critical for most people.
I like to clean the brass enough so my dies don't get so dirty so fast. Dies should be cleaned regularly too, of course, even if you use cleaned brass. I have loaded rifle brass uncleaned, or just scraping out the primer pocket with a hand tool. Dies get contaminated quite quickly.
There is not always a right/wrong way to do things, and especially so with reloading. If un-cleaned brass works for you then there is no reason to feel like you're doing something wrong. Your brass is clean enough for your needs and don't worry about it. There may come a time when you do find a need to clean the brass but until you do then let your experience and judgement guide you.
If I'm loading pistol(which I don't do much of) I tumble and load away without much worry of anything critical. Reason being is most pistol brass lands on the ground and gets covered in dirt etc.
For rifle I've tried lots of different things. Tumbling before sizing, tumbling before and after, tumbling after and not cleaning at all. The reason I've been trying to go without cleaning is because I didn't know if there was lube left on the neck after sizing or what degree of cleaning agent was left behind. Rifle brass doesn't typically get covered in stuff and if you're only sizing the neck the outside of the brass isn't touching the die. I do have a set of redding bushing dies I'm going to start using as soon as I pick up the right size bushing, which I plan on not cleaning again.
That being said, if I'm body/fl sizing I do use lube in which case I would clean the cases after sizing to get rid of the lube.
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