How do you clean your brass

[Magellann]

The one that I'm washing the 300ish pieces from this morning right now holds 6.5L and cost $269 from amazon.ca. Also, regular Tide laundry detergent is working out as good or better than the CLR kitchen and bathroom cleaner i was using until I ran out.

I used Orange citrus cleaner and it cleaned well.

 

[dirtybarry]

^^^ Thats not a bad price for a cleaner that size, Ive seen them for $500.00 to $700.00 in that size range before. In fact thats what my brother paid for his a couple years ago.

GT Sonic with mechanical thermostat and timer (bad luck with cheap digital) 120W(?) heater and 160W US power IIRC. The ball valve for draining it is very handy too.

 

[dirtybarry]

I used Orange citrus cleaner and it cleaned well.

Hmmm, I'll give that a whirl next time since I think there's a few litres stashed in the garage. The only reason I'm using Tide is because it was literally 8ft away from the cleaner when I found out that the CLR was all gone.

 

[Magellann]

Thats the same reason I used the citrus cleaner, and it worked.

 

[dirtybarry]

Thats the same reason I used the citrus cleaner, and it worked.

Hah, found 2 litres of something we used to call Citrasol. But it's 20+ years old, but who cares? Either it works or I get rid of it and go raid the laundry room again.

 

[silverfoxdj]

Hah, found 2 litres of something we used to call Citrasol. But it's 20+ years old, but who cares? Either it works or I get rid of it and go raid the laundry room again.

Go for it..

 

[M16LR.50]

Do you deprime before or after cleaning?

 

[silverfoxdj]

Do you deprime before or after cleaning?

I deprime before cleaning this was the pockets are cleaned thoroughly and less work after

 

[Magellann]

Hah, found 2 litres of something we used to call Citrasol. But it's 20+ years old, but who cares? Either it works or I get rid of it and go raid the laundry room again.

Give it a try, I don't see why it wont work.

 

[M16LR.50]

I deprime before cleaning this was the pockets are cleaned thoroughly and less work after

Thanks... I am new to this reloading business so tagging along to see how everyone does it

 

[Magellann]

Do you deprime before or after cleaning?

The first couple loads I never deprimed until after cleaning, but was concerned about the primer pockets holding water and taking much longer to dry. I then started depriming before tumbling and now they cases dry much quicker without the need to put them in the oven.

 

[silverfoxdj]

Thanks... I am new to this reloading business so tagging along to see how everyone does it

No worry's just p.m. if you have any other questions would be glad to help

 

[Magellann]

Once you start reloading a lot of stuff falls into place easily, especially if someone shows you how the first time, after doing it for a bit it all starts to make sense.

 

[BCRider]

Do you deprime before or after cleaning?

For rifle brass I do because it both cleans the primer pockets better and also lets the ultrasonic energy get into the casings from that end as well and does a better job on the inside.

For handgun brass I don't bother. I load on a progressive press and depriming ahead of time effectively almost doubles the work as I'd have to make two lever pulls per round instead of one pull. So after it comes out of the US cleaner and is rinsed I lay the brass out on old bath towels and use Mother Nature's Drying Service to help out. If I'm in a hurry I'll warm it in an old toaster oven to force dry enough to get by for whatever I need. But the rest sits on the towels for 4 to 5 days or until I get around to reloading it. Because some mouths might be blocked from air getting in easily I stir the brass around a few times during the drying period to give things a chance to open up and dry.

I was thinking of a food dehydrator but the last couple of times I just decided that Mother Nature and some patience is working just fine. I may still get one someday though.

Of course this drying issue applies regardless of what form of wet cleaning we do.

 

[guy329]

I use a rock tumbler I bought for the kids years ago. For media, I use walnut chips with a very small amount of car polish (a blob about a thumb print size). Also add three or four strips of a new (or used) dryer strip. The strips always come out black and can be tossed after each tumble.

De-prime brass before cleaning. The walnut chips are expensive when bought as a 'reloading' product, but you can get a 50 lb bag of it at Princess Auto as a 'sand blasting' product, really cheap. That will last a VERY long time. I never tried corn cob chips because the walnut worked so good.

A good rock tumbler is made to operate for weeks/months at a time, so it should last a while on brass. Normally a few hours should do it, but I've forgotten to check on a few tumbles and the brass really sparkles after an all nighter.

 

[Cranberry]

See post #41

Thanks for that. I checked with Rooky - he doesn't have any right now. Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and get some from Cabela's

 

[silverfoxdj]

Thanks for that. I checked with Rooky - he doesn't have any right now. Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and get some from Cabela's

He is the best guy to check with if you can get them..

 

[grinder08]

I use a Dillon tumbler with corncob media. Tumble for about 5 hours, loads easy. Ultrasonic may clean it a bit better but do you really need too? Mine a bright and shiny.

 

[yomomma]

8 hours of lizard cage bedding/Nufinish in my home made vibratory cleaner is good enough for me

 

[ChromeArty]

8 hours of lizard cage bedding/Nufinish in my home made vibratory cleaner is good enough for me

Can't argue with results like that!!

I dug around the range bucket the day before yesterday and got a ton of 9mm brass... some is a bit crusty... anyone ever use a bit of dry clean sand? ... maybe for only a half hour or so? ...