Question: will 'not too clean' brass be fine?

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tony.1911

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Hello experienced reloaders,

I am new to reloading. Bought a tumbler and has already cleaned+polished bunch of .223, 45 and works fine so far.
Today I tried to clean some 30-06 brasses, only fired once. It looks very dirty (don't know what causes that)
After 6 hours tumbling, some of the dirt has gone, but some of them are still there.

Question:
1. Is it because the media has been used too long (less than 20 hours of use)? Will it be better if I change to new media? The current one looks way much darker than new one.
2. Is it ok if I ignore it and just start reloading?
3. If possible, does anyone know why it is so dirty after first fire? It is a Winchester Super-X 30-06 Sprg, 180Gr Power-Point.

Thanks a lot!

:cool:
 
My Garand brass always looks like garbage, even after tumbling. As long as the brass is clean and grit-free it doesn't have to be shiny new looking. You just need the dirt and grime off, they don't have to look perfect.


Mark
 
Uber clean is not necessary but as pointed out, most off, tarnish does not hurt for normal use. Try recharging your media with goop that is sold by lyman, cabellas and such, really helps!
 
Maybe I need to recharge the media…
Really curious since when I clean the 223s and 45s it really works fine.
Any one know is it the matter of brass?
 
My brass looks like crap. I dont have a tumbler so i either run them under water to get the lube off or a shot of scrubbing bubbles and wipe it off does the trick
 
Bounce sheets eh? Interesting....

Don't worry about your brass, You've tumbled them for 6 hrs so I doubt you'd get them any cleaner using your current method. When you say they feel gritty what do you mean exactly? Is grit coming off on your fingers or does the brass just feel rough? For the longest time I didn't have a tumbler and the only cleaning my brass got was from rubbing on and off the case lube when resizing. I bought a tumbler not because it improves the accuracy of my hand loads but because I like the look of clean brass. It's more important to clean your primer pockets, inside of the necks and watch your trim length.
 
hend238 said:
Bounce sheets eh? Interesting....

Don't worry about your brass, You've tumbled them for 6 hrs so I doubt you'd get them any cleaner using your current method. When you say they feel gritty what do you mean exactly? Is grit coming off on your fingers or does the brass just feel rough? For the longest time I didn't have a tumbler and the only cleaning my brass got was from rubbing on and off the case lube when resizing. I bought a tumbler not because it improves the accuracy of my hand loads but because I like the look of clean brass. It's more important to clean your primer pockets, inside of the necks and watch your trim length.
Click to expand...

I may not be a reloader (YET), but I can see how dryer sheets would work.. They are used to wipe chain lube off motorcycle rims and that's gritty, grimy, waxy stuff
 
If it's a rough tarnishing we're talking about that comes right off if you chuck the brass on a drill set to medium speed and use fine steelwool to clean it. Stubborn tarnish may also need some zippo fluid and steelwool. Wipe down with paper towel or rag after.
 
tony.1911 said:
Maybe I need to recharge the media…
Really curious since when I clean the 223s and 45s it really works fine.
Any one know is it the matter of brass?
Click to expand...

Brass is brass... Dirt and tarnish are dirt and tarnish.
Change your method... Change the result.

9mmbrass.jpg



308brass2_zps2dcd9452.jpg
 
With all due respect to those who are anal about their brass, clean shiny brass is nice, but is not absolutely necessary
to load quality ammo.
I have been loading since the early 1960's...we had no tumblers, and no suitable media.
We got by just fine.

Just make sure you have no foreign meterial adhering to your brass so as to
damage your FL die.

When I am shooting at the range, I take a little tuft of fine steel wool with me to
remove the carbon from the case neck right after firing it. [Comes off easiest when fresh]

As far as tumbling my brass....maybe after 3 to 5 firings, depending on what it looks like.

Range pickup brass always gets tumbled before use.
I usually use treated Corn Cob media. Turn on the tumbler when I go to bed, turn off when I get up
in the morning. I use dryer sheets to get rid of dust as well.

Regards, Eagleye.
 
Eagleye said:
With all due respect to those who are anal about their brass, clean shiny brass is nice, but is not absolutely necessary
to load quality ammo.
I have been loading since the early 1960's...we had no tumblers, and no suitable media.
We got by just fine.

Just make sure you have no foreign meterial adhering to your brass so as to
damage your FL die.

When I am shooting at the range, I take a little tuft of fine steel wool with me to
remove the carbon from the case neck right after firing it. [Comes off easiest when fresh]

As far as tumbling my brass....maybe after 3 to 5 firings, depending on what it looks like.

Range pickup brass always gets tumbled before use.
I usually use treated Corn Cob media. Turn on the tumbler when I go to bed, turn off when I get up
in the morning. I use dryer sheets to get rid of dust as well.

Regards, Eagleye.
Click to expand...

X2. The main reasons I do it now, retired so I have the time and it looks pretty.
 
Johnn Peterson said:
X2. The main reasons I do it now, retired so I have the time and it looks pretty.
Click to expand...

I'm toying with the idea of purchasing a tumbler for the same reason as I now have lots of time to goof around with stuff.I have to admit I do like the look and feel of that shiny slick looking stuff but in the past many years I made sure my cases were good and clean and when they needed touching up a little fine steel wool did the trick for me.
 
With 30-06 brass being longer and bigger then 223 brass and the 45 brass just how many did you put in the tumbler also. If it has to much in it the brass and media dosn't slump properly as it turns and all your doing is just turning your tumbler around with no result.
I worked with a guy who used to clean his brass on the bench grinder with the wire wheel. two problems his thumb was allways taped up and his brass was so rough it wasn't funny. He could actually make a BAR not fire properly with the crap he made.
I did find the polishing cloths for dress uniform buttons does shine them up not to bad in a pinch also.
 
Anyone ever hear of uber gunsmith Mick McPhee? He is not only one of the finest precision gun builders going, he is also a pretty darned good shot. Well, he never cleans his brass. Wipes off the outside, but that's it.

There you go.
 
paperslayer said:
Anyone ever hear of uber gunsmith Mick McPhee? He is not only one of the finest precision gun builders going, he is also a pretty darned good shot. Well, he never cleans his brass. Wipes off the outside, but that's it.

There you go.
Click to expand...

Ya know what?I think I'm just gonna pass on buying a tumbler afterall,the money I would have spent on it can go towards another rifle and I have my eye on a candidate or two that are looking for a new home.I'll just keep on tidying up my cases the old fashioned way for now.
 
Eagleye said:
Just make sure you have no foreign meterial adhering to your brass so as to damage your FL die.
Click to expand...

You just need to follow this advice, tumbling is not necessary just something to make your brass look nice.
Think of it as fishing lures, most of them are made to catch the fisherman into buying them and not the catching the fish.
 
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