Washing once fired brass???

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islandkent

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Ok guys sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find it with my particular questions.

So here's my question... I don't have a SS tumbler yet. I will get one soon but have lots invested in reloading so far this year. That being said will a simple wash with the vinegar and dish soap suffice?

One more question. If you fired brand new store bought ammo in your rifle and took them out of you rifle one at a time and they never touched the ground or have any dirt on them anywhere. Should you still clean the to get the residue (spent powder-carbon) out of the cartridge before you run them through your full length resizing die? And would the above wash work good enough or just a simple wash in hot dish soap water? Or is it necessary at all?

Thanks guys, appreciate any and all of your opinions.
 
Your rifle brass is ready to be lubed and sized. No need to clean or tumble.

For the first 40 years I never cleaned or tumbled anything. My ammo looked grungy, but shot well. Now I tumble range pick up brass and all my pistol brass. It sizes better that way and looks much nicer.
 
That's the story for a lot of us. We reloaded for many years before we tumbled the cases and our ammunition didn't suffer from it.
 
Thanks for the quick responses guys. Appreciate it. I was kind of wondering that. I could see dirty range brass lying in the dirt but I really wondered about the stuff from the box to the rifle back to the box.
So no need to even give it a quick wash in soapy water. Sorry but I want to be perfectly clear here. lol
So won't hurt accuracy any? Is there a time when you would any reasons for doing so?
 
As long as the dirt is limited to what the rifle fired, plus or minus a drop on dry ground, there's no problem with reloading. If the case is filled with mud, obviously something should be done.

When you're talking about reloading, there are two reasons to do anything cosmetic:
(a) if there is grit on the brass, it might score the case, or damage the die, if put through a resizer (less likely to harm the die)
(b) if there is something significant on the inside, it will decrease the available case volume, and that will throw off your load by increasing case pressure and velocity, and/or decreasing amount of powder you can use (I'm talking about a pebble, or a chunk of mud - not soot from the last firing).

There are so many things you can add to a reloading process - and bright, shiny cases is certainly something many go after, but as long as you're not hurting your equipment, or affecting the load, meh!
 
Nope, clean as a whistle. No dropping on the ground, no mud. Box-chamber-box.

So no need to worry about little particles of spent gunpowder?

Great! Good to know. Once more thanks guys. All these little question that are not in the reloading manuals plus a few like this one I've never heard asked before in detail.
 
If it's just burnt powder residue no harm done. If I'm reloading 20 or 50 rifle rounds at a time I'll usually wipe them with a rag before i toss them in a large ziplock for lubing and that gets most of whatever is on the cases. For rounds that I'm just neck sizing I'll wipe the neck with a rag that has lube on it...gets most of the powder fouling off and lubes enough for me in one go.

Whatever you run up into your die that doesn't come out stays in there...so not a bad idea to check your dies after a lot of loading. I've bought used dies and some of them looked like a used q-tip inside..
 
Now I was lead to believe that you did not need to lube when just neck sizing. Or you just do it to wipe the powder fouling off the exterior of the cartridge? And do you wipe them down again after neck sizing before reloading?

Potato-patato???
 
Before I had a tumbler I would just use 0000 steel wool to clean the outside of the case and get sore fingers. Wet tumbling is what I prefer now because I have so many firearms that throw perfectly good brass away. Wet tumbling is the best method for removing any embedded dirt or grit from the case that will scratch your dies. If you do not have a tumbler then steel wool will remove any grit from the case and any of the cleaning solutions below will remove the carbon and dirt.

I used the highlighted cleaner below for cleaning before dry tumbling with walnut media. And be forewarned the longer the brass remains in this cleaner the Pinker it will become. Meaning it isn't a overnight soaking solution.

Homemade Firearm Cleaners & Lubricants
http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm

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 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.


I was reading about wet tumbling and LemiShine being hard to find that contains citric acid that you add with dishwashing soap for wet tumbling. One of the poster said he used Kool-Aid as a replacement for LemiShine, I looked up the MSDS sheet for Kool-Aid and lemon-lime Kool-Aid is 97% citric acid.

So you can try the cleaning solutions above or just some dishwashing soap and Kool-Aid agitated by hand.

Below the instructions for my STM wet tumbler using stainless steel media.

STM_zps9d3bacae.jpg
 
There's usually very little pressure when neck sizing so the wipe with a rag that has a bit of lube on it just really smooths things out vs preventing the case from being wedged in the die. Neck sizing or full sizing, I'm using the minimum amount of lube to have a nice smooth pull on the press. Routine and habit I suppose. IMO, you're neck sizing so as not to upset the fireformed case, so why have anything but a nice smooth action.

I always give the cases a wipe after sizing, neck or otherwise, and check the case for cracks, folds, dents or anything else. Again...might not be necessary but it's a habit thing. My thinking is that after sizing there's no reason for lube on anything so why not get rid of it.

For fun rounds I might not do this...but for for 'accurate' rounds that are going to be resized with an expander button I'll also use a nylon brush that's got just a touch of lube on it to brush out the inside of the case neck. Very minimal but it clears any crud and I find there to be a smoother draw when pulling the case neck over the button. More of drawing it over the button vs. dragging it over....subtle, but works for me.
 
One good thing about tumbling cases is that it makes it easier to notice splits. Otherwise, it's cosmetic as much as anything.

One trick I used successfully for years for cleaning grimy cases. Take the sleeve off an old flannel shirt, dump the cases in and squirt in a good shot of lighter fluid. Take a firm grip on each end and SHAKE! Dump them out on a plate or something until the excess lighter fuel evaporates and the cases will be clean as a whistle.

Wash the sleeve with the dirty laundry once in a while (easier to do without upsetting The Boss than trying to wash a couple of hundred brass cases in her precious washing machine).
 
Usually if the case lube was wiped from the brass, that was clean enough for the old timers, and sometimes it still is. Be careful about exposing your brass to vinegar, if you allow too much time in the solution, or if you don't rinse them thoroughly, the brass will discolor, and in extreme cases, could be damaged.
 
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