When do you clean/tumble your brass...???

TReX300

TReX300

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I've been reloading rifle for almsot 20yrs now. I've always cleaned my brass after I've resized them so it gets all the resizing lube off of them. I dont like the idea of it being on a shell that going into my gun and possibly bringing dirt and grime into the chamber with it. I finally read the front section of a couple of my manuals and it talks about cleaning the brass before you even risize it so that it dosnt get your dies dirty. I'm more worried about my gun then the dies and if the are cleaned before going out to the range they should come back very dirty if theres no oil on them. When do you guys clean your brass? Have I been doing it wrong all these years. If you clean it before resizing how do you get the oil off your shell before shooting them?

Thanks
Tim
 
If I am starting with bulk fired brass, I tumble it to give it a quick cleaning before sizing. I then wash it with with hot water and dishwasher detergent. When dry, I give it a good tumbling - not for a bright shine, but clean.
 
The problem with tumbling after resizing & depriming is that the medium (corn cob) gets stuck in the flash hole. Whereas if you tumble first, the depriming ensures the flash hole is clear.
 
After reading 6mmbr article on ultrasonic cleaning, I tried it, and to my amusement the reasults are great, the brass is spankin' clean :dancingbanana: inside and out, the flash holes are super clean

all I use is a mixture of vinegar + water, then soapy water, then water +soda, rinse.....that's all and no resedue on brass as I put Soda in water solution to stop the chemical process :)
 
I tumble the brass, resize, trim, etc, tumble again then reload. For rifle ammo the time it takes to look and see if there is a piece of media in the flash hole, and if so, remove it, isn't that much of a bother to me.
 
I tumble my brass when it needs it. This means that some will be shot up to 4times between tumblings. I always knock the residue off the necks after firing the round, unless it is in a hunting situation. If I recover my brass when shooting at an animal, I will clean the neck later in camp. I use fine steel wool. Range brass always gets a tumbling before I size it. Regards, Eagleye.
 
I tumble my brass when I get home from the range. I use a water-based case lube and drop the newly-sized cases onto a wet towel. I roll up the towel, shake the cases for a few seconds, then spread them out to dry. The cases are clean and lube-free.
 
Am I the only one that doesn't clean unless it's necessary? I don't let them get filthy but I don't worry much about it.

EDIT: I am talkin handgun brass....
 
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Ruthless said:
After reading 6mmbr article on ultrasonic cleaning, I tried it, and to my amusement the reasults are great, the brass is spankin' clean :dancingbanana: inside and out, the flash holes are super clean

all I use is a mixture of vinegar + water, then soapy water, then water +soda, rinse.....that's all and no resedue on brass as I put Soda in water solution to stop the chemical process :)
Click to expand...

Is the soda being used to stop the vinegar reaction? Vinegar and soda have the same pH's of about 2.5-3.1, both very acidic. The soapy water would be a strong base, maybe that's what your talking about.


University chem still haunts me......make it stop hurting my head! :rolleyes:
 
gushulak said:
Is the soda being used to stop the vinegar reaction? Vinegar and soda have the same pH's of about 2.5-3.1, both very acidic. The soapy water would be a strong base, maybe that's what your talking about.


University chem still haunts me......make it stop hurting my head! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Oh my, if your prof's taught you that baking soda is acidic, it's no wonder your head hurts. Take an ibuprofen and torture yourself no more.

Baking soda is an alkali- a base- and as such will neutralize acids.
 
I tumble first if dirty/dull, resize and then wipe off lube with a rag. That sucks, I'm going to tumble again next time. Your die could get all kinds of crud in it from really dirty brass.:eek:
 
I have cleaned my brass with the primers in or out. Doesn't make a difference to me . If you think your dies are getting dirty clean them.

Straight Shooting

Budweiser2
 
I clean the brass about every 3 firings. Sometimes I just toss them in the dishwasher in the silverware rack. drives the wife nuts..lol
If the cases are real dirty i tumble them. I resize after they are tumbled. Hasn`t failed me yet and i`ve been reloading about 30 years now.
And for your dies getting dirty,,,, get a can of brake cleaner,take the dies appart, give them a spray, let dry then a quick shot of WD40, give them a quick wipe and put back together.
 
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