What is an easy way to clean Brass? Is it necessary?

[44minimum]

Haven't done an awful lot of reloading, but is it necessary to clean the Brass after firing? Would that burned powder residue get up inside your die and ruin it? Can you just rinse the Brass reel good with hot soapy water? And after their clean, what is the purpose of tumbling them? I don't have a tumbler. Thanks for any input.

[Johnw...ski]

I use carbide dies for my pistol cartridges so I don't lube and don't clean the brass. My rifle cartridges get lubed so I like to clean off the lube, for this I use a little dish detergent and a splash of vinigar and water and let them soak for 10 minutes or so. Then rinse and dry. The vinegar tends to shine them up a little also.

John

[trickg]

44 - I posted a similar question over on the Beartooth Bullets Shooters' forum and I got a couple of good recipes for a brass cleaner where you soak your brass in a soapy water solution, (can contain vinegar, lemon juice and or salt) rinse well, wait for it to dry, and then you have nice clean brass. It won't be as nice looking as it would be if it were tumble cleaned, but it will definitely get the job done.

The other night, I simply put a touch of Hoppes on a rag and hand wiped some brass - that seemed to work good too, although I wouldn't want to do that ever time.

So to answer your question - is it necessary? Probably not, but it will keep your dies from getting dirty and you won't have to clean them nearly as often.

I'm asking for a tumbler for my birthday, and after that, I won't have to worry about it.

[pjh421]

Soak in vinegar for half an hour. Rinse in clear water and dry at 200 degrees in the oven as long as it takes. Hotdog taught me this on another forum. Re-use the dirty vinegar. It works great and its cheap.

Paul

[Reloader06]

+1 on the vinegar
I wouldn't use Hoppes or anything else that contains ammonia. It will over time harden the brass thus weakening it. as to if it's nessasary, no but IMHO it shows some degree of pride in my loads. YMMV

Matt

[Linstrum]

Hi, 44minimum, Speaking for myself only, I do not normally go to great efforts to clean my brass. For brass that I know the history of I check it for powder mummies if I was using a slow powder and if it was ejected to the ground I check it for dirt and grit. All of my brass gets a minimum cleaning, I put in a colander and shake it up with real hot water and then rinse it in the sink to get the water soluble lube I use and other crud out and then I let it dry in the sun on the front seat of my car, or if I am in a hurry I dry it in the oven at 220°F (105°C), just a tad above the boiling point of water. The few occasions where I do clean it more vigorously are when it has mud or grit stuck on it, like for range brass I just picked up, or surplus or Eastern Bloc brass that was loaded with corrosive primers. Corrosive primers leave a residue of potassium chloride salt inside them and this stuff may volatilize the next time the cartridge is reloaded and irreparably damage a barrel if not noticed early enough. Fortunately potassium chloride is very soluble in cold water and washes out easily. Corrosively primed brass gets washed three times.



Occasionally I want some real pretty brass and all I do for that is before re-loading buff it with 000 steel wool in an electric drill. Don't use sandpaper or abrasive polishes on brass because grit embeds in both the cartridge case and projectile and will act as a lap to remove metal from your gun's chamber and bore, albeit slowly.



That does it for me as far as cleaning most brass goes.

Occasionally I find stuff with crud stuck really hard to it and those I triage for use or if too much hassle put them in my old brass collection. I do not throw any brass away regardless of condition, it has too many other uses plus scrap value.


rl378

[Christian for Israel]

i don't have a tumbler either. i wash mine in hot water with laundry detergent and degreaser and it seems to add a bit of shine as well as removing the fouling. i also dry in the oven at 250 for an hour or so.

i'll have to give the vinegar a try.

[KCSO]

My Father in Law always made me clean any brass before resizing it to keep from wearing the dies. I still have die sets he bought in the 1940's so there might be something for it. I tumble all my brass just from habit as when I like my loads to look nice, more professional.

[Boerrancher]

As I have posted on another thread or so, I have some 44-40 brass that has been shot and reloaded so much that the head stamp has worn off of most of the casings. Never once have they ever been run through a tumbler or cleaned. I lube them on a Lyman lube pad, and then after they are resized I wipe them off, before I go to the next step. That is the way I do most of my brass. I only use a tumbler when they are nasty enough that I am afraid they won't chamber or I am afraid to run them through my die.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[TAWILDCATT]

I use a tumbler[vibrator] and some time a solution.I like to have my cases clean.
if you dont want to clean your room nobody will do it for you.just like rumpled clothes.:coffee::roll:

[MtGun44]

tumbler, not really but it is nice.

Bill

[yeahbub]

This works well for cleaning cases and will remove any case-sizing lubes and a good bit of tarnish without tumbling. I start by putting them in a large container, plastic, glass or stainless - not aluminum - and hosing them with a bit of oven cleaner and a few drops of dish detergent and a cup or two of hot water. Wearing rubber kitchen gloves, I stir them around so they are all inundated with the liquid, adding the occasional squirt of hot water to make sure they all get fully submerged at some point. Then I fill with water to the brim and pour off the liquid several times, stirring and rinsing to be sure all the lye is removed. Then they all go in the oven on a cookie sheet at 150 deg for an hour or so as far from the heating elements as possible. I don't go any higher because some ovens get extremely hot in some spots and I don't want to unintentionally draw the brass. Blasting each one out with an air hose and putting them on the dashboard of the car with the windows up on a sunny day has dried them just as well, but is a bit more work. Using lye this way will leave them squeaky clean with no residues and they'll be shiny as well.

[Boz330]

When I didn't have a tumbler and was shooting IPSC I put the cases in a cloth bank bag with a little detergent and my wife threw them in with the wash. You can dry them in the drier but it is a little noisy and the people in the laundromat looked at you a little funny. They looked just like they had been tumbled.
I heard that vinegar is not good for brass over a period of time. I can't remember why though.

Bob

[dragonrider]

Vibratory tumbler is the easiest IMHO. Takes little effort. I tumble my brass for 30 minutes, it's clean, it does not shine like a diamond but it is clean.

[Char-Gar]

I started reloading back in the 50s before there were tumblers and such. Tarnished and dull brass was the mark of a handloader. We used to wipe the cases with a cloth damp with rubbing alcohol and that was it.

[44minimum]

Seems like I got enough answers to do me for quite awhile. Thanks for the input

[mike in co]

look at it this way.

one can save a few pennies by buying cheap gas at a no name gas station, but what most do not understand is the harm the dirt in that gas does to your fuel injectors. eventually your gas mileage goes down, you dont pass your emissions test, you pay a shop to diagnose the problem...new injectors!....now how many pennies did you save...really ??

dies are precise tools, putting dirty cases in them is just a no no. how you clean them and how much you clean them is up to you, but understand that burnt on powder( carbon) is hard and will over time harm your dies. some cases i just wipe off, some get a full blown tumble/polish. shinny brass is much easier to find than dull brass.

mike in co.

[Christian for Israel]

gas is gas, it all comes from the same holding tank. only the additives are different.

no one is talking about loading dirty brass. we simply prefer to wash ours to remove the dirt/carbon. if you like to make it pretty, that's your choice.

[felix]

True, gasoline, called motor fool, err fuel, these days, has two generic formulas: one for alcohol additive compatibility, one for other petro additives ONLY. The additives are the only brand difference, and they are added/mixed at the "local" terminal before being trucked to a dealer. A dealer would be an independent, or belong to a branded oil company. Contracts with a branded oil company are on a per gas station basis. The contracts call for a minimum number of gallons of the BRAND on the sign sold per month, and that is all. If the dealer sells more gas, it does NOT have to be that brand, but any mixture the terminal will supply based upon what ADDITIVES are the cheapest at that moment. You could be buying Shell additives or Conoco addtives when your Sunoco station has met its quota for the month. Gas stations buy ADDITIVES, and that is IT entirely. Naturally, the gas station can sell 100 percent of the branded additives if desired. ... felix

[mike in co]

gas is gas, it all comes from the same holding tank. only the additives are different.

no one is talking about loading dirty brass. we simply prefer to wash ours to remove the dirt/carbon. if you like to make it pretty, that's your choice.

i think he was talking about dirty brass...read his question.

if you believe tha gas is gas, maybe you could explain where the dirt comes from in mom and pop stations or in my case costco. i have never had a name brand station have pump clogged due to dirt in the tanks. 45 years of driving, a number of years in the gas business, a degree in automotive technology, work in the automotive business.
you should see the dirt in the gas from south of the border...yep people go down there, tank of gas, bottle of beer and a hair cut. months later crappy running car...no idea why...lol.

i am in the denver metro area we have two types of gas for summer/winter , but i still see people with 30/40,000 dollar cars putting the cheapest gas they can find in the car. the first load of dirt thru the tank will ruin a excellent set of fuel injectors.
because we are a mile hi our regular gas is 85 octane...sea level regular is more like 87/88.
all GAS, maybe GAS, BUT its all the crap from the bottom of a tank that makes the difference.

been there, done that...for years!

mike in co

[felix]

It's not the gas, but the tank. Dealers with bad tanks go out of business around here often. In fact, the EPA around here is very strong, and they check gas stations out regularly. Any leaks whatsoever, the station goes out of business or close down until the tanks are replaced. Happened to a Conoco station right around the corner from where I live. The owner told me that he got a complaint about bad gas, and somehow the EPA got there about a week after the complaint. I wonder how that happened! So, if you get stung, Mike, call the EPA immediately and they will, or should, check out your car pronto. ... felix

[44man]

It depends on how much gas is sold and whether the tanks were filled the time you bought it. That stirs it up and circulates dirt. All tanks have dirt in the bottom.
Stations that sell little gas are the worst for dirt.
It has nothing to do with the supplier or the tank truck. Mom and pop stores do not have a different refinery. They are not delivered dirty gas.

[mike in co]

It's not the gas, but the tank. Dealers with bad tanks go out of business around here often. In fact, the EPA around here is very strong, and they check gas stations out regularly. Any leaks whatsoever, the station goes out of business or close down until the tanks are replaced. Happened to a Conoco station right around the corner from where I live. The owner told me that he got a complaint about bad gas, and somehow the EPA got there about a week after the complaint. I wonder how that happened! So, if you get stung, Mike, call the EPA immediately and they will, or should, check out your car pronto. ... felix


felix,
not the gas station tank( tho if could be), the distributors tank. the guy that buys or delivers the last load or two out of a batch/tank picks up all the crap in the tank, that settled out of the entire batch.
was at a costco station. tanker pulls up and drops his load.....while he is still there pump after pump quit flowing....dirty filters!...so dirty they would not flow gas. after this happened a couple of time...dirty filters/no flow, i just quite buying at costco. they obviously dont have any pull with thier supplier and are getting the runt of the litter.
never happened at amco/chevron/shell/conoco/76/texaco/arco...........

mike in co

[carpetman]

mike in colo--"I think he was talking about dirty brass--not dirty gas read his question"---Read the thread---who first brought up dirty gas??

[felix]

Dirty gas comes from somebody's dirty tank. Impossible for a refinery to produce dirty gas; not part of the chemical apparatus to make dirt, but to leave it behind instead. Yes, the resulting tar at the bottom of the apparatus might have dirt, but that is going on roads anyway, so who cares. ... felix

[Christian for Israel]

oy vey...

[felix]

Wernher von Braun... one of my heroes. A man who called a spade a spade in front of anybody, and took anything under his command personally. Same as Howard Hughes, and a few others I have knowledge of, or think I do. Passion is good, but the results of that passion might not be good for any or all. Theologians think Peter was chosen as the first Pope over John because of Peter's strong passion for the faith, rather than John's unfaltering love for Christ. ... felix

[DLCTEX]

Gas is filtered at the pump and in the vehicle. Dirty fuel may clog the filter, but I don't see it clogging injectors unless something is chemically wrong, in which case everyone will eventually figure out who's gas is bad and they will go out of business. Having hauled fuel and petroleum products, I have hauled fuel from the same spout as the other brand named customers the only difference in the fuel was the time it was loaded. I used to haul motor oil for a distributer of a national brand. I went to a warehouse adjoining a refinery in Tulsa and picked up oils and greases. There was a door for each brand and some chain stores. I asked the people there if each brand of oil was different. They showed me the specs on each can, they were identical. They said that the only difference in the 7 brands was the can. I related this to the distributer, who said that theirs was blended to their specs, but was bothered by it enough to have the brands analyzed. There was no difference. An older driver told me about hauling gasoline from a plant for a dealer of a national brand whose fuel was a particular color. They gave him a container of dye that was dumped into the transport tank before filling. The agitation of filling and hauling blended the color. They advertised nationally how much better their fuel was. Maybe there was something extra in the dye, but at about 2 pints in a transport load it would have to be really potent. DALE

[mike in co]

dale,
its not cloging the injectors, its wearing them. micro dirt at the high velocity of fuel injectors wears the nozzle, as the wear progresses the spray pattern degenerates, combustion decreases, economy goes down hill, exhausts gets dirty. my original point was saving a few pennys per gallon of gas was never gonna pay for new injectors. this problem was prevalent in so california with people buying gas in mexico. diesel was worse. if you did not add an after market filter you were guaranteed to ruin your injectors. cars were easy to spot....they always burned rich...black exhaust.

mike in co

[MT Gianni]

Never fill up your tank if the tanker truck is there. It will increase particulates in the fuel. Also the lines are no longer seperated by a pig. # 2 diesel can be followed by 87 octane or anything else and it is blended in . Gianni

[Southern Son]

I didn't know that you Yanks were using 85 Octane. Over here we get get at least 91 Octane (in most service stations there is a choice between 10% Ethanol blend and standard unleaded, but both are 91 Octane). If you are willing to pay an extra few cents a liter, you can bet 95 and 98 Octane, they are usually the ones with the additives (they claim that some of the fuels will clean your injectors as you drive).

On the cleaning cases thing, if I am reloading smokeless, then I will put them through the Hornady Tumber with some corn cob whenever they look dirty or feel rough. If I am loading real gunpowder (the holy black), then the case cleaning is a major event, and it happens each and every time the case if fired. Basically, it starts at the range where I decap and then drop the fired shell into some water with dish detergent. When I have fired the shells out of that one lot (I keep my brass in different lots, it helps to keep track of howmany times they have been reloaded, if one is due for a trim, then the whole batch gets it, etc), then I will give them a good shake in the water/detergent mix to get all the soot and the grease cookie remnants out. I then flush them in cool fresh water and leave them in the cool water till I get home, where I dry them in the sun. If they arn't too tarnished, then they are primer pocket scraped and re-loaded, but if they are (which is almost always), then they go into the tumbler.

I have just come into a small washing machine so I am thinking of making a larger tumbler that can use wet media (along the lines of a Thumbler) out of the motor. If I do, I will swich to ceramic media.