I deprime my black powder brass, and clean in an ultrasonic with warm water and citric acid. Then they get tumbled in corn cob with Nu finish. They come out looking like new.
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I deprime my black powder brass, and clean in an ultrasonic with warm water and citric acid. Then they get tumbled in corn cob with Nu finish. They come out looking like new.
the type of brass cleaning method, tools and materials will depend on how bad the bp residue is on the brass. my fired brass gets dunked in a soap/water solution within a few seconds of firing and this brass cleaning works best for me - 30 minutes in a hornady 2L U/S with hornady brass solution. shake off the excess water and then 15 minutes in a corn media vibrator. done. what i like best about a U/S is how well it cleans what's most important - the inside of the case, particularly since i only load black powder, and we know what can happen with anything that'll give purchase to the bp whence fired. the .45-70 brass below has been fired many times and has lotsa life left.
https://i.imgur.com/VbsMVSZ.jpg
Just saw this thread and I’m also debating which way to go when I replace my old and tired vibratory tumbler. I was thinking about ultra sonic because it should quieter, easier, and less messy. I’d like to hear more about them and their downfalls and also how loud are the rotary tumblers? If you use stainless pins a magnet won’t get the pins out of the brass right?
I bought a rotary with metal pins and love it! I use the wheel/ball brass separator the brass from pins and the magnet to pick up any pins on the floor or bucket. I use a fine mesh cloth to strain the water from the pins and rinse. I love it compared to dry tumbling. I never tried the ultrasonic.
totally subjective since vibratory, tumbler and ultra sonic brass cleaners all can get the job done. i tried all three, each type for years. for my bpcr and handgun brass, i'm sticking with ultra sonic all the way - super quiet, twice as fast, and the brass is just as clean inside as outside, which is important to me for black powder loads. ymmv.
Tumbling with SS,Lemishine,Dawn, water is the only way to go for any case cleaning.
I have two RCBS vibratory tub cleaners, a Lyman ultra-sonic and a Lyman Cyclone SS pin tumblers. Each have their spot and chore in my brass cleaning efforts. Gp
I would only recommend ultrasonic for smaller batches. The rotary tumblers w/SS pins for large numbers, and vibrators for light duty.
The cons are rinsing, dirty water disposal, and drying with ultrasonic and rotary, lead-laden dust from vibrators.
As stated each has it's favored use. If I didn't already have several tumblers of both types, I'd be interested in sonic. Most of what I do is in large volume so the ultrasonic really isn't feasible.
The ultimate in shiny brass, (much better than new) is a combination of SS pins in a rotary tumbler to clean, and a turn in cob vibrator to polish. You'll need sunglasses. It's true, they won't shoot any better, but sure are a source of pride at the range when I bring out my loaded jewelry.
there are ultra sonic machines and then there are Ultra Sonic machines. its size (and overall quality) determines its effective capacity. i use a hornady 2L and can do fifty 45-70 cases at a time ... but do remember it only takes a very quiet 30 minutes to get the job thoroughly done, so an hour for 100 cases. this fits me fine as typically i'm cleaning no more than 40, but if i had to do 100 it would be no big deal. if i had to routinely do a 100, that would justify a much larger machine.
also, it WILL matter how well you take care of a fresh spent case, and mine are immediately dropped into a water/dawn solution after firing. the more lax one is with pre-clean handling the less work the U/S hasta do to get the brass squeaky clean. i was given some really nasty winchester 45-70 brass that took a double run (1 hour) to get acceptably clean inside and out. i do use a corn media vibratory (with the top off) to dry off the wet brass because i'm usually lazy about towelling them off, or leaving 'em in the sun (if it's out :) ).
all the brass cleaning processes available will work just fine. all are subjective compromises of sorts. all can get the job done.
Just a suggestion. Lyman and a brass dryer. You will need to come up with 25 more dollars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-7631550...dia+sifter+set
PLUS........
https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Ars...ds=brass+dryer
that frankford brass dryer got some really negative reviews. some folks are having much better results using a food dehydrator instead.
I have had no issues. Mine is over a year old and gets used roughly twice a week. I shake in a towel before putting them in the dryer. Usually gets them dry without spots in less than an hour.