Cleaning Black Powder Cartridge cases

[toecutter]

I have been cleaning a lot of BP cartridges lately, and I've been trying to find something that does a good job of cleaning up the mungy brass left behind. I was kinda thinking about using BB's and soapy water, but a friend said that may damage the brass. Right now I'm just trying to see what other options there are out there, I would try the BB idea if it didn't require investing a huge amount of money in BB's.

[jhrosier]

I'm using hot water with about 2 oz vinegar per quart to clean my brass.
I'm shooting Hogdon's 777 but it should work for BP also.
I agitate them then let them set for a half hour and rinse twice more with clear water.
There is no powder residue left behind. BTW, I deprime before cleaning.

Jack

[e15cap]

Save your self a lot of time and agravation and order the Ceramic Media Kit from Dave Mauer.
Available at Sagebrush Prod. Works in a barrel tumbler or vibrator and will even clean the primer pockets. Beat money you will ever spend on BP equipment.
Best Roger

[kodiak1]

X2 on the ceramic cleaner for Black Powder.
Ken.

[TexRebel]

ditto's on the ceramic cleaner

[13Echo]

I have very good results with plain old walnut hulls with three or four caps full of mineral spirits and a couple of tablespoons of Bon Ami cleanser. Start the tumbler and add the mineral spirits and allow it to evenly distribute then add the Bon Ami. I wash the cases and scrub out the insides of the cases and put them in the tumbler while still damp. 1 to 2 hours later the cases look nearly as good as new. It works good enough that I'm not tempted to get the ceramic media.

Jerry Liles

[brshooter]

Use the ceramic media with a tumbler. After shooting drop cases in a can of soap and water. At home, I use a Thumb's Thumbler, Mdl. B. Fill drum 1/2 full decapped brass, Add 6-8 Lbs, ceramic media, add hot water 1" above media and brass level, add 2 tablespoons laundry soap, button up and run 3-4 hrs only. Dump water and rinse out, being careful to not lose media, check brass, if not clean enough do another cycle with fresh hot water and soap. Do Not run longer than 4 hours on one load.
I sell ceramic media same as Mauer's a little more reasonable. Contact me.

[jonk]

Vinegar and hot water. If I want to polish them they go in the tumbler.

[EDK]

Get the ceramic media. De-cap the brass, maybe rinse it in hot soapy water and then put brass and the ceramic in the tumbler, as directed. Let it run for awhile and your brass looks like new. Rinse the residue out of the media, throw it in a container and use it forever.

It works great for the once fired brass I acquired awhile back. It was pretty tarnished, but cleaned up nicely with the ceramic.

There's some discussions over at shilohrifle.com/forums. The majority like it, from what I've read; I sure would recommend it.

[dromia]

I use the wet ceramic media process and the Thumlers Tumbler as described above, works good for me.

[scb]

+1 for the ceramic choirs

[mazo kid]

I use the ceramic media and a rotary tumbler. After that is done cleaning, I put the brass in my vibratory tumbler for a final polish with corn cob media.

[boommer]

guys anytime you load black you need load into soft brass if you want to keep your brass purdy. I will aneal the cases first off then every third loading there after and then you extend your case life and then they stay purdy too!! Then you just have to wash them in hot soapy water and a 50 cal bore mop and swab them out.

[Mad Dog]

If you really want to clean brass inside and out and the primer pocket, use an ultra sonic cleaner. I got mine from http://www.sharpertek.com/shulhaclpa.html. I use it to clean all my handguns and brass. I know it is expensive but I shoot a lot every week so this works for me. The cleaning solution can be one of their products or vinegar, salt and dishwasher soap. Just be sure to rinse and dry thoughly before reloading.
If you call them, ask for Gus, he will cut you a deal.

[Mad Dog]

I used the wrong site, try: http://www.sterlingtime.com/consonjewbat.html

[CaptainCrossman]

old thread but worth reviving- just got done running 100 rounds of 44 Colt through a new Colt conversion replica open top pistol, and just got done cleaning the brass- it took all of 5 minutes if that

I see the vinegar trick mentioned above, that's a good one too

but what I did, was put all the brass in a small pail, and mix hot water with a few ounces of MR. CLEAN kitchen/bathroom/floor cleaner- then dumped the solution out, and put all the brass in a shallow pan on my coal stove to dry (yes it's still cold here in Pa. USA)

it just melts the stuff right off, but it will discolor the brass slightly- it comes out looking more like nickel plated than brass

if you then want to polish them, per someone else's post, run them in the tumbler

the liquid bath is really quick- the tumbler used electricity, is noisy, and takes a long time. I could reload these again right now if I wanted to

[jonk]

Mr. Clean, huh? New one on me.

Honestly I don't care if the brass is pretty or not, whether the corrosion is halted is the main thing.

[shotman]

try Simple Green it the best thing to clean . and dont hurt your hands. Smells good so wife will let you do it in the kitchen rick

[NileCitySlick]

I like clean shiny brass. I drop my BP cases in a water bottle until I get around to cleaning them. I do wet tumbling of the cases with stainless pins in water + a shot of Dawn dishwashing liquid plus a teaspoon or so of LemiShine (after decapping shot shells, not others) really does a good job of cleaning them. No residue of BP in the case or in the primer pocket. After a 3 hour spin in the tumbler, I pour off the dirty (I mean dirty) water, add some baking soda and fill it up. A few shakes then into my media separator with clean water (or maybe some more baking soda in it). The baking soda counteracts the acidity in the LemiShine. I dry them in a paint roller pan (I like the slant to drain water). To speed things up, I use my heat gun to really warm up the cases. Some people put them in the oven at a low temp.
I like the results. Very clean cases that are easy to reload.

[cajun shooter]

I started shooting BP in 1970 and have went through all the "this is the best way cleaners". I 've been shooting SASS cowboy matches with my 44wcf rifle and revolvers loaded full of 2F and they do get dirty. About 4 years ago I switched from the Ceramic media to using the SS pins and they come out looking like the day they arrived from Starline.
You have to have a rotary type tumbler, I use the Thumblers High Speed model B. The pins are 5 lbs of SS pins. Add the pins and your brass to the tumbler, it's better to decap first. Use just enough warm water to cover the brass by about 1/2 inch. Add a squirt of Dawn/OXY, just a short squeeze. You may use Palmolive/OXY if you don't find the Dawn. Then add a level teaspoon of Lemi-Shine, it may be purchased at Walley World in the dishwashing liquid section.
I run my brass about 2 1/2 hours and then open up the tumbler. You will have soap suds and black water. Rinse the brass and pins while they are in the tumbler. The pins must be rinsed clean or your next batch will not be clean. The brass will blind you if you do it correctly.
When you first receive your pins, put them in the tumbler by themselves and add water and the Dawn/Oxy and run them a few hours. this will clean the oils from the manufacturing stage. If you don't do this step, your brass will come out a gray color. Take Care, I have 45-70 brass in the tumbler and it's time to rinse them. David