Citric acid brass cleaner

[Big Boomer]

New wrinkle on an old theme. Have the electric DC motor from a treadmill and the front part of the treadmill frame where the DC motor is mounted. Did not change anything where the motor is mounted. Tossed everything else from the treadmill, controls, etc. Made a tumbling drum from 6" PVC with a stop on one end and a step-down to about 4" on the other end. Found a rubber cap for the step-down and use a large hose clamp that is screw tightened. Bought 5 lbs of stainless steel pins for the drum from a vendor on the site here. Of course, you have to have the proper PVC glue for the end cap and the step-down. Whole thing is about 18" long or so. Put two pieces of aluminum baffle to jar the brass around inside the drum. That thing will hold 30 lbs or more of brass. Takes just a half-teaspoon or so of citric acid and a few drops of dish detergent. I use hot water and place the drum on the remnants of the treadmill with the back roller moved to within 6" of the front roller (Used some old pieces of 2"X4" for the framing). Since the motor is DC, I use a heavy duty old Sears battery charger set on high jump-charge and in about one hour or so it will have all the brass clean as a pin, including primer pocket, inside and out. Yes, you have to de-prime every piece of brass before putting it in the drum but it is worth it to have brass that looks like new. Easiest thing I've found so far. Big Boomer

[RidgerunnerAk]

You can buy citric acid(Vit C)powder by the pound on Amazon.

[whisler]

Vitamin C is ascorbic acid.

[p7m13]

remark about pure ammonia :

**** I made : the ammonia will attack the copper and gradually the brass turns into copper: the color changes, the elasticity of the case also !

[sniper]

The first time I used Citric Acid and dawn to clean my cases, I was amazed at how quickly it worked , and how well it cleaned the brass. See no reason to tumble more than a small amount if at all.

[whisler]

I citric acid/dawn cleaned some 45 ACP brass and decided to tumble it in corncob media to make it "shiny". Then I had to clean the media out of many of the flash holes. "Shiny" isn't worth that much hassle. From now on I'll settle for just clean.

[RED BEAR]

Clean works just as good i used vinegar and salt for years.

[mr surveyor]

I'm still using the same old (bought in 1983 for cleaning drafting ink pens) small ultrasonic cleaner I used when I first (finally)started re-loading in Jan of 2011. Originally used the old drafting pen cleaner solution, then decided to just use 50-50 vinegar and water. It did a good enough job cleaning what little I needed to process after a shooting session. Then tried a few other things and finally got hooked on lemi-shine and a dash of Dawn. That little tub only holds from 20-40 pieces of brass, but only takes about 10-15 minutes to fully do it's job on de-primed brass ... I can be doing other stuff while those small batches are cleaning. I almost always de-prime brass either the same day, or day after a range trip and run the old u-s cleaner shortly thereafter. Since I've had to limit my shooting to 20-80 rounds per range trip in the last several years, that old 36 year old (small) ultrasonic tub can handle my small needs. Actually, I'm not sure when ultrasonic wash was finally accepted for cleaning cartridge brass and had absolutely no outside prodding to try it. I had an old lifelong reloader buddy that told me I could clean brass by soaking it in a coffee can with vinegar water good enough to at least knock off the "big chunks". I thought I made a great discovery by digging out my old retired (since 1992) ultra-sonic cleaner and trying it with cartridge brass. Since mine is showing signs of aging, I think it's about time to break down and buy a newer, somewhat larger, tub ... but I ain't planning to cheap out by buying what appear to be "less than quality".

I am a fan of ultra-sonic wash of cartridge brass though. Don't care squat about "shiny" .... I like clean!


jd

[nun2kute]

New wrinkle on an old theme. Have the electric DC motor from a treadmill and the front part of the treadmill frame where the DC motor is mounted. Did not change anything where the motor is mounted. Tossed everything else from the treadmill, controls, etc. Made a tumbling drum from 6" PVC with a stop on one end and a step-down to about 4" on the other end. Found a rubber cap for the step-down and use a large hose clamp that is screw tightened. Bought 5 lbs of stainless steel pins for the drum from a vendor on the site here. Of course, you have to have the proper PVC glue for the end cap and the step-down. Whole thing is about 18" long or so. Put two pieces of aluminum baffle to jar the brass around inside the drum. That thing will hold 30 lbs or more of brass. Takes just a half-teaspoon or so of citric acid and a few drops of dish detergent. I use hot water and place the drum on the remnants of the treadmill with the back roller moved to within 6" of the front roller (Used some old pieces of 2"X4" for the framing). Since the motor is DC, I use a heavy duty old Sears battery charger set on high jump-charge and in about one hour or so it will have all the brass clean as a pin, including primer pocket, inside and out. Yes, you have to de-prime every piece of brass before putting it in the drum but it is worth it to have brass that looks like new. Easiest thing I've found so far. Big Boomer

gotta have pictures or it never happened

[GregLaROCHE]

remark about pure ammonia :

**** I made : the ammonia will attack the copper and gradually the brass turns into copper: the color changes, the elasticity of the case also !

Brass is made of copper and zinc. The ammonia is probably attacking the zinc on the surface leaving only copper showing. I little bit of ammonia with a detergent for a few minutes, won’t damage brass cases to the extent you are talking about.

It works great to quickly clean brass. I’ve been using it for a long time, followed by a water rinse, then citric acid and a rinse with a little bit of baking soda to neutralize.

[kevin c]

I citric acid/dawn cleaned some 45 ACP brass and decided to tumble it in corncob media to make it "shiny". Then I had to clean the media out of many of the flash holes. "Shiny" isn't worth that much hassle. From now on I'll settle for just clean.

If you substitute wash and wax car wash mix for the dawn, the wax gives you a nice shine.

[2011redrider]

The wash n wax will also leave thin coat of wax behind, it prevents tarnish thatb you get shortly after using dawn, and makes sizing cases easier.

As to the corn cob sticking in the flash holes...what grit size are you using? I have 20/40 and it's is small enough to prevent any clogging of the flash holes.

[GregLaROCHE]

I always thought that detergents were “Basic” and would work against “Acids”, each reducing the positive quality of the other. Therefore, I always washed my brass in a detergent, rinsed it and then put it in citric acid.

It seems like a lot of people are mixing the citric acid with the detergent. Is my logic sound, or am I wasting a lot of time doing it in two steps?

[whisler]

Detergents, depending on type, may be mildly basic but they are so mild and used in so low a concentration in this instance that they could not neutralize the citric acid to any appreciable extent.

[kjohn]

My goodness! I just read through 875 posts. I only ever cleaned brass with a little Thumbler's Tumbler, then a Frankford Arsenal vibrator in later years. Then...I caught the citric acid bug on here. Bought a small bag at the Bulk Barn (ridiculous price), and now I'm off to the races. My wife donated a wee crock pot that never got used. I just used the standard mix of a teaspoon or so in a quart of water. Tried both hot and cold, but will settle on warm. Works like a charm. My wife also donated a rack made for hanging thread spools on. After rinsing the brass in clean water, I wipe them on the outside with a blue paper shop towel and stick them on the little rack to dry. I mounted the rack on the wall above my oil-filled electric heater in my playhouse (shop) office, so they are dry the next day. After they dry, I give them a run in the FA vibrator.

Great thread. Thanks to all who have contributed.

[ACC]

Your system is a lot better than what this snake oil salesman was selling at the last gun show. It was highly costic and you had to wear heavy rubber gloves.

I have tried your method and like it. Thanks for the info.

ACC

[Hanzy4200]

Got my wet rotary loaded up with a splash of Lemi Shine (citric acid) for the first time. I'm curious to see the results here in a minute.

[Hootmix]

Used one of my wifes little three multi- colored packets for the dishwasher ,, 2 liter juice bottle w/ warm water ,, 40 min's. very clean ,, BE sure to rinse w/ cold water. If you leave the brass in too long ( oh! a I for got moment ) it will be dull looking ,, pour out use new packet each time . I'v used this stuff 20-30 times , same brass , deprime ,, soak ( shake the bottle once or twice ) rinse- rinse ,, dry ( hair dryer in a alum. foil pan ), YMMV,, reload.

coffee's ready Hootmix.

[erich03]

What I have been using is a few drops of Permatex Fast Orange Grease X Mechanics Laundry Detergent and some citric acid powder in my ultrasonic cleaner. Only takes a few minutes and the cases come out bright and shiny clean.

I get the detergent at my local Oreilly Auto Parts and the citric acid I get at Winco, my local food store in the bulk foods section.

When they are clean and dry I dump them into my vibratory polisher and let them go for an hour with some walnut hull, a bit of Meguiars ultimate polish and a dryer sheet. They come out smooth and shiny and they go in and out of my sizing die with no issues at all.

[sv44]

anyone here tried cascade? a 1/2 tsp amount in a rotary tumbler with ss pins works really well for me