Who does not tumble their pistol brass?

[PS Paul]

I took a look in classics & stickies and found just a little bit of info on this. I sure don't want to be "Little Billy" (ha-ha)!!!

For years I have not tumbled my pistol brass, preferring to wipe them down either at the range (when possible) or at home when prepping. Sometimes not at all for a few loadings.....

I know I am not the only person out there who does not tumble. In the past, I have played around with washing them using different detergents/soaps/vinegar and the like, but I have always avoided compounds/tarnish removers/polishes and paste and just let them "age naturally", so to speak. Rifle brass is a very different story and I treat those with loving care and respect.

So I thought it might be a good idea to post a thread so some of us could offer up some of the other things they do to clean brass effectively (or not) without a lot of hassle. I tried it in a bag in the dishwasher once, but I loaded them a little too soon and found some duds due to dampness. Further, I realized this was probably not very safe due to the possibility of lead contamination, so I stopped that practice right away......

[Ed_Shot]

Based on what I learned here, I clean my de-primed brass in a bucket of hot water with a teaspoon of citric acid powder and a squirt of Dawn soap for 20-30 min. Dry on a screen wire rack in the sun. Plenty clean and shiney for me

[PS Paul]

Ed, do you leave it in the soap/water/citric acid to sit? OR do you swirl it around and scrub/shake?

[williamwaco]

I took a look in classics & stickies and found just a little bit of info on this. I sure don't want to be "Little Billy" (ha-ha)!!!

For years I have not tumbled my pistol brass, preferring to wipe them down either at the range (when possible) or at home when prepping. Sometimes not at all for a few loadings.....

I know I am not the only person out there who does not tumble. In the past, I have played around with washing them using different detergents/soaps/vinegar and the like, but I have always avoided compounds/tarnish removers/polishes and paste and just let them "age naturally", so to speak. Rifle brass is a very different story and I treat those with loving care and respect.

So I thought it might be a good idea to post a thread so some of us could offer up some of the other things they do to clean brass effectively (or not) without a lot of hassle. I tried it in a bag in the dishwasher once, but I loaded them a little too soon and found some duds due to dampness. Further, I realized this was probably not very safe due to the possibility of lead contamination, so I stopped that practice right away......

The first 20+ years I reloaded, I didn't even know tumblers existed.
I wiped pistol cases in an old bath towel.

If they were greasy or smokey from bullet lube, I wiped them with a shop rag damp with naptha.

Only if they were encrusted with mud did they see water.

I reloaded thuosands of them that way. I still have about 500 + of those same cases and they are still in use.

Summary:
In my opinion.
It is NEVER necessary to tumble them.
It is ALWAYS necessary to be sure they are clean of mud, dust, grit, carbon, and bullet lube.

That said, I now tumble every case every time. It is easier, takes less ( hands on) time. It makes 'em really purdy.

.

[sledgehammer001]

I don't tumble any of my brass, typically. Unless it's gotten something on it that shouldn't be there, grease, wax etc. Always wipe them down good before lubing to size. Keeps the brass pretty clean, actually.

[felix]

I just wash in paint thinner unless picked up of the ground with loose sand, dirt. Then water wash with a little vinegar, and then paint thinner if still greasy from lube. If in a hurry, then I substitute trichloromethane or a safer equivalent for the paint thinner. I have all kinds of chemicals around my house that I have accumulated over the years. ... felix

[Ed_Shot]

Ed, do you leave it in the soap/water/citric acid to sit? OR do you swirl it around and scrub/shake?

I use hot tap water and agitate it with my hand 2 or 3 times during the course of 20-30 min. It starts getting shiney real quick. After a good rinse I pat it dry inside an old towel before putting it on a screen wire rack in the sun. I do 300-400 pistol brass at a time. For rifle brass I wipe down each case out ot the rinse water.

[BruceB]

For quite a while, I'd put my brass in cloth mineral-sample bags with a little powdered detergent, and tie the bag closed. Each bag would hold several hundred pistol cases.

Then, I just ran them through a full wash cycle in the washer, and spread them to dry afterwards. NICE clean brass, with a bit of shine.

Now I use a tumbler with fine corn-cob and a shpritz (scientific measure, there!) of Turtle Wax "Scratch and Swirl Remover", and the cases glitter like mirrors after this treatment. No effort, and wonderful results. Shiny cases are easy to inspect and easy on the eyes as well.

I do tumble all my brass; from the range they go directly into the machine.

[stubshaft]

I also do not tumble any brass. I have not had any dies scratched or chambers harmed by NOT doing it.

[Wolfer]

I have a tumbler but rarely use it. After loading I wipe the excess lube off the entire case.
I'm more interested in how they go bang than how they look.

[Shoot66]

I put the brass into a plastic bottle with the neck wide enough not to cause trouble when I pour them out. Usually not higher than to 1/3 of the bottle size. I add some dish-soap, a dash of vinegar and then pour hot water in. Not too much so I can shake the content well. I shake to bottle for a minute or two, and I then let it sit for a few minutes and repeat the shaking process. Next I pour the cases out, wash them with clean water and let them dry well in the sun or in the oven shortly.

[prs]

I wet tumble in a model B Thumblers. Fill the tank about 3/4 full of brass, add enough hot tap water to just cover, add a few drops of Dawn and teaspoon of LemiFresh (citric acid). I let this run until I get ready to fool with it, usually far longer than necessary. When I get good'n ready I dump the tank load in a sink basin and run a gentle stream of cold water. I run my fingers through the shiny gold treasure just like Midas as the water rines away all the solution and dirt. When the water is draining clear I turn the spigot off and put a dib of Lee case cleaner on my hand and give it the Midas touch again to spread the lube. I put the wet lubed brass into an orange sack and hang to dry. When decapped, even the primer pockets are clean. I like lubed cases feed very well through my carbide dies in the progressive loader, way easier than unlubed.

My vibratory dry tumbler is on the shelf, too much dust and that dust probably has a lot of lead staphinate residue.

prs

[PS Paul]

prs, like Midas? That's actually pretty funny. I like the notion of adding the Lee case lube during the process and the fear of the lead styphnate is one of the reasons I avoid case tumblers. I've used colanders in the past, but I might give the methods you and shoot66 mentioned.

[gunseller]

For the first 30 years I reloaded I never tumbled any brass. When I did get a tumbler and started running my brass through it I did notice that the brass went though the sizer die much easier. I do not think they shot any better nor did I ever have extraction problems. I use nut hulls. Do not get as brite of a shine as with corn cob but nut hulls are faster. The oldest brass I have that I can identify is from 1973. They are Browning brass in 44 mag. Some have been loaded over 30 time. Half or more of the loads were a 240 SWC over 22 grains of 2400.
Steve

[captaint]

My brass comes home from the range, gets dumped into the vibrator and gets run for a couple of hours. Easy. I do this to keep it clean to protect my carbide dies. And - OK - I like to load pretty ammo. I admit it. There. enjoy Mike

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yeah, I tumble most spent cases.
BUT, if it's a small batch of larger cases like 44 Mag (which is most of what I shoot)
I just wipe off the soot and lube right away with a shop rag, that usually leaves them
as clean as tumbled...if not, they get set aside and tumbled with the next batch to come along.
Jon

[wrench]

Revolver brass never hits the ground, so it doesn't get dirty. I just wipe them off with a rag before reloading.
Pistol brass is very dirty from the dirt (mud) ground at the range, it goes into the tumbler with corncob for an hour or two before reloading.
Very easy.
Before I had a tumbler, I used the wet cleaning methods for pistol brass. That worked fine, but seems to be more work to me.

[Junior1942]

I haven't tumbled in years. Shiney cases don't shoot any better than dull cases. I use hot tap water in a milk jug about 1/4 full of cases, a squirt of dish-wash liquid, and rock 'n' roll music--shake, shake, shake, shake your cases. Then rinse in cold tap water, dump in the sink, then spread out on newspaper, etc. If I need them soon, I place a small fan blowing over them.

[mold maker]

Pretty, shiny brass, is in no way necessary. On the other hand, it's a matter of pride. All my loads are better looking than new factory.
It is wise to make sure there is no grit, dirt etc, on your brass so as not to damage your dies. Other than that it is just a personal preference.

[mdi]

The first 20+ years I reloaded, I didn't even know tumblers existed.
I wiped pistol cases in an old bath towel.

If they were greasy or smokey from bullet lube, I wiped them with a shop rag damp with naptha.

Only if they were encrusted with mud did they see water.

I reloaded thuosands of them that way. I still have about 500 + of those same cases and they are still in use.

Summary:
In my opinion.
It is NEVER necessary to tumble them.
It is ALWAYS necessary to be sure they are clean of mud, dust, grit, carbon, and bullet lube.

That said, I now tumble every case every time. It is easier, takes less ( hands on) time. It makes 'em really purdy.

.

Wow, I agree 100%. I was gonna say the same thing, but you beat me to it! I only reloaded 12 or so years before I tumbled any brass. I used a rag slightly dampened with mineral spirits to wipe my brass as I inspected it. I memmer the old timers/reloaders at the range had kinda dark, dull brass and picked up all they shot (newbys and cops were the only ones shooting "virgin", shiny brass).