How to clean brass cases

[goste]

I found a real simple method, that only takes about 30 min. I soak in white vinegar, dish soap, hot water for about 10 min. pour out on a towel, and roll dry. put in a large gym sock and tie the top, put in another gym sock and put in the drier on high heat, with whatevers in the drier, for about 15 min. your brass will blind you when it comes out..

[XWrench3]

" I found a real simple method, that only takes about 30 min. I soak in white vinegar, dish soap, hot water for about 10 min. pour out on a towel, and roll dry. put in a large gym sock and tie the top, put in another gym sock and put in the drier on high heat, with whatevers in the drier, for about 15 min. your brass will blind you when it comes out.." [/QUOTE]

well, that will certainly get the dirt and nasty stuff off the outside of the case. it will do nothing as far as polishing it. what about the inside of the caseing? does this remove all traces of burnt powder from the inside? so it looks like the outside of the brass?

[Shiloh]

Nu Finish car polish from Wally World. FOund the idea right here onthe forum. Works great.
I tumble with 14-20 corn cob. THe more times th brass is tumbled, the brighter it gets in a shorter time.

SHiloh

[goste]

"well, that will certainly get the dirt and nasty stuff off the outside of the case. it will do nothing as far as polishing it. what about the inside of the caseing? does this remove all traces of burnt powder from the inside? so it looks like the outside of the brass? " (Quote)


Its the tumble motion, of the brass rubbing against itself in the drier, that polishes the case to a bright shine. And yes, the inside of the cases come pretty clean...... I was amazed the first time I tried it......

[Savy]

I have tried all the methods listed and am only happy with my current one. I purchased the Thumler Rotary Tumbler, 5LBs of Stainless Steel Pellets and RCBS Sidewinder Liquid. I decap the cases then run them in the Tumbler for a couple hours, rinse and dry on a towel (I am looking for a better drying method). Yesterday I cleaned a batch of Brass 12 Gauge Shot Shells and 45 Colt that were Black Powder fired. The results, Inside, Outside and Primer Pocket are Factory Fresh so I am completely sold on this method. Up Front Costs are a bit higher than a Vibrator with Corn Cobb or Walnut Shell but my Frankford Arsenal Vibrator gave up the ghost after a relative short time so I am convinced the cost will long term be in favor of the Thumler and again the results alone are worth the cost.

[MtGun44]

What shiloh said is correct. One capful of NuFinish car wax in 14/20 corncob, lasts
a VERY long time, makes the brass look just like new only slicker feeling.
When dirty , add a paper towel torn into strips, dirt embeds in the towel, throw away.
IMO walnut hulls are much dustier and dirtier, SS it way too expensive and entirely
unnecessary unless you are literally shooting black powder. Vinegar sounds
iffy on damaging the brass, but I have not tried it, for that reason.

Inside cleanliness is not useful. If you insist on getting superclean, use a bit of
Lemishine (dishwasher additive that is mostly citric acid) which is totally safe, will
NOT corrode brass, actually reverses any staining and corrosion electrochemically
and is safe enough to drink, literally. This is only necessary for brass that has
been exposed to the weather quite a while.

Bill

[DrBill33]

I now use a sonic cleaner. I de-prime the cases (using a Lee Universal de-primer) and then the Hornady Sonic Cleaner. Beautiful results!


If I want exceptionally shiny cases (seldom do I seek these ... only that the cases be CLEAN), I clean with Walnut, and then polish with corn cob and polishing agent.

All in all, I prefer the sonic cleaner

[Moonie]

I have tried all the methods listed and am only happy with my current one. I purchased the Thumler Rotary Tumbler, 5LBs of Stainless Steel Pellets and RCBS Sidewinder Liquid. I decap the cases then run them in the Tumbler for a couple hours, rinse and dry on a towel (I am looking for a better drying method). Yesterday I cleaned a batch of Brass 12 Gauge Shot Shells and 45 Colt that were Black Powder fired. The results, Inside, Outside and Primer Pocket are Factory Fresh so I am completely sold on this method. Up Front Costs are a bit higher than a Vibrator with Corn Cobb or Walnut Shell but my Frankford Arsenal Vibrator gave up the ghost after a relative short time so I am convinced the cost will long term be in favor of the Thumler and again the results alone are worth the cost.

I've moved on to the rotary tumble with SS pins using lemishine/dawn for a few hours, then a quick run in a tumbler with corn cob and nu-finish. Will just about blind you, look like factory new, inside, out and primer pockets.

[Jeff82]

+1 on the sonic cleaner. I deprime, then clean brass in an ultra-sonic cleaner. This cleans both the inside of the cases and the primer pockets. Then I tumble for an hour or two using standard corn cob media. Cleanest cases in town!

[jburris2001]

I always throw my 500 brass in a jar with warm water and dawn dish soap. slosh around a bit. rinse well. then place them primer up on a towl to dry. vibrate them in crushed walnut afterwords. always come out looking better than new.

[HiVelocity]

Stainless media in a rotary tumbler will make them like new. Expensive though.

MPMarty- Go ahead and bite the bullet one time and buy the Stainless Tumbling Media media set up (top of the page). Yes, its pricey. Unless you can find a decent used Thumbler Tumbler somewhere else, this is the way to go, barring none. I've taken range brass that was so black that it was almost impossible to determine what the case was. I use the full bag of stainless pins (5lbs), 150 45 Colt cases, deprimed, and cover with water, add 2 table spoons of "LemiShine" (available at Wal-Mart) and although the directions say to run for 4 hours, usually mine are done in 2. You couldn't tell the difference from tumbled brass and new brass from the bag.

Try it! Find someone close near you and take them your nastiest brass, rifle or pistol, and let them tumble it for you and see for yourself. I've already converted 3 of my friends to the stainless media set-up.

HV

[Twstanley]

I wanted to second or third the notion to use old dryer sheets in the tumbler to pull dirt out of the media...I also use a teaspoon of brasso now and then added to the media.

The dryer sheets are also great for removing static from any plastic powder measures, spouts, etc...