I only use steel wool on rough spots on brass I need. Rub them out and inspect. For years I only used steel wool, a file, 400 wet type sand paper. Didn't have all the other toys.
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I only use steel wool on rough spots on brass I need. Rub them out and inspect. For years I only used steel wool, a file, 400 wet type sand paper. Didn't have all the other toys.
I use the "white" 3M pads, when I want to clean just a few cases and don't want to run the tumbler. They are the least abrasive of the colored pads. In descending order of abrasiveness: Brown, green, grey, white.
Winelover
I can understand not running the tumbler. I think it all takes longer with all the other steps and toys.Originally Posted by winelover
Back in the day I used to load one round a minute was slow, that was clean if needed, trim with file (caliber measure) , deburr using a file mostly. Loading was just fun, at 16 it stopped buying ammo unless I needed empty's.
Adda few Black, Brown, green, Red, grey, Cream (off White), white. There are a few more like the one we call hair .
Last edited by Teddy (punchie); 03-12-2017 at 08:44 AM.
Use shell holder from Lee trimmer after trimming use a price of cotton rag with white spirit/mineral spirit to wipe spinning case gets most of the crud off the case including case lube from sizing .
When I started reloading in 1967, I used a Lee Loader. I found a piece of 5/16 brass rod and cut a piece about 5 inches long. Then put it in a drill and tapered the end a little with a file. I could then slide on a .308 case and polish it up with 0000 steel wool. Was quite satisfied with the results.
About 20 years later I built a tumbler using a barbeque grill motor and a square plastic jug, using corn cob and some kind of polishing compound. Then about 2003 acquired a vibrating tumbler from a flea market and used it a little. Have not done as much reloading as I would like over the years but am planning to do more now that I am retired. Will probably switch to stainless chips when I get a shop set up so I can fabricate a tumbler. Bright clean brass is easier to find in the grass after shooting and I hate losing it because it is hard to see if not polished bright.
Amen, To SHINY BRASS!! That's what I say.
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There was a fairly long thread about cleaning brass to a high shine vs. leaving it au natural so to speak. Many if buying wanted to see it as it is, others appreciated the super clean steel pin and lemi shine with the primers out. I guess I put myself in the middle, I want it cleaned & preserved (polish & citric acid) I won't waste a huge amount of time trying for super shiny in a vibrating polisher but I'm also not going to store a bunch of filthy brass. Even if I'll sell it later I'm going to want it cleaned up a decent amount just while it sits around until sold.
If my brass comes out with a nice shine after an hour or so in the vibrating polisher I'm not unhappy that is for sure. If while loading them I see some soot or stain on one I'll clean it off. I think in the future I'm going to put some of those plastic scrubbing/polishing pads at the bench. Like that idea better than steel wool, no rust. Running the vibrating cleaner isn't costing me much and my finished product looks better for it. Besides shows of the pretty PC bullets to their best advantage if there is a shiny case
Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.
Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.
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Personally I like guns which allow you to take the case out and put it in your pocket. It may be maturity or something. But for many of us it is worth polishing to find it all after ejection.
Last edited by Ballistics in Scotland; 03-14-2017 at 08:07 PM.
I have been making bullet jewelry and have been collecting so much brass and for a while could not afford to keep up with the cost of just changing my media in my vibratory tumbler. I found out that harbor freight has a 25 lb box of walnut shells available so purchased it and it did well last night. I also found that to be cheap when your budget is low you can use new finish car polish in your tumbler.
Some times I add the extra time to steel wool on the drill press with a wooden dalrod when I want it really shiny then switch to a hand polish.
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(DIRT + GRASS + MUD ) + SHINY BRASS = FINDING IT.😆😆
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...I polish my 38/357 brass cases with 00 steel wool for metal polishing. I just hit the top third part of the cases closest to mouth. I’m not a production loader and don’t care for the mess associated with tumblers (the mess is due to my clumsiness more than anything).
Buy a Tumbler, ss pins, Dawn, and Lemishine. Problem solved forever.
No because you may get repetitive motion injuries to your fingers if you keep working on a large lot.
Even without a persistent injury your fingers might take several days to recover. By contrast the chemicals often used for cleaning with steel pins actually accomplish a lot of the work without any use of your fingers. One of those chemicals is citric acid from the dish washing powder Lemi Shine. An even better chemical is Birchwood Casey Case Cleaner. You need to keep your hands out of of it but is does a superior job of cleaning brass with no tumbler or steel pins.
Once you get your brass clean the best procedure is to keep it clean.
I have cleaned a lot of case necks only with steel wool. A lot of factory ammo is loaded with ball powders that leave a very tough etched black stain on the case necks. Remove that stain can be tough to do except with some sort of finger exhausting work with an abrasive like steel wool, Scotch Brite or Carborundum paper.
Once you get the stain off keep your brass clean by immediately wiping it with an oily rag.
Last edited by EDG; 03-05-2019 at 03:21 PM.
EDG
Best way to handle highly tarnished brass! I add a little Dawn to the citric acid wash. Only takes several minutes to remove tarnish then dry and tumble. If case necks get soiled from ball powder I clean them with OOOO steel wool.
Larry
Steel wool on a tumbler?I wondered why steel wool is not used?
I make spinners, I chuck-up the spinner in a 3/8 drill, place the spinner into the neck of the case and spin the case while holding the case into the spinner. It is not tricky but holding the steel wool whole spinning takes a couple of tries.
And then there is the 3M GREEN PAD, before steel wool I spin and clean with the 3M pad, the finish is not as bright as the finish when using steel wool so I finish with steel wool.
WHY! For the worst of cases and when I am going to load 20 cases.
F. Guffey
I've never worried too much about 'polishing' brass, or even 'washing' it, unless shooting black powder. Wiped off with a clean cloth if needed. Wash if dirty military brass to get rid of mud,dish detergent, the water rinse. Some of my dies are Herter's from the 60's and are not damaged or worn from dirty brass. Steel wool or brass wool works well to make them shine. I didn't bother with tumblers or vibrating cleaners until I did moly-coating. Still don't use them much. I try to keep my brass out of the dirt/sand we have here. If they land in the dirt, I wipe clean with a piece of cloth. Yeah, in the 60's, mailing an order to Herter's, primers, powder, surplus and other firearms all came in the mail. Steel wool still works, as do Lyman 310's. I've got those too.
I like SHINY brass as much as anyone, but I'm not obsessed with it. I have found 9mm brass that was lost in the grass for awhile. Not pretty at all, but still reloadable. I tumbled in walnut media, and that made it a lot better, but still not shiny. Reload it anyway, shoot it, and then tumble again. This time it shined up much better.
Birchwood casey case cleaner will take the black off a case that has been in the woods for many years in just a few seconds. Looks real funny at first but shines up very well with a quick polish with steel wool or tumbler. I use the lee case trimmer holder in a drill motor or mini lathe depending on how many I'm cleaning.
When steel wool or buffing pads are needed I chuck the thereded end of a barrel brush slightly bigger than the case neck in the drill, push on the case and get at it! Have to go
easy near the mouth so as not to grab the wool.
Aaron
Good points regarding potential repetitive injury...I may now consider a tumbler
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