brass cleaning

[45fan]

Hello all, new to the forum and have a newbie type question. How clean do cases need to be. I put them in a bucket with hot soapy water swished it around for a few minutes and rinsed several times. blew them dry with compressed air and tossed them in my tumbler with walnut shell medium. Out side of cases are looking like new but inside and primer pocket not so much. How clean is clean enough to reload? Am I making this harder than it needs to be?

Thanks All

[turtlezx]

brass really doesnt need to be cleaned at all

just makes them pretty to look at

[983mauser]

+1 Cleaning is only for our eyes, but they sure do look nice when they come out of that tumbler.

[BBarrett]

You maynot have to clean the cases, but for me, I don't want to scratch the inside of my dies because of any carbon or dust. And everyone is right, they sure are pretty when the come out of the tumbler.

[Ickisrulz]

Maybe they don't have to be cleaned if they come directly out of your gun and into re-sizing dies. But if you pick up range brass covered in dirt and sand you'd better do something or you'll mess up your dies.

Another thought, I must use really dirty powder. Some of my pistol brass gets covered in lots of black soot. I wouldn't think about re-sizing them without cleaning them first...let alone handling them.

About 1-2 hours in a tumbler should get even the most nasty brass clean enough to run though dies without damaging them.

[Casper29]

the brass itself does not have to be cleaned, but for better ignition and consistant seating I clean the primer pockets every time.

[btroj]

And don't confuse clean with shiny. I tumble to remove dirt and grit that might scratch things I don't want scratched. Polished and shiny doesn't make ammo better, just prettier.

[edler7]

I switched to stainless media, and now it's all clean inside and out.

When I used a vibe tumbler and walnut, brass came out like you said...outside pretty good...primer pockets and inside..not so sparkly. For pistol brass, it was fine. For rifle brass I cleaned primer pockets after they came out of the tumbler.

You want to get the dirt and grit off the cases so your dies don't get scratched. From that point on, it's all personal preference.

[45fan]

Thanks for the info every one. Good to know I dont need to clean any more than to avoid damage to my dies in which case I am good already. I believe a quick touch with the primer pocket cleaner I will be all set. Thanks again everybody :-)

[45fan]

Just got me to thinking, what tumbler media cleans better in your opinion, shell or cob? I am not really worried about shiney, but dont want to damage my dies due to dirt or carbon either.

[Ickisrulz]

Just got me to thinking, what tumbler media cleans better in your opinion, shell or cob? I am not really worried about shiney, but dont want to damage my dies due to dirt or carbon either.

This is what I use and recommend. It's small enough not to clog flash holes. It polishes very well. A half cap of Nufinish car polish adds to the effect.

http://www.drillspot.com/products/521055/econoline_526040g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

[45fan]

I switched to stainless media, and now it's all clean inside and out.

When I used a vibe tumbler and walnut, brass came out like you said...outside pretty good...primer pockets and inside..not so sparkly. For pistol brass, it was fine. For rifle brass I cleaned primer pockets after they came out of the tumbler.

You want to get the dirt and grit off the cases so your dies don't get scratched. From that point on, it's all personal preference.

Edler7 tell me more about this stainless media you use I have never heard of this.

[Ickisrulz]

Edler7 tell me more about this stainless media you use I have never heard of this.

There are at least 3 threads on discussing stainless steel media you'll be able to find using the "search" function.

STM is a site sponser and has plenty of information on their website. Look at the header on this page for a link. The sell complete kits.

In short, a rotary tumbler is used with a mixture of stainless steel pins, lemishine and dishwashing soap. Pro: the results are outstanding, inside/outside the case and primer pocket look new. Cons: little more labor intensive, larger initial cost, limited to relatively small batches of brass.

[wildphilhickup]

Use "BRASSO"

Don't care for the Stainless Media, I don't want to have to ever wash my brass.

A dry clean method is my preference.

And I clean 500 - 1,000 at a time.

Gotta feed the 1050 and then the SMG's!

[Mooseman]

Oh no you didnt say "BRASSO"...
Brasso contains ammonia and ammonia attacks the copper in brass and weakens it.
It is stated as such in EVERY reloading manual to not use anything with ammonia.

Brass does need to be cleaned to keep grit and lube and dust out of your guns and to function the best.

Use nufinish or dillon case polish in media...they have no ammonia.