Sonic cleaner for brass

[Wilsknife]

Has anybody used a sonic cleaner for brass cleaning? I just acquired one and would like other's input before I use it.
Thanks for you replays.

:-?

[somedude101]

Wow I am the first person to vote on this poll. I tumble my brass with corn cobb media, but an ultrasonic cleaner sounds nice due to the fact that there is no real cleanup afterword.

[jmort]

I need clean. Don't need abrasive tumbler media or shiny brass, just clean. Sonic for me.

[NoZombies]

I use a rotary tumbler and SS media. It gets the brass very nice and clean.

I've used ultrasonic before, but the problem for me was lack of capacity.

If using the ultrasonic, do yourself a favor and make your cleaning solution as hot water, a few drops of dawn or similar (the detergent acts as a surfactant) and enough citric acid to bring the solution to about 5%.

[somedude101]

Is brass not shiny with ultrasonic cleaner like it is with a tumbler?

[dromia]

Tumble in fine walnut for smokeless with a rotary tumbler.

I'm not a fan of wet cleaning as it is a chew on.

I do wet clean my BP brass with ceramic media as I need to get the insides cleaned, I've tried stainless steel pins but don't find them any better than ceramic and the pins are more of a pain to manage.

I have an ultrasonic cleaner but capacity is an issue although I do use it for cleaning parts and moulds sometimes, just don't like wet cleaning.

[RobsTV]

If cleaning time with my HF ultra sonic cleaner is done for longer than needed, brass can turn from shiny to a darker dull color. For those times, I fill it's lined tub to capacity with the cleaned dull brass, then run one cycle of straight vinegar, with nice and shiny cases the end result. (rinse with water immediately afterwards).

How long does it take to tumble brass to a nice shiny look, (with clean primer pockets if desired)? I see posts stating they tumble for 3 hours or more, some saying 24 hours. Some say tumble 3 hours then decap and tumble another 3 hours. While Ultra-Sonic cleaning is indeed lower capacity, the spotless shiny results of a tub of brass only takes 20 to 40 minutes, depending on caliber. So capacity vs total time required might put sonic cleaned way ahead. When finished, simply put the cleaner away, with no other cleanup required, and ready to go next time. Usually shoot several different calibers, and separate them, then quickly decap prior to cleaning. I like clean primer pockets, and the only die that every sees dirt or shooting residue is the separate decapping die.

Also, what you use for cleaning makes a huge difference. After much experimenting with things we already have around the house, found that Bar Keepers friend, a little vinegar only on first cycle, and only 1 or 2 drops of dawn did the best job. However, mix wrong quantities and poor results. For example, if I used 3 drops of dawn instead of normal 1 drop, it took longer to clean, and brass was discolored much sooner. Do not use things like the plastic tray included with many cleaners, as it will absorb some of the ultrasonic energy. I use a glass meatloaf/bread pan that fits the tub almost perfectly.

[Zymurgy50]

I have the Hornady magnum sonic cleaner, capacity is 3 quarts. Mine will do 200 .223 cases at a time, or +/- 900 .22lr for jacket making.
For the .223 i use lemishine (about one teaspoon per quart) and one drop of Dawn dish soap in distilled water (we have a lot of iron in the well water, and the softner gets some of out, but not all), and set the temp at 130f. I preheat the water in the microwave for a couple minutes to avoid waiting on the tiny heater in this unit. Run one 5 minute cycle, lift out the basket and shake the brass around for a few seconds, then one more 5 minute cycle and rinse. In the winter the brass goes on a towel under the woodstove (dont know how warm that gets, but we had a dog that would sleep with his head under there), in the summer the brass sits on a towel on top of the picnic table in the sun for a few hours.
My brass never got this clean with a vibratory tumbler.

[khmer6]

Capacity is a pain. :banghead: but good for calibers you don't shoot a lot

[Nickle]

I've got both, and use both.

I've also got a crock pot I set aside for use with a citric acid bath. I tend to use unsweetened Kool-Aid, first ingredient is citric acid.

[MrWolf]

I have the RCBS sonic. It is big enough to fit my S&W 1911e in the basket to give you a feel for its size. I have used the RCBS cleaner and the citric acid. I aso will use a HF rotary rock drum to clean brass with walnut. What I have figured out is for the majority of my brass, 5 minutes at 140 degrees with a 5% citric solution works well. I will sometimes run them again in the RCBS cleaning only becase I have some and I pick up leftover brass at the range. For the really old brass that looks like steel, I do a citric bath then a walnut tumble then a RCBS bath - overkill but I have the solutions on hand. I also deprime before I clean. To dry, I use a food dehydrator at about 100 degrees for a few hours.

[MaryB]

Sonic cleaner with Ball fruit fresh (citric acid) and hot tap water in my Harbor Freight cleaner (Identical to the Lyman Turbo Sonic 2500). I run 2 cycles with the citric acid then a distilled rinse in a bucket. Into the oven at 160 to dry. If a case looks really tarnished/dirty after a quick spin with 000 steel wool cleans it up.

[Dryball]

Sonic Cleaners are the bomb specially when used with the Lemi-bath. The only reason to tumble in media after a sonic clean is to possible draw a tiny bit of moisture out or, in my case, to add a protective coat so the loaded rounds won't tarnish so quickly.

[MrWolf]

I use the walnut after the citrus to clean up the "pink" brass, as I picked up a lot of dirty, old brass that had been outside for awhile. Cleaning it more lets me give a better visual on its condition.

[Sensai]

I use ultrasonic to clean. I use tumbler to shine, if I feel the need. Mostly I'm just after clean, so mostly the ultrasonic.

[Nickle]

I swage bullets, and make 22 LR cases into jackets. Wet cleaning is essential for this. I bought an RCBS ultra sonic cleaner, and it works great. My mixture is 2-3 packets of unsweetened Kool Aid and a bit of Dawn dish washing liquid to the recommended amount of water. Citric acid is the primary ingredient of that Kool Aid. Been using it for years to clean nasty brass, before tumblers were the rage.

[No_1]

It is amazing how things tend to click at the oddest times. I have a commercial cleaner that only has a on/off switch for the heater which means the only heat control I have is off and HOT. I think it needs a PID controller. :bigsmyl2:

[popper]

Hornady sonic for me for > 1 yr. Works great with citric acid & down.

[Rick45Colt]

I use both a vibratory tumbler and sonic. I use the vibratory for big batches and the sonic for small ones. It just depends on the shooting session I just finished. I have been thinking about getting a true tumbler but have not made my mind up completely.

[Airman Basic]

Picked up one of these today:
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html
We'll see how it works. Sounds faster and easier than separating stainless pins or walnut hulls.

[John Boy]

Wils - how about modifying your poll to include rotary tumbler?
* 2 liter ultrasonic - worst cleaning & polishing plus no capacity
* vibratory tumblers - sold 2 of them, too messy, takes too long and inside of cases don't come clean. I shoot black powder

Rotary tumbler - now your talking about being able to clean & polish 12 lbs of BP brass in just over 1.5 hrs. The Lortone QT66 with two 6lb drums - ceramic polishing media & Strat-O-Sheen burnishing solution.
Example: 45-70 BP case - outside and inside - spotless!
76649

[detox]

I use stainless pin media, hot water, and Lemi-Shine in my old RCBS Sidewinder tumbler. After tumbling 3 hours, 100 cases come out very clean with very little carbon inside primer pocket. I seperate stainless media then dry brass on towel. Next i use the vibratory with fine corncob midia.

Will the Sonic cleaner work better and be less labor intensive? I do not know.

[detox]

Rotary tumbler - now your talking about being able to clean & polish 12 lbs of BP brass in just over 1.5 hrs. The Lortone QT66 with two 6lb drums - ceramic polishing media & Strat-O-Sheen burnishing solution.
Example: 45-70 BP case - outside and inside - spotless!
76649

People allways fail to show us the primer pocketS (pockets as in plural) after cleaning

[Airman Basic]

Well, this is just camera pix, but you get the idea. 2 hours in Thumbler Model B with stainless pins, Dawn and citric acid. 7665676657

[RobsTV]

Picked up one of these today:
http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html
We'll see how it works. Sounds faster and easier than separating stainless pins or walnut hulls.

That's the one to get. Works well.

[Bayou52]

Four hours of wet tumbling using SS pins, and there's no remaining tarnish or residue deposits in the inside, outside, primer pocket or flash hole hole of the casings. That's as complete a cleaning as can be obtained. With these types of results, I'm sold on the rotary wet tumbling approach.

After a few sessions of tumbling, the whole process becomes quite efficient and a lot of fun. I look forward to the sessions, in fact.

[RobsTV]

Four hours of wet tumbling using SS pins, and there's no remaining tarnish or residue deposits in the inside, outside, primer pocket or flash hole hole of the casings. That's as complete a cleaning as can be obtained. With these types of results, I'm sold on the rotary wet tumbling approach.

After a few sessions of tumbling, the whole process becomes quite efficient and a lot of fun. I look forward to the sessions, in fact.

4 hours seems like a very long time compared to sonic. How many pieces of what caliber are you able to clean in that time? If you cut the batch in half or less, does it take half the time or less, or does it take a certain amount of time regardless of batch size? How many can you clean in 20 or 30 minutes with same results of "no remaining tarnish or residue deposits in the inside, outside, primer pocket or flash hole of the casings"?

I typically shoot several calibers when I do a shooting session, and instead of one large batch of a specific caliber, have several smaller batches separated to clean. They need separated at some point anyway, so for me, separating and depriming before a few batches of 20 to 30 minute spotless ultra sonic cleaning fits in well with this type of shooting.

The Harbor Freight tumbler for wet cleaning (without pins or media) is looking interesting, as it seems to compete with the short time of ultra sonic cleaning for medium sized batches (twice as long but 3x the capacity?)

While ultra sonic has perfect results for me, I do not like having to get up and reset the timer every 8 minutes, and change water after 16 minutes.

[Bayou52]

4 hours seems like a very long time compared to sonic. How many pieces of what caliber are you able to clean in that time? If you cut the batch in half or less, does it take half the time or less, or does it take a certain amount of time regardless of batch size? How many can you clean in 20 or 30 minutes with same results of "no remaining tarnish or residue deposits in the inside, outside, primer pocket or flash hole of the casings"?

For each 4 hour session, my Thumler's Tumbler drum accommodates 2 pounds of brass. I'm not sure of the count since I go by weight, but 2 pounds is a nice bag of brass - for me, at least.

If you cut the amount of brass per session, with rotary wet tumbling, that will not necessarily cut tumbling time. In my experience at least, 4 hours of tumbling time per session is the "sweet spot" for impeccably clean brass. That seems to be the nature of rotary wet tumbling.

[1hole]

I got a HF/Lyman 2.5 liter US three years ago, mostly to clean small mechanical things like chainsaw carburators and it works great for that. Had to try cleaning cases too, of course. That lasted maybe a couple dozen runs, largely experiments to see what worked best before I abandoned it and went back to my vib tumblers. I found nothing unique about Lemishine over plain vinegar and vinegar is both cheaper and easier to find so I gave wifey the rest of my Lemishiney; don't know if she uses it or not - and really don't care!

Other than being "slow" to do any quanities, being messy to contend with, requiring too much personal attention while running and leaving my cases wet when finished, the US is just great. Steel pins in a rotary bath is much less labor intensive than US but the cases are still wet and it's just as messy to clean up afterwards. I took my wife's old sponge mop to clean up my cave floor and bought her a new one. ??

On the other hand, dumping a large batch of cases in one of my viberators and letting it run until I'm satisfied, or over night or a week. It requires no extra personal attention and my cases are ready to use as soon as I sift out the media (maybe a minute or two) and I'm loading 'em. I use 20/40 grit cob because it works great and it doesn't clog flash holes. I don't normally use polish anymore because I lost my fasination with glittery cases decades ago. The vibrators work easily and any small media spills are dry so I sweep it all up with the spent primers my RC press tosses around.

I see no advantage in surgicially clean case insides because I'm not doing surgery with 'em anyway and the thin carbon layer will be back well before the bullets are 2" down the bore (confirmed by the spent cases from my .38 snubby).

Just a personal view, do what ever floats yer boat...

[josper]

I use both. I FL size and deprime, Into the Lyman 2500 for 8min. with the Lyman sonic brass cleaner as directed per instructions. Rinse in clear water ,dry on a towel ,then into the tumbler with corn cob to dry and a quick polish. This eliminates the lead dust we are concerned with and also rouge from walnut media. I'm loving this setup.

[gcollins]

I just started using the HF Sonic Cleaning and I like ,I finish with walnut media, my steps are the same as most, I size and deprime, then off to the Sonic cleaner, When I pull them out of the Sonic cleaner, I will have a 3lb. coffee can that has a baking soda bath, then I will already have my air comp. on, I have a good blow nozzle and I will blow as much moisture out of them as possible, I will spread them out in beer flats and leave them to finish drying and then off to the Turbo Tumbler.
G

[Hatiwolf]

I use the sonic cleaner from harbor freight ... 30 minutes doesnt get anywhere with it. 1 hour of constantly resetting it every 8 minutes as thats the timer max and I still have to go through and clean primer pockets by hand. Im ready to try stainless.

[josper]

I use the sonic cleaner from harbor freight ... 30 minutes doesnt get anywhere with it. 1 hour of constantly resetting it every 8 minutes as thats the timer max and I still have to go through and clean primer pockets by hand. Im ready to try stainless. Before you through in the towel try either the Lyman or Hornady cleaning solution. Does your HF machine have a heating element in it ?If not use very hot water.

[Airman Basic]

I have to agree with Hatiwolf. The same Dawn and Lemishine I use with such success with the stainless pins doesn't show me much in the ultrasonic I bought http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html What's in the commercial cleaning fluids such as Hornady or Lyman? Vinegar maybe?

[josper]

There is nothing on the bottle as for ingredients . 8 min. is usually is enough time ,I rinse in clear water then tumble in corn cob more to dry completely then to polish.

[josper]

I have to agree with Hatiwolf. The same Dawn and Lemishine I use with such success with the stainless pins doesn't show me much in the ultrasonic I bought http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html What's in the commercial cleaning fluids such as Hornady or Lyman? Vinegar maybe? I checked out the link you gave for the HF sonic cleaner and it looks identical to the Lyman version. I'm wondering why this isn't working for you.

[Airman Basic]

The HF unit degreases and gets rid of the obvious crud but not as well as the walnut media vibrating cleaner or even close to the pins in the tumbler.

[prs]

l must be lazy. I do not deprime. I have the SS pins, but do not use them. Dirty brass gets tossed into my Thumblers with some Dawn and LemieShine plus hot water to cover. I fill it about 3/4 full of brass. Turn it on and let it tumble over night. Rinse with cool water. Put in an onion or orange bag to sun dry out on the black top. Looks like new brass.

prs

[Springfield0612]

I started with the HF ultrasonic cleaner (USC). This unit was available well before Lyman slapped their name on the side of it and jumped the price to $120/ea. There is no difference in the two US from HF and Lyman. I compared the specs and it is the same unit. The only difference is if HF has them on sale and then your get the 20% off coupon its like $40 vs. $120. I've been using mine for going on 5 years now. It does what it needs to do and does it well. There is that constant need to reset the timer. Now that mine is out of warranty I will have my electrical engineer (father in-law) look into by passing that and have just on/off and plug the whole unit into a digital outlet timer.
Last year I bought the HF 6 LB dual drum rock tumbler for my wife and kids rock tumbling project. Turns out they didn't want to wait 2 months for polished rocks. So it sat unused (I surely thought it was a lost cause and find a deep dark corner of the garage) until I found a member on here that was selling SS pins for a great price.
Due to not having to reset a timer on the tumbler I am using that more now than the USC. But the USC still has a place next to my bench and gets used still.

[RobsTV]

As mentioned in prior posts above, the HF Ultra Sonic cleaner works great for me.. But, after seeing other posts I picked up the HF 6 lb dual drum tumbler. Tested 3 sessions and I am now a convert. Added 2 lbs of SS media from vender listed at top (1 lb per drum), a pinch of lemi-shine and drop of dawn, covered with water and 3 to 4 hours later the brass is better looking than the ultra sonic cleaner could ever make it (now like brand new instead of simply cleaned virtually spotless). Added at least a pound of deprimed brass to each drum, with more than 2 lbs cleaned per 3 to 4 hour session using both drums. Much less work for better results. Ultra Sonic will now collect dust, or be used for specific projects, but no longer a brass cleaner. Using HF coupon on both and the dual drum tumbler costs less than US cleaner, but after adding $20 worth of SS media, it's a wash..

[myg30]

Same here as hatiwolf. I got tired of resetting the 8 min cycle timer and having to "Be There" while it cycled. The multi process of US cleaning was not worth the time for me. De capped brass in the tumbler set with a timer for 2-4 hrs gets the job done and no babysitting !
If there is a better 1-2 step process for the HF US cleaner I'll break it out and try again. Glass beaker,baking soda,dawn,vinegar,distilled water was a pain and some times got pink tarnished brass still ? My lab days in school were better going.

Mike

[Newtire]

I have the little Lyman Ultrasonic and have been using citric acid from the winemaking place in town with a couple of drops of Dawn. After 2-10 minute sessions, the primer pockets are clean and then I rinse them, dry them in the oven on low and run them in the vibratory bowl with walnut shells. Alot of work! It keeps me out of trouble. I think the ultrasonic knocks loose the baked on stuff inside the case better than the walnut shells. I should have gotten a bigger ultrasonic but at least I don't waste alot of solution for small batches.

[myg30]

NT, do you neutralize the acid before tumble ? The process I used involved that step with baking soda to neutralize the acid from vinegar wash.

Mike

[Newtire]

NT, do you neutralize the acid before tumble ? The process I used involved that step with baking soda to neutralize the acid from vinegar wash.

Mike No, I rinse it real well in hot water is all. I have a cutaway 1-gallon milk jug that I swish them around in and then run water into the case, shake them out and into a pan and into the oven is all. Then after that, I run them in the vibratory cleaner in Petco lizard bedding (walnut shells).

[josper]

I think the trouble some of you are having is do to using the "Home Brew" formula for cleaning solution. What comes to mind is an article that the late Jack O'Connor did on reloading and case cleaning .His take on it was case cleaning is just a cosmetic thing that it has no effect on the reloaded round. He did warn not to use chemicals to clean cases that it could weaken the brass. weather this is true or not who knows. I'm just as guilty as every one else here as I like to have finished rounds that look like factory new. For myself I think I will stick to the cleaning solutions offered by the name brand name companies. I don't think they would sell us something that would be harmful to our brass. If I was to do it over I would have gone with a tumbler and ss pins like many are using with good success.

[Newtire]

I think the trouble some of you are having is do to using the "Home Brew" formula for cleaning solution. What comes to mind is an article that the late Jack O'Connor did on reloading and case cleaning .His take on it was case cleaning is just a cosmetic thing that it has no effect on the reloaded round. He did warn not to use chemicals to clean cases that it could weaken the brass. weather this is true or not who knows. I'm just as guilty as every one else here as I like to have finished rounds that look like factory new. For myself I think I will stick to the cleaning solutions offered by the name brand name companies. I don't think they would sell us something that would be harmful to our brass. If I was to do it over I would have gone with a tumbler and ss pins like many are using with good success.

Only thing I can tell you is that if you run a q-tip inside the case, you will feel a certain roughness that disappears when you clean the cases. The one thing i know hurts brass is ammonia based polishes so stay away from those. I agree that for all practical purposes, it is cosmetic as I have fired off loads that I loaded 30years ago and they are just as good as when I loaded them.

I heard one guy say that flash hole deburring was a waste of time but noticed a real difference in accuracy when I used this technique so I use it. It is not necessary but makes the group a tiny bit tighter. The cleaning out the internal crud keeps the volumes the same so it can't hurt.

Thing about some of the commercial solutions is that they are very very expensive..But, point taken, gotta be careful that you don't weaken the brass. Anyone know anything about this being a possibility?