Cleaning Brass with fine steel wool?

[DonMountain]

I have some old 30-06 brass that is really stained black and doesn't seem to clean up very well with the walnut stuff in my vibratory case cleaner. I tried spinning one in my hands with some fine steel wool and it seemed to clean up pretty shiny with not much effort. Since others have gone to using steel pins to clean brass, I wondered why steel wool is not used? Does it cause fine scratches that result in case failure? Or embed pieces of steel in the case wall that caused problems? :?:

[Omega]

I have some old 30-06 brass that is really stained black and doesn't seem to clean up very well with the walnut stuff in my vibratory case cleaner. I tried spinning one in my hands with some fine steel wool and it seemed to clean up pretty shiny with not much effort. Since others have gone to using steel pins to clean brass, I wondered why steel wool is not used? Does it cause fine scratches that result in case failure? Or embed pieces of steel in the case wall that caused problems? :?:Because it would take forever to do a batch.

[DonMountain]

Because it would take forever to do a batch.

So, it would be ok along with my Ideal 310 reloading tool? It has the same problem?

[Omega]

So, it would be ok along with my Ideal 310 reloading tool? It has the same problem?Yes, for awhile all I did was clean out the primer pockets of my brass unless it happened to land in the mud. If the brass is free of debris, carbon buildup and such they don't need to be cleaned, they just look better and then easier to inspect.

[country gent]

Years ago it was accepted practice to clean with steel wool or a polishing cloth. A jersey Alot used the lee case trimmers base and appropriate case ring in a drill motor to spin the case then a pass back and forth to clean with either of the above. A jersey glove with the fore finger and thumb impregnated with flitz or simichrome works well like this also. Using the glove saves picking up the polish rag every time. I would go with the very finest steel wool and a light oil for this.

[JWFilips]

Just A question: Have you tried washing them it in hot water with Citric acid, then after drying put them in to your walnut hull vibrator

It is what I do & It sure saves your hands

[XDROB]

#4 or (0000) bronze wool. Lasts longer and doesn't rust. And maybe a little soap and water to help lubricate.

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[RogerDat]

Just A question: Have you tried washing them it in hot water with Citric acid, then after drying put them in to your walnut hull vibrator

It is what I do & It sure saves your hands This is what I would try. The citric acid wash and rinse with clean water will reduce the tarnish a great deal and help keep the brass from tarnishing in the future.

[lightman]

Steel wool will work fine and will not harm your brass. Its just slow. I use 4/0 when I do this and the shell holder from a Lee trim tool, like someone else already posted.

[mdi]

I reloaded 12 years before I got a tumbler, just wiped each case with a solvent dampened rag as I inspected it. If I wanted BBQ brass, I'd push the case onto a hardwood mandrel (hardwood rod tapered a bit to accept the case mouth) chucked into my drill and polished with steel wool. I also used a bit of paste wax or non- ammonia metal polish to keep the nekkid brass from tarnishing. Worked for me (but I have never been in a hurry with any reloading step)...

[RogerDat]

..... Worked for me (but I have never been in a hurry with any reloading step)... This post made me think about today we can order stuff and have it the next day, remember allow 4-6 weeks for delivery? We can shop at a large number of stores all in an evening from our couch. And many of the items we buy are of superior quality or perform their tasks in innovative ways. Yet the real joy comes from the time taken to enjoy our hobby, not from the ability to produce ammo faster, unless you're talking about trimming brass, then faster is better. We consider waiting for a week to get something a huge inconvenience as opposed to enjoying the anticipation of something good that will soon be ours.

Side trail finished - back to the topic - sorry for the diversion.

[Pressman]

For all the 310 users and others who dream of the golden age of reloading. These spinners are the way to clean cases. Steel or bronze wool, or a rag and Brasso. Hold the case on the spinner and polish away. Of course listening to the 1/4 inch electric drill whine and grind for an hour would make you tone deaf, but we didn't worry about such things back then. Sure it was slow, but it got brass clean and there was not to many other options. Tumblers were limited to rock hounds and the vibratory models were still 25 years away.

Ken

[TexasGrunt]

This post made me think about today we can order stuff and have it the next day, remember allow 4-6 weeks for delivery?

Back when I was just out of the Marines I didn't have a credit card nor were debit cards around. I used to get money orders and use those for orders from Cabela's, Bass Pro and the like. It always took at least a couple of weeks to get something. 3-4 weeks wasn't uncommon either.

People are spoiled now, but then again Amazon was really quick to deliver the wrong Lyman M die....four times.

[TexasGrunt]

For all the 310 users and others who dream of the golden age of reloading. These spinners are the way to clean cases. Steel or bronze wool, or a rag and Brasso. Hold the case on the spinner and polish away. Of course listening to the 1/4 inch electric drill whine and grind for an hour would make you tone deaf, but we didn't worry about such things back then. Sure it was slow, but it got brass clean and there was not to many other options. Tumblers were limited to rock hounds and the vibratory models were still 25 years away.

Ken

Brasso contains ammonia which will make the brass brittle.

[DonMountain]

Well, I spent the day hand turning 50, 30-06 brass while holding a handful of 0000 steel wool against them. After they had spent several hours in the walnut media in a vibrator type case cleaner (Lyman 1200). I got most of the black stuff cleaned off of them. All except around the case mouth where I had annealed them all with a manual, home-made dual propane torch case annealer. Which seemed to work pretty well. Except for the towel I initially dumped them on that turned out to be something besides good old cotton. Because it melted. I had to spend a looong time turning that one. I plan to try some of the other suggestions made. Thanks for your help.

[lightman]

If you don't have a shell holder like the Lee trimmer uses you could lightly chuck the case up in a drill to spin it and then turn it around and polish the other end. Light is the key word here or the chuck will squeeze the case mouth. You can get the Lee case gauge, shell holder and stud for 10-12 dollars.

[Bullwolf]

The Lee Quick Trim stuff (re-post)

The Lee Universal Three Jaw Chuck for around $12-13 bucks, along with an electric or battery operated drill.

http://opticswarehouse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lee_zip_trim.png

If you do it this way, you'll also need a Lee 3 Jaw spinner stud, ($3-5 bucks) so you can spin the Lee 3 jaw chuck using your drill.

http://www.titanreloading.com/image/cache/data/Products/90607-600x600.jpg

They really should be packaged together. It would be less confusing, and more convenient to have both on hand.

This is an easy solution for old arthritic hands, or folks with wrist problems when it comes to automating much of your case preparation. Links below from the usual suspects.

3 Jaw Chuck at Titan Reloading.
http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-un...l-3-jaw-chuck- (http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-universal-3-jaw-chuck-)

3 Jaw Chuck at Midway.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/352...ck-case-holder (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/352653/lee-zip-trim-case-trimmer-universal-3-jaw-chuck-case-holder)

Lee Spinner Spindle (with drill shank) for use with 3 Jaw Chuck.
Titan Reloading.
http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-3-...=Lee%20spinner (http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-3-jaw-spinner-stud?search=Lee%20spinner)

Lee Spinner Spindle (with drill shank) for use with 3 Jaw Chuck.
Midway.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/174...th-3-jaw-chuck (http://www.midwayusa.com/product/174316/lee-case-spinner-spindle-with-drill-shank-for-use-with-3-jaw-chuck)



A few additional pics

http://jeffersonian.therealgunguys.com/reload/IMG_0360a.jpg

http://jeffersonian.therealgunguys.com/reload/IMG_0361a.jpg

The two parts together will hold the cases for you, and allow you to easily chuck brass in and out of the drill by hand, without the use of any additional tools. Think of it as a mini lathe, just for your brass prep.

http://jeffersonian.therealgunguys.com/reload/IMG_2669a.jpg

A simple way to automate a large portion of your case prep operation.

Nice write up here, where I borrowed the above images from
http://jeffersonian.therealgunguys.c.../reload-r.html (http://jeffersonian.therealgunguys.com/reload/reload-r.html)


Or if you are more into watching videos to learn...
Here's a You tube link, with a Lee 3 Jaw Chuck in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1dH5-tYKFk

I use this same setup myself at times, instead of my manual RCBS case trimmer when I have larger amounts of cases to process.

Depending on how nasty your brass is, using either some 0000 steel wool, Flitz metal polish, or whatever you prefer, you're able to clean up a bunch of grungy cases surprisingly fast.

It'll quickly power through a pile of badly tarnished cases. Which is nice IF you don't want to, or are unable to put them in a tumbler.



- Bullwolf

[country gent]

My set up is the opposite of yours bullwolf, I made a case holder from the collet and back mount of a rcbs trimmer the case is in the holder on the table of my drill press and the tool is in the chuck. This way the spindle can stay running whike the case is changed. Saves waiting for the spindle to stop. The Lee holder in a block of aluminum brass or steel would allow the same. I made a simple rod with hole drilled for the inside and out side chamfers from a Lyman tool to thread into. When chamfering I don't use the collet but just hold them by hand.

[Bullwolf]

Interesting approach Country Gent. Looks like a great idea.

I just picked up the Lee stuff for easy use with a drill, and used the pic of the automated case prep station as an example.

A few years ago, when component shortages were more common... I had a few pieces of 50 Action Express brass I had fired at lower pressures, using starting charges of AA#9. Doing so left stubborn hard to remove carbon stains on the case mouths that I could not easily clean, or tumble away.

At the time, Starline and Midway were both completely out of stock on 50AE brass, so I ended up re-using 20 expensive ($55) brand new pulled factory self defense cases over and over again. I had none of the Lee quick trim stuff pictured above as of yet. So I trimmed a rubber bob down into a cone shape, and chucked it into an electric hand drill to spin my 50AE cases from the front. A piece of 0000 Steel Wool quickly removed the stubborn carbon right off the case mouths while they were spinning. I couldn't remove the carbon from the cases with a vibratory corn cob tumble, citric acid bath, or easily polish it away by hand.

I thought afterwards, there was probably an easier way to do this. Yet it was still a few years before I actually purchased the cheap Lee Quick trim stuff to chuck cases into the drill. Mostly because I had never seen the Lee 3 Jaw collet stuff before. Somebody on Cast Boolits posted them here before, and they seemed like a great idea to me at the time.

While I haven't used my drill press for case prep yet, I could use it just as easily along with those inexpensive Lee Ziptrim items.

I also have an older manual (Hand-Cranked) RCBS Rotary Case Trimmer 2

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjQwWDYyNw==/z/elQAAOSwstxVDGFa/$_35.JPG

It is my only case trimmer.

I've considered a motor, or another case trimmer that will readily accept an electric drill chuck to spin the trimmer, a time or two.

Since I only trim/load small batches of rifle cases, so far the somewhat slow hand trimming hasn't been a problem for me. (With the exception of 30 Carbine)

If my RCBS case trimmer was more easily adapted an electric motor, or if I had another spare parts trimmer laying around, I'd probably have gone in a completely different direction.






- Bullwolf

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I think the real reason steel wool isn't more popular is that it is cheap, and too transparently the same as kitchen store or woodworker's steel wool to market in little green or orange packages. Tumblers, on the other hand, aren't cheap even in lapidary shops, and few shooters happen to wander in there

There is no reason to clean brass but the look of the thing, and chemical cleaning (e.g. citric acid)would do just as well. But it wouldn't do any better. A cordless screwdriver will turn fast enough and more quietly than a drill, and that makes it into television-watching work. I've also bypassed the machine age altogether by attaching the device to a piece of broom handle which you can roll on your thighs in silence.

The Lee spinner looks good, but I made a holding device in which a long screw, hand-tightenable at the case-mouth, passes through the flash-hole and holds it up against a sheet rubber pad. That allows you to clean as far as the rim. Or a friction mandrel fitting the neck would enable you to do the base too.

The main arguments for bronze wool are that it doesn't remove bluing on steel, and it doesn't leave fragments to rust in light coloured wood. Neither applies on brass, and although it lasts longer than steel, that is more than offset by the price. The dangers of ammonia have been much debated in previous threads, but I think they are non-existent when it is removed and the brass is dried. IAmmonia is a gas.

[Teddy (punchie)]

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.

[winelover]

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

[Teddy (punchie)]

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:
Winelover

I can understand not running the tumbler. I think it all takes longer with all the other steps and toys.
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 .

[robg]

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 .

[ulav8r]

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.

[XDROB]

Amen, To SHINY BRASS!! That's what I say.

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[RogerDat]

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 :-)

[Ballistics in Scotland]

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.

[PTSports]

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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[XDROB]

(DIRT + GRASS + MUD ) + SHINY BRASS = FINDING IT.😆😆

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[Hi-Speed]

...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).

[SvenLindquist]

Buy a Tumbler, ss pins, Dawn, and Lemishine. Problem solved forever.

https://i.imgur.com/M0zowr5.png?2

[EDG]

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.


So, it would be ok along with my Ideal 310 reloading tool? It has the same problem?

[largom]

Just A question: Have you tried washing them it in hot water with Citric acid, then after drying put them in to your walnut hull vibrator

It is what I do & It sure saves your hands

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

[fguffey]

I wondered why steel wool is not used?

Steel wool on a tumbler?

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

[MostlyLeverGuns]

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.

[Froogal]

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.

[rbuck351]

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.

[joatmon]

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

[Hi-Speed]

Good points regarding potential repetitive injury...I may now consider a tumbler