Cleaning cases of black powder????

[catkiller45]

I have been shooting black in my 45-70 and 120 for a while now....But am getting tired of cleaning the cases under the faucet and my little woman hates it...Is there an easier or better way to do this without a lot of fuss and ado........Seriously I am thinking of shooting the white stuff as I no longer compete.....Damn a tough decision....Please help out an old fart...:coffee:

[JeffinNZ]

Hi

I decap at the range as I shoot and drop the cases into water and detergent. When I get home I put them in a container with a tight lid full of hot water and detergent, shake the crap out of them, rinse off in cold water, air dry then tumble to polish.

Best washed outdoors for fear of the rotten egg smell compromising your marriage. [smilie=l:

[Hip's Ax]

I've been shooting black powder cartridge target NRA matchs for a year or two now and my mentor taught me to bring a plastic jug with some water and a squirt of Dawn dish washing liquid in it. First chance you get drop those fired cases in that jug and give it a swirl. When you get home open the jug (outside, man does it stink!) and rinse the cases under clean water and decap. Into the rotary tumbler with angle cut ceramic media with water and Dawn and they come out clean as a whistle in two hours. Rinse and let dry. Buffalo sells the media and a compound to use in lieu of the water and Dawn, not sure if thats better or just more expensive.

[jhrosier]

After decapping, I put mine ine a 2L jiuce bottle with hot tap water and shake, 2 times.
Then I refill the water and add about a half cup of white vinegar and let them soak for a half hour or so. One more rinse and air dry on a paper towel overnite.
They are not shiney, but they are clean of powder residue, inside and out.
The cleaning part only takes about ten minutes total.

Jack

[John Boy]

Well, if one opens a cookbook - there are many recipes for the same food item.
Here's mine for cleaning BP cases:
1/3 Dawn Plus Oxi
http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/oxi.do
1/3 Pine Sol
http://www.pinesol.com/faq.shtml
1/3 Concentrated Lemon Juice
(Pour some lemon juice on a case in some hot water - the bicarbonate in the foul fizzes and dissolves, forming a gas - carbon dioxide

In the dirty brass bucket, put in HOT water and then squirt as much of the above that you believe will do the job

PS: I've tried vinegar instead of lemon juice - no comparison

[Boz330]

Well, if one opens a cookbook - there are many recipes for the same food item.
Here's mine for cleaning BP cases:
1/3 Dawn Plus Oxi
http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/oxi.do
1/3 Pine Sol
http://www.pinesol.com/faq.shtml
1/3 Concentrated Lemon Juice
(Pour some lemon juice on a case in some hot water - the bicarbonate in the foul fizzes and dissolves, forming a gas - carbon dioxide

In the dirty brass bucket, put in HOT water and then squirt as much of the above that you believe will do the job

PS: I've tried vinegar instead of lemon juice - no comparison

OH NO, not carbon dioxide, do you want to add to global warming.:kidding:
I never thought about lemon juice. The Oxi, is that Oxiclean?
I just decap and through them in Dawn and water at the range and run a brush in them when I get home. I wouldn't mind something easier but the ritual doesn't bother me that much.
I was resistant to a lot of the things I go through now in the quest for better accuracy, just a matter of getting used to it. Now loading smokeless is a pleasure because it is so easy.

Bob

[e15cap]

Get the ceramic media kit from Dave Mauer and dont look back. Sagebrush prod has it I believe or try google. Best Roger

[smokemjoe]

I went throught the same thing, soaps and waters and cases looking dirtry on the outside then the inside and the smell. I asked a long range black powder shooter and he said take out the primer and put them in str. water and use a brush and clean them out. I have done that twice now with my Wendrl and it works good. Use a britsh brush and a pocket primer cleaner. Works great. Joe

[August]

1. I've done the dawn in water in a bottle thing for a number of years. Left some cases for over a week in this solution and got corrosion for my efforts. Lost a lot of w-w 45-2.1 cases that way.

2. Got a ceramic/wet setup. Works great, but is limited in capacity and the (rcbs) detergent gets pricey.

3. Recently got informed about the WindexVinegar+Murphy'sOil+Dawn approach to soaking and cleaning at the range. Am exploring this alternative. Seems as if this approach avoids corrosion and seems to get inside clean as new (not shiny but clean)

[martinibelgian]

I use a 3L ultrasonic cleaner with heater, with a water/citric acid solution at 60 degrees celsius. Rinse the cases after decapping, put them in the cleaner and go do something else. They will come out clean, but dull.

When done, rinse again and dump in tumbler with walnut media for 2 hours - they will be clean and shiny in and out, including primer pockets.

Best of all, you can let the machine do the work, no need to handle each case separately.

[Dale53]

I have done the "water, Dawn (couple of squirts), in a gallon milk jug for years. I shot BPCR competitively for 15 years. I ALWAYS decap before dropping in the jug (it is a good time, after the match to visit with friends while you work on the cases:mrgreen:). By the time you get home, the cases will mostly be clean. Then I just rinse in running hot tap water (shaking the jug) and dump in a plastic kitchen colander (keep this in your shop -do NOT use for food after using it to rinse BPCR cases). Then I shake most of the water off in the colander and immediately dump into my Dillon vibratory tumbler and run until shiny and dry. I don't worry about tumbling media getting in the flash holes. I load my cases on a turret press and the decapping rod will clean the flash holes automatically.

The long range (1000 yard shooters) believe that consistent neck tension is critical for long range accuracy. A good number of them find that the Ceramic Tumbling media (some say works best in a rotary tumbler { if the vibratory tumbler is a good one, it works just fine, also} and must be used "wet") does a much better job than water and Dawn in cleaning the fouling off the INSIDE of the case necks (frankly, the water and Dawn doesn't do much to remove the inside neck fouling). The ceramic media will leave the inside of the necks as clean as the outside.

There is one caveat, however, you MUST use the correct size media for the different calibers. If the media is an incorrect size, you can have the stuff jammed inside the case requiring each case to be "unjammed" individually. So, talk to Dave and get the correct size (he is VERY helpful). I have misplaced Dave's web site information.

Here is an excellent article on using ceramic media. Be sure and look at the "before and after" pictures - they say it all:

http://www.bpcr.net/site_docs-results_schedules/documents/ceramic-bead_polishing.htm

Soft media (ground corn cobs and walnut) do little to clean the inside of the cases. Using smokeless powder, I see little need for anything else. BPCR cases are different - the neck fouling is real and the ceramic beads remove it, leaving the case necks CLEAN.

FWIW
Dale53

[montana_charlie]

A word about combining ceramic media with ultrasonic cleaning...

I have a bunch of cases given to me by an unfortunate guy who, for financial reasons, had to sell his Shiloh 45/90. I was after some Bell brass, and he responded to a thread of mine. His BP ammo was loaded, he had no way to shoot it, and he was hesitant to try to mail it to me...so I went to him (in Missoula) and picked it up. It was about half and half Bell brass and BACO stretched Remington. The deal was I would shoot it up, and send him the Remington brass...which I did.

I don't know what his 'brass maintenance' plan was, but the insides of these cases look like they have never been cleaned out with anything 'serious'.

I ran them twice (3 hours each) with ceramic and liquid, but the interiors still had a hard layer of cooked-on gunge down in the area below the bullet seating depth.

I just finished letting them run in the ultrasonic machine - for twice the length of time I normally use for once-fired cases. The interiors have started to come clean.
Now, I'll try the ceramic again...and expect they will look good afterward.

About ceramic media...
There are a limited number of places that manufacture ceramic media. They all use the same materials and processes to create the various grades, shapes, and sizes...and they all produce (about) the same shapes and sizes.
But, not all retail outlets carry all of the variations available.

If your favorite shooting supply sells "non-abrasive, angle-cut cylinders" that are 1/8" diameter and 3/8" long, you can expect that same stuff is available from non-shooting suppliers. Regardless of who sells it, or who made it, it's the same stuff.

If a shooter considers ceramic media to be a 'must have tool', the shooter's supply will charge accordingly. It only stands to reason.
But, a company that is in business to supply jewelry makers considers polishing media to be a necessary 'sideline' to the main business. As such, they are less proud of the material.

If you understand enough about the media to be able to identify the right stuff from a mere description (for cartridges brass 'non-abrasive' is the primary keyword), you can find it in many places.

CM

[montana_charlie]

I just finished letting them run in the ultrasonic machine - for twice the length of time I normally use for once-fired cases. The interiors have started to come clean.
Now, I'll try the ceramic again...and expect they will look good afterward.
Well, they came out 90% clean.
The liquid in the ultrasonic is a 2% solution of Micro-90. Judging by the darkness of the solution after 'sizzling' the brass, a lot of crud came loose.

After letting the crud settle to the bottom for thirty minutes, I scooped up a cup of the same liquid to pour into the rotary tumbler for the ceramic to work in. A few cases are now real pretty inside (after 3 hours of tumbling) but most look like they could stand another trip with clean liquid.

But they are whole lot better than before...

It seems there is a definite need to get your ratios balanced when using wet ceramic in a rotary tumbler. I think I'm sneaking up on the right amounts of media and liquid for the amount of brass and the barrel size.
It certainly doesn't take as much liquid as I thought it would...
CM

[jonk]

Ah, no picks of said ugly cases? :)

[Dale53]

One thing the cartridge cleaner suppliers of ceramic media give you is instructions regarding the use of the material (I doubt you'll get that from the "jewelry" suppliers). So, at least the first time you buy ceramic you might be better served going with the fellers who are "proud" of the material.

Just a thought...

Dale53

[catkiller45]

I would like to know if there is a way to clean my cases with a solvent and not use the water..I have a small room where all my work is done...Can bore mops be used to do this and then let them dry? Still looking for an easy way out without going white or duplex..Even with the water and soap method the inside still has to be or should be cleaned out-right....

[Dale53]

Water is still the best "solvent". However, you do NOT need running water. I have cleaned MANY cases at a campsite using a water basin. First of all, DO use the milk jug with water and Dawn liquid. Decap and drop the cases in a jug 3/4 full of the liquid. Let sit a while. Then dump the cases into the colander and shake the excess water off. Fill a basin with water and use a test tube brush to clean the inside of the case. I took a length of 1x4" board, pre-drilled rows of holes and installed nails to make a drying rack. You pre-drill to keep from splitting the wood. I used the drill press as an arbor press to push the finish nails into the wood (stainless nails would be nicer but regular finish nails of the correct length (to match the caliber) will work fine.

After cleaning the cases, drop them onto the nails, one by one. The cases should not touch the board. If it is sunny, just place them in the sun. They will completely dry in an amazingly short time. You can also place them in the oven with the door open and have the oven no more than 125 degrees (you do NOT want to anneal the cases, I REPEAT, you do NOT want to anneal the cases). They will dry in a matter of minutes.

The cases will discolor but will NOT be damaged. If you want pretty cases, then after you have rinsed the cases drop them in a tumbler while still damp and let them tumble for a couple of hours. They will come out looking like new. The previous comments regarding the use of ceramic tumbling media still apply...

Dale53

[cajun shooter]

I used the receipe that was posted by John Boy. Dawn with Oxi was not available in my area and I used Palmolive with Oxi, Pine Sol and Lemon juice. Before going to the SASS match I put a half gallon of water and the ingredients in a plastic bucket with sealing top. After the match I put the brass in the bucket and drove about an hour home. "Open this bucket outside" The water was black and after rinsing three times in a colander so was my brass. I thought there goes my new Starline Schofield brass. The brass was put in new media with Dillon polish and run for about 3 hours in a vibatory type tumbler. The brass was shiney and clean both inside and out. "IT WORKS JOHN BOY":o