Do I have to clean my brass?

[Survival Bill]

11111

[leadman]

I loaded with a Lee hammer kit for along time without cleaning my brass.

you can clean your brass with Lemi-shine, pinch of liquid soap, hot water, and a container to put the brass in and shake it. Easy and cheap. Looks about like factory brass when done.
Look for Lemi-shine in the store by dishwasher soaps, in a plastic bottle a little taller than a soda can.

[429421Cowboy]

I still do not have a case cleaner of any sort, and some of my pistol brass has been loaded over ten times already.
I polish my rifle cases with steel wool while they are spinning after trimming just so they look nice and feed smooth, but my pistol brass stays the way it is!

[hithard]

I wouldn't give it to much worry, but as always keep an I on primers and the like to look for bad signs. You may notice a little sticking in the chamber do to carbon build up, a little outside cleanup and a little brushing of the chamber to take care of that. One thing to remember is it is a little harder sometimes to see cracks in your brass when their dirty.

You can get cob media at the pet store, reptile dept. place in pillow case or two, double up. When the wife isn't looking slip it into the dryer on tumble for 15 minuts along with a few towels.

P.S. if you do use the dryer don't use any type of media additive, but a dryer sheet make them smell nice!

[Wolfer]

I have a tumbler and rarely clean my cases. I also haven't cleaned a primer pocket in years.
I guess I'm just a dirty old man!

[flipajig]

Another trick is citric acid make shoure it's hot.
Dry it and then tumble in a tumbler or your dryer
I've seen it at Wally world.

[williamwaco]

Bill,

I reloaded for over 20 years with no cleaner except a shop rag and a little naptha.

You can too.

I am firmly convinced that cleaning does nothing but make it pretty. I know a lot of members will take issue with that opinion.

Yes, I now clean every case every time with a Lyman 1200 Tumbler. But I do it because it is pretty, not because I think it is better.


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[Hamish]

You's guy's better be careful, the Lyman/Frankford Arsenal Goon Squad is gonna be lookin' for you's.

[wtpacker]

A clean primer pocket makes for more consistant primer seating, and passing a brass brush thru the neck removes grit to prolong expanded button life.

[felix]

Primer needs only be seated to slightly compress the anvil, no more and no less. Clean primer pockets make zero difference in this regard. ... felix

[fcvan]

As a kid we never cleaned our brass beyond wiping off the case lube. When I was in my 20s, dad gave me a case tumbler and now everything looks pretty much brand new but . . .

Brass ages and darkens with reloading. The older the brass, the more it was reloaded, the darker it got. It was kind of like a gauge of how old the brass was or how many times it had been reloaded. That got me thinking. When the kids were young they took Judo for a year or so. The instructor explained to the kids about the color of the belt which was never washed. The longer you studied the darker the belt became from years of wearing and handling the belt. The darker the brass, the more experienced the brass. My magnum brass never promoted to 'black master brass' as it would split from use. i did have some .38 and .45 brass that had super duper accuracy of an almost mystical ability . . .

[gwpercle]

Back when I started , had no money for tumbler so would put cases in a mesh bag, into washing machine with towels and other clothes and run em thru the wash. Wern't polished but were clean . Air dry em . they make too much noise in the dryer, I tried.

gary

[EMC45]

Dawn, lemon juice and hot water in a plastic coffee can. Shake till your arms get tired. Run cold water into coffee can till it runs clear. Spread on an old towel to dry. Done deal. I haven't used my tumbler in a loooonnnggg time.

[RU shooter]

Can I too join the frugal reloaders cool kids club? LOL ,I dont tumble brass either never have I guess because I never seen my dad do it . For the majority of rifle brass I neck size with a collet die and what I do FL size (223) I just use the lemon juice and dish soap wash thing just to clean it as its the only brass that ever hits the ground. For my pistol brass I dont worry about it.

[TheCelt]

Just wondering if I have clean my brass I got 4 reloads on some of my brass now and its a bit dirty on the inside does this effect anything and do I need to worry about it or not.. I don't have the money for a tumbler but can DIY one if I really have to clean my used brass...
all I clean right now is the primer pocket..

Don't have to. Doesn't have a significant effect (unless you're a benchrest or F-Class shooter) but it makes for more consistant ammo. It's also cheap and easy.

Get yourself a 20% off coupon for Harbor Freight and buy their big ultrasonic cleaner. mix up a quart of distilled water, a cup of Simple Green, a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and put your De-Primed/sized brass in. After about 10 minutes it looks like new!!!! Rinse and let dry and you have spotlesss shiny brass.

You'll have less than $75 in the whole works and can clean thousands of cases!! I replace the mixture when it starts looking like used motor oil but I figure it'd stiil clean a lot more.

[TXGunNut]

I wash my deprimed BP brass in dish soap and hot water in a big plastic jug. Just agitate for awhile, rinse and dry on a towel in a 250 degree oven. Would work fine for SP as well. I tumble if I want it shiny but the "antique" look is quite attractive.
Not sure the washing machine is a good idea, lead from the primers may find it's way onto clothing instead of down the drain. Would definitely err on the side of caution with kids in the house.

[keeber]

I clean most of the brass I get as it is almost entirely outdoor range fired pickups that tend to be a bit dull and have slight corrosion. Polish it up nice and it looks just fine. I also find that I notice cracks and other case damage easier when the case is shiny.

Other than that, I don't tumble anything often... just when I get a hankering for Grabboid!

[Echd]

I tumble sometimes but I've never seen any evidence it actually does anything besides prettying it up.

Knocking lube off a large quantity of loaded cases is really the most useful thing about it... say you have a bunch of .223 you want to clean off quick.

[David2011]

HI Bill,

Welcome to the forum! I'm one of those who polishes the cases just to satisfy myself. I like purty ammo.

Building a new shop has made me pack most of the reloading and all of the case cleaning stuff away temporarily so I quit cleaning cases. I'm only loading bottlenecked rifle and limited revolver and single shot pistol right now. Shoot, size, trim if necessary, load and repeat the cycle.

That said, I would not reload my autoloader handgun cases without cleaning them. I shoot exclusively cast boolits in my autoloaders, even for competiton. The main reason for cleaning is to keep from damaging the dies or putting deep scratches in the case. Between the powder residue and the sandy environment where I live, a carbide sizing die probably wouldn't scratch but it could drive a piece of grit pretty deeply into the brass.

David

[TXGunNut]

I like shiny brass but a good washing is all most of it really needs. One excuse I use is it makes autoloader brass easier to find.