Home made liquid case cleaner

[HotRodAl]

For those of you that like to do it yourself here is a recipe for liquid case cleaner that works really well, I've been using it for 10 years or so and its really {frugal} to make.

It will not damage your brass.

Here is a recipe for cleaning grungy brass,

1 quart of water
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup liquid laundry or dishwashing detergent

I use a net bag to place brass in and dip it into cleaner and let soak for 20 to 30 minutes, aggitating every 5 minutes or so. Rinse with water and towl dry, I usually tumble for 2 to 4 hours after.

[rugerman1]

HI AL!

[45nut]

Thanks Al!

[Racer X]

I usually tumble for 2 to 4 hours after.

How clean do they get without tumbling? The thing I hate about tumbling is getting all the media out of the cases afterwards.

[ReAX222]

The media shouldn't stay in straight wall cases, and I have had pretty good luck with the Frankfort arsenal media separator. It shakes and beats the cases pretty well in just a few turns.

[hydraulic]

Just make sure the cases are dry before they go into the tumbler. Had the wife out shooting the other day and she had a misfire in her .38. Pulled the bullet and found dried, hardened tumbling media in the bottom of the case. Can't remember when I cleaned that .38 brass, but, then, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, either.

[Topper]

Thanks for the tip Al
Now you got me thinking about another use for my newly acquired leaf blower.
Use one of my wife's old nylon stockings to suspend the wet brass in blast the water out

[IcerUSA]

Welcome aboard Al, and thanks for the brass cleaner, I hate the smell of vinager tho LOL

[hunterldh]

For years I have been tumbling with corn cob media and I squirt in a little Westley's Concentrate Auto Polish. Works like a champ. I got the tip from a commercial reloader. I stocked up back then so I don't know if the stuff is still available. It was a Blue Coral product. - Hunter

[shooting on a shoestring]

I rarely tumble. Only do it when I want to impress someone (the older I get the less I care about that), or my brass is really dirty, like from dropping it in the mud, finding a disasterous lube recipe, or more than likely getting free range brass in the rotation. But when I do tumble, I get some good ventilation going, grab my air hose and blow each case out one at a time, turn it and blow through the opposite end. Often there's a bit of corn cob left in the flash hole. Before I turn loose of a piece of brass, I always sight through the flash hole just to make sure the hole goes all the way through. I'm sure I'm putting a fair amount of heavy metal particulate in the air when I do that, so its always in front of a good fan pointed out the overhead door.

[tommyn]

Hi Al welcome

[45nut]

Bump!

[dragonrider]

Welcome aboard Al.
Whatever works for you is fine, But I fail to see the need to wash brass if I am going to tumble it afterward for 2 to 4 hours. I tumble only, for about 30 minutes, my brass is clean. In my experience tumbling longer than that only wears out your media.

[abunaitoo]

For really dirty brass, I've been using bathroom tub and tile cleaner. Phosphoric acid. Same thing used to clean water stains out of coffee pots.
Shells come out clean, but dull. I just tumble untill shiney.
I think it's the same thing as Isso.

[bruce drake]

I've used this recipe and it works well.

1 GAL of Hot Water.
1 TBLSPN of Dawn Dishwashing Fluid
1 TEASPN of Lemon Juice
1 Pinch of Salt

I would put my brass into a gallon milk jug and then add the ingredients to the jug. Shake and stir vigorously with my thumb over the cap for about five minutes to really agitate the water and soap around the cases.

Let the cases sit in the water for another five minutes or so and then pour out the water into the sink or something you can catch any small cartridge cases that might fall out with the flow of water.

Fill the milk jug back up with hot water again and rinse the soap and the lemon juice off the brass and pour that out again.

slit the side of the milk jug (if you've got a regular supply of them) and set the wet brass out in the sun to airdry on a cookie sheet or something where the the water will drain out. I used to invert my cases (especially my pistol cartidges) to ensure all the water was out.

If the weather isn't cooperating, put the tray of cases into your gas oven to let the pilot light dry them off over time. If you've got an electric range, put it at your lowest setting and checking on them regularly until dry.

The brass is clean and somewhat shiny.

Bruce

[357maximum]

Walnut lizard bedding with a few shots of de-solve-it and the ol thumblers tumbler has always worked for me....putting acids on brass meant to withstand up to 50K plus pressures somehow makes me uneasy...to each their own. I used the salt and vinegar trick one time on a bunch of 223 qualification brass with no ill effects, but that was before I had the tumbler. Why mess with the mess when the proper tools are available?

just one fellers opinion

[bruce drake]

Frugality.

$40 for a tumbler
$10-15 for media

versus household goods.

I've got a tumbler but sometimes you have determine what your time is worth.

Bruce

[fgd135]

I use citric acid to clean cases, it does a great job and is extremely cost effective.
A teaspoon of powdered citric acid, the kind used for canning tomatos, dissolved in a gallon of warm water will instantly clean dirty cases and leave them almost as shiney as tumbling will do. Leave the cases in the solution for just a minute or less, while agitating them, then rinse the cases in clean water. Amazing.
A can of the stuff is about $3 at the grocery store and will make many many gallons of solution. The solution doesn't keep for more than a few hours at most, but one gallon will clean a lot of brass.
If the brass is really filthy dirty I wash it in liquid dishwashing soap and rinse it first , then use the citric acid solution.

[bart55]

I usually will just wash really dirty cases ( range brass) in hot soapy water,dry in the sun or on top of the furnace in winter time. then tumble with corn cob media wwith a little flitz added to it . Brass comes out shiney and also seems to have a slight lube to it . takes a lot less effort to size the cases later on .

[Junior1942]

Putting lemon juice or other acids on brass cases can't be a good idea. I use a tad of non-lemon dishwashing liquid in a gallon jug of hot water and shake, shake, shake, ....... Rinse, dry, and I'm done.