How do you pre-clean range brass before resizing?

I realized that I have some money tied up in my dies, so I like to take care of them and preclean range brass before I resize them. I currently use a ultrasonic jewelry cleaner, but the weak quartz unit in it (hey its from Harbor freight) makes cleaning 300 pieces an all night affair.... not worth it.

So Im looking to try to use a vibratory cleaner that I originally got from Cabelas.
Any suggestions to my technique that I'm thinking about using?

1. decap using a universal decapping die
2. tumble with walnut media
3. ugh - remove media that got stuck in the brass and flash hole
4. resize
5. polish with corn media

suggestions?

Suggested steps:
1. Sort by size. 9 mm will fit inside .40, .357/38 will slide into .44, .40 will jam into .45, etc. and then will not be cleaned. This will also spill media when you pull them apart.
2. Tumble with media of choice and a little brass polish.
3. Decap/resize and proceed.

This eliminates media getting stuck in primer pocket/flash hole and, with brass polish, will give you nice shiny brass.

I wind up with bags of clean brass that accumulate through range sessions until I run low on a given caliber/loading and spend an evening or two with a Dillon.

yes good suggestion on size sorting. Wouldn't adding polish to the media increase the "clumping" into the neck of the brass?

A little polish or mineral spirits (a little!) that is allowed to run a few minutes in the media before you add brass will be completely broken up and really does help the finish. Also, put 2 old anti-static sheets from the clothes dryer buried in with the brass - they hold a lot of the crap and come out pretty nasty, thereby extending the media life.

I use only a fairly fine walnut and get zero stuck in pistol cases and only a little in small necked rifle brass.
/Bryan

I always clean in my tumbler before resizing. I'd rather hit the primer pockets with the proper cleaning tool than have to worry about kernels inthe flash holes.

I typically add a bit of polish to the media and then run the tumbler for a few minutes before I add the brass. I also use a Dillon media separator. I haven't had any problems with media in the case necks. I am, however, going to start decapping after I polish. I usually get about 20 to 30 pieces in every batch that get their flash holes clogged.

corn cob or walnut?

Arghhh.....

I use a powered brush to get any dirt etc from the inside (http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=124046&d=1278960999), then tumble the cases using corncob & case polish. (Midway, Berrys, Dillon, doesn't matter)

Everyone has their cleaning methods. I do pistol brass.

Mine is to 'wash' my range brass when I get home from the range with a cleaning formula found on this site and rinse with a hose on the stun setting. This removes the mud, sand, and powder residue from the inside and out. I let them dry on a towel in the sun. I sort headstamps. They are actually in good condition to use when dry.

I then use a 'plant mister' a shoot them with an alcohol and small amount of case lube mix that dries quickly. Next, I deprime, size and then tumble using corncob http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/2MVR5 with my secret polish. . Never have any of this size media stuck in the flash/primer holes for pistol cases.

My dies are spared the crud and the cases look very good when done.

P.S. Originally from MI/Trenton too.

Maybe I'm lucky, but the "range brass" I've picked up is already pretty clean. I think there are enough shooters who reload in our club that it doesn't lay there long enough to get dirty...

Nevertheless, it gets cleaned before reloading.

Like mahansm, I follow -

1. One caliber at a time. I have them in zip-loc bags, but others use tubs.
2. Tumble with walnut shell and Dillon case polish
3. Media separator
4. Case lube
5. Resize / deprime / reprime
6. Wipe off excess lube and proceed...

Walnut cleans, corncob polishes.

And I agree that you should use a cap full or two of liquid polishing compound in the media.
I also think you might as well clean prior to sizing & de-priming in the same step.

A vibratory tumbler doesn't clean the primer pockets or inside the cases anyway, because as soon as they pack full of media immediately after you put them in, all vibrating action stops.

rc

For pistol brass using carbide dies I usually don't bother unless they have lots of mud or dried mud on them. Carbide is much harder then sand, so should be nothing to worry about unless your range has Diamond sand.

Since I reload primarily rifle (bottle neck) cartridges, I deprime in a Lee universal de-primer. Then I anneal all cases. Of course when I anneal I drop the cases into a container with water, and a few drops of hand/dish soap. Then after I am done annealing, I rinse the cases and lay them out to dry. They are clean enough at that point to run through my dies. If I'm in a rush, instead of leaving them to air dry, I'll take an air nozzle on my compressor and blow them off, and blow any water out of the inside as well.

I have found that ground walnut shells (designed for use in reptile cages) have smaller particles and will not get stuck in the flash holes. You can use it dry to get most of the dirt and fouling off prior to sizing.

1. Separate by caliber
2. tumble
3. resize/deprime

that's my story & I'm stickin' to it.

suggestions?
Skip step 3. (step 3 was "ugh") Let the decapping pin on the sizing die clear the flash holes.

I wash my brass in a nylon garment bag I got at Wallyworld. Fifty to 100 to a bag (rifle/pistol) in the washing machine with a load of towels or work clothes, regular detergent. Since getting a front loader I do this while the wife is away. Amazing results.
Sun dry afterward.

NC Cruffler, Take note of all the possible lead contamination you're putting yourself and family to. Brass has lead compounds left from the primer, easily absorbed into the body. Your amazing results may end up being REALLY amazing.

Not a wise practice!

I had a question but found the answer so removed the post.

I typically tumble in ground up corn cobs with a capful of Nufinish car wax before I deprime/resize, then once deprimed, I toss the cases in my large tumbler, where I tumble in very fine Walnut shells. Ground up walnut shells flow through the deprimer hole with no problem (corn cob material can get stuck in the primer hole) before I trim, flare, reprime and fill.

where are you finding "fine " ground walnut shells?

You know, I don't remember if I purchased them from Midway USA (I have in the past), but I believe that I got this last batch from Harbor Freight. They sell a coarse and a fine grind (at least they did when I purchased this a couple of years ago).

FINE ground walnut shells- Zilla walnut litter from Petsmart, it's about a 10 pound bag or so.

I also tried the 25# KayTee bag from PetSmart, works fine. I use a bit of NuFinish car polish and/or mineral spirits for shiny polish.

Be aware that mineral spirits and liquid polishes WILL over time, and lots of use, soften the plastic of the tumbler bowl and cause it to wear out or deform. This is from experience, I've worn out THREE bowls in my 1292 Midway tumbler (but that's hundreds of thousands of cases!)

Some folks buy the Drillspot or Grainger corn cob media, get the finest you can find!

I do primarily rifle brass and I use the lizard litter walnut from the pet store and a little car polish. I deprime after tumbling. That makes them clean. I don't bother to polish then in corn cob, but it works if you want them new looking.

Though I have only been reloading for a year or so, my ssteps are the following

1) Clean the primed brass in a vibratory polished with corn cob and a little shot of auto polish wax occassionally.

2) Tumble them in my Lyman tumbler to get all the corn cob off;

3) Go directly to my Dillon 550 where the depriming begins.

I have never had a problem.

For me, tumbling is not the same as cleaning.

1.- Lately I've been cleaning hangun brass in a plastic jar with water, Tide laundry detergent concentrate and a couple of 30cal patches.
2.- Shake, shake, rinse, sun dry.
3.- Tumble
4.- Batch lube
5.- Load

Note:
The last time I had too many "washed" 9mm cases to tumble at once and only tumbled half.
I compared the tumbled brass to the "just washed" brass and could not see a difference:what:

No more tumbling for me:D

PS: I can't believe I posted in a tumbling thread!!

Harbor Freight has fine walnut at a very good price. It is sold for sand blasting or tumbler media. Ed.

Harbor Freight also offers 'fine' or 'coarse' sizes.

Harbor Freight also offers 'fine' or 'coarse' sizes.
And they go on sale for $15 for the 25 lb box.

I first wash the cases in hot water with a couple tablespoons of Bar Keeper's Friend mixed in.

http://www.hverovhe.com/bkf.jpg

Shake off excess water, size/decap while wet, then in the tumbler for an hour or so.

Fine crushed walnut shell from Harbor Freight and a cap of NuFinish. I don't bother decapping before tumbling, seems like a waste of time for handgun cartridges.

I've taken to cleaning the cases first in a Simple Green/water solution in a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner before dumping them into the tumbler. The cases come out of the solution clean of residue, but not shiny. That's OK - that's what the tumbler is for. I specifically do not use the ultrasonic cleaner as a polisher; it's only duty is to reduce the amount of spent primer lead dust that gets into the tumbling media. This approach works very well; the media stays clean a LOT longer and with virtually no dust issues. I can get 300 45ACP cases or approximately 150 30-06 sized cases in the ultrasonic cleaner at a time, so this step isn't all that time consuming.

I always tumble clean before sizing. Rifle brass will get a second brief tumble to remove the lube, and I keep a baggie of old corncob set aside just for cleaning off lube. Since I use Lee brass trimmers, I don't have to clean the rifle brass flash holes after the second tumble - the cutting tool's center pin does it for me automagically.

Truth be told, I never trim handgun brass. I suppose that I should, for certain chamberings, be more diligent in that area. But I'm too dang lazy to add that step for what is essentially non-critical practice ammo. If I was shootin' Bullseye, I would probably be tempted to be less lazy.

I never tumble finished rounds, since it doesn't make them shoot any better and they're already as clean as they need to be by the time I'm done loading them. I also shoot a lot of cast lead, and I see no profit in getting fine lead dust embedded into my tumbling media. ;)

So, here's what that looks like for handgun brass:

- Wash in ultrasonic cleaner, rinse, and place on towel. Pat dry.
- Tumble in corncob
- Decap/size

For rifle brass, it's:

- Wash in ultrasonic cleaner, rinse, and place on towel. Pat dry.
- Tumble in corncob
- Decap/size
- Tumble off lube
- Trim to length