TheHighRoadDude
Member
Hi folks,
I have been looking into alternate ways to clean some brass until I get a "real" tumbler and all my supplies. I happen to be a college student, so I'm always looking for some clever way to get around having to buy something . I have been wanting to get into reloading for some time and have been studying up, now I just need to get everything I need.
But it is Sunday and I was bored so I decided to do a test with a small batch of .223 remington once fired brass. The test was using white rice, the real hard stuff that is super cheap and comes in 5lb bags. A small water bottle with a screw top, and 1 dryer set to "Air Fluff" which does not use any heat.
The water bottle was filled about 3/4 the way with white rice, I then added 20 Remington .223 once fired brass. I then wrapped the water bottle in a folded towel and tied it with an old belt. I put a couple other loose towels in the dryer and then added the tied one. I let it run for about an hour took it out and found they actually looked cleaner then when I first put them in. Not fully satisfied though I added about 8 drops of 3m rubbing compound. (I hear people use Nupolish, but this is what I had on hand) shook the bottle and put it back in for another hour. I then took it out, poured it into a plastic grocerie bag and it looked like this...
Once fired on the left, Rice tumbled on the right...
Another picture, different angle...
I noticed the cases felt like they had grim on them so I wiped them with a paper towel and they must have had some loose carbon on them because it looked like this after wiping 20 down...
Here is an overview of the 20 rice cleaned cases, with the Control Case to compare...
Anyways this is what happens when I get bored, and thought I'd share. My conclusion would be that this would work for a small batch of brass. Doing this for 500+ would not be fun, especially with this .223 cases as I had to shake out the rice from the inside on every single one. Please share your opinions I always welcome them!
I have been looking into alternate ways to clean some brass until I get a "real" tumbler and all my supplies. I happen to be a college student, so I'm always looking for some clever way to get around having to buy something . I have been wanting to get into reloading for some time and have been studying up, now I just need to get everything I need.
But it is Sunday and I was bored so I decided to do a test with a small batch of .223 remington once fired brass. The test was using white rice, the real hard stuff that is super cheap and comes in 5lb bags. A small water bottle with a screw top, and 1 dryer set to "Air Fluff" which does not use any heat.
The water bottle was filled about 3/4 the way with white rice, I then added 20 Remington .223 once fired brass. I then wrapped the water bottle in a folded towel and tied it with an old belt. I put a couple other loose towels in the dryer and then added the tied one. I let it run for about an hour took it out and found they actually looked cleaner then when I first put them in. Not fully satisfied though I added about 8 drops of 3m rubbing compound. (I hear people use Nupolish, but this is what I had on hand) shook the bottle and put it back in for another hour. I then took it out, poured it into a plastic grocerie bag and it looked like this...
Once fired on the left, Rice tumbled on the right...
Another picture, different angle...
I noticed the cases felt like they had grim on them so I wiped them with a paper towel and they must have had some loose carbon on them because it looked like this after wiping 20 down...
Here is an overview of the 20 rice cleaned cases, with the Control Case to compare...
Anyways this is what happens when I get bored, and thought I'd share. My conclusion would be that this would work for a small batch of brass. Doing this for 500+ would not be fun, especially with this .223 cases as I had to shake out the rice from the inside on every single one. Please share your opinions I always welcome them!