Clean Brass w/out Tumbling
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jwrowland77
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I've used a 5 gallon bucket, hot water and dawn liquid soap to clean range brass before putting them in my tumbler. Should work for what you want.
Reefinmike
Member
I've done the ol hot water, splash of vinegar, salt and dish soap trick. Just agitate em around every few minutes and thoroughly drain and rinse. It does the job, but you might overhear guys at the range talking trash behind your back about how ugly your reloads are 
Reloaders were doing this long before the use of tumblers. As jwrowland said, bucket, water, soap. Swirl around, rinse, dry. You are trying to ensure any dirt/grit is off the case so you don't ruin your chamber.
Clean is sufficient, shiny is not required. Half the time I don't even clean my 38/357 or .308 cases because they never hit the ground. A single wipe with a piece of cloth (if that) and back to reloading.
If you use vinager, be sure to neutralize it with a rinse in a baking soda solution. Otherwise the cases may turn pink after a while.
Cowboys reloaded on the range long before tumblers. You didn't take up reloading for a beauty contest. I know that some people ooogle over their shiny bling cases, but if they can't shoot straight, what good does it do?
Good for you that you're thinking these things out.
Clean is sufficient, shiny is not required. Half the time I don't even clean my 38/357 or .308 cases because they never hit the ground. A single wipe with a piece of cloth (if that) and back to reloading.
If you use vinager, be sure to neutralize it with a rinse in a baking soda solution. Otherwise the cases may turn pink after a while.
Cowboys reloaded on the range long before tumblers. You didn't take up reloading for a beauty contest. I know that some people ooogle over their shiny bling cases, but if they can't shoot straight, what good does it do?
Good for you that you're thinking these things out.
rbernie
Contributing Member
I do 4000-6000 9x19 at a time in the kitchen sink - Dawn, a wee bit of LemiShine, and about ten minutes soaking and swirling around occasionally gets them clean enough to reload.
Sometimes I'll find a single piece of brass that got missed in the main sweep and I'll put it in my pocket. Later that night when I find it in my pocket, it's polished clean.
Why not just buy a tumbler? Frankford Arsenal tumblers are less than $75. There's tumbler dust to worry about, just do it in a ventilated area.
I would not be putting loads of fired brass into my kitchen sink. I don't even wash my hands after reloading in the kitchen sink. You and your family put plates, cups, flatware, etc. into the kitchen sink. Fired brass isn't exactly non-toxic. If you're going to use water, do it in a bucket outside or put a sink in your garage. I've got a large industrial sink in my garage for washing my hands after automotive work or anything else that I wouldn't want showing up on my dinner plates.
Why not just buy a tumbler? Frankford Arsenal tumblers are less than $75. There's tumbler dust to worry about, just do it in a ventilated area.
I would not be putting loads of fired brass into my kitchen sink. I don't even wash my hands after reloading in the kitchen sink. You and your family put plates, cups, flatware, etc. into the kitchen sink. Fired brass isn't exactly non-toxic. If you're going to use water, do it in a bucket outside or put a sink in your garage. I've got a large industrial sink in my garage for washing my hands after automotive work or anything else that I wouldn't want showing up on my dinner plates.
mljdeckard
Member
I tried a few things, soap, (I never tried vinegar,) Simple Green, etc. I really should have just bought a tumbler. 
Like they say, maybe they don't NEED to be that clean, I just decided pretty quick that I didn't want to put that grime through my dies thousands of times.
Like they say, maybe they don't NEED to be that clean, I just decided pretty quick that I didn't want to put that grime through my dies thousands of times.
They are both good questions (both whether a tumbler is required and why not get a tumbler)
I can't speak for the OP, but reloading does not require a thousand dollar commitment to all sorts of top notch equipment. Yes, many things make reloading more convenient and sometimes better, but for bare-bones reloading on a limited budget, it's good to know what is absolutely necessary (like a scale) and what is nice-but not required (like a primer pocket uniformer or electronic trickler).
A Harbor Freight tumbler costs somewhere in the $50's and a 50# bag of crushed walnut costs $17 at the feed store. You can eliminate the dust with cut up used dryer sheets, but emptying and sifting should be done outdoors because lead in the primer dust is almost always present and it accumulates in your body over time. It is not flushed out daily.
If the cost is the difference between getting a hammer type Lee loader and a single stage press, get the press and use a bucket for the cases. If another $80 is no biggie, get the tumbler, it's not required, but it does clean a lot of cases in a few hours with very little effort.
PJSprog
Member
I wrap a piece of #0000 steel wool around my cases while they are on my Lee Zip Trim and give it a couple of extra pulls after trimming. Clean enough for me.
Reloadron
Contributing Member
Machine wash and tumble dry.
Seriously use a 5 gallon, 2 gallon or any good bucket with a good cover that offers a good seal. Hot water, Dawn (or any good dish washing liquid) with some distilled white vinegar or lemon juice and roll the thing around as well as shaking it. Then drain well and rinse thoroughly. To dry on a warm summer day place out in the sun, to dry in the winter use a cookie sheet in an oven at about 200 degrees F. for an hour or so.
As mentioned, great ammunition was being hand loaded long before tumblers showed up on the scene. It doesn't have to look pretty and shiny to shoot well.
Ron
Seriously use a 5 gallon, 2 gallon or any good bucket with a good cover that offers a good seal. Hot water, Dawn (or any good dish washing liquid) with some distilled white vinegar or lemon juice and roll the thing around as well as shaking it. Then drain well and rinse thoroughly. To dry on a warm summer day place out in the sun, to dry in the winter use a cookie sheet in an oven at about 200 degrees F. for an hour or so.
As mentioned, great ammunition was being hand loaded long before tumblers showed up on the scene. It doesn't have to look pretty and shiny to shoot well.
Ron
fishshocker
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warm water and lemi-shine for a few minutes, rinse several times, then lay out on old tshirt with fan blowing on them to dry.
I do agitate them by hand some and i do deprime before.
works great.
I do agitate them by hand some and i do deprime before.
works great.
Fishslayer
Member
Lemi Shine & water in Homer buckets from Home Depot. Occasionally dump from one bucket to the other to agitate.
1 to 2 hours maximum. Make sure to rinse very thoroughly or you'll have pink brass.
I do this before tumbling but the brass is really clean enough after just the soak. I like bling but I don't like the dust.
1 to 2 hours maximum. Make sure to rinse very thoroughly or you'll have pink brass.
I do this before tumbling but the brass is really clean enough after just the soak. I like bling but I don't like the dust.
Godsgunman
Member
Hot water and vinegar and agitate for about 15 miutes. Rinse and dry, done. They come out pretty shiny for me.
Icky The Great
Member
I picked up a cheap tumble from Harbour Freight and some bulk corn cob and walnut shell at a flea market. It needed a plug end. I use the walnut on all range brass. I sort to caliber and dump it in. 2 hrs later its nice enough to use. No polishing compound and minimal dust. I use a kitty liter scoop to retrieve the brass. This has worked far better for me than the detergent method. Its hard to see cracks when the brass is funky looking.
My good friend is a convert after seeing my range brass and his side by side
My good friend is a convert after seeing my range brass and his side by side
frankenstein406
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5 gallon bucket, lemi shine and a wood dowel rod to stir them. untill I can buy a tumbler this works fine its just the drying that can be a pain.
splattergun
Member
This. Effective, inexpensive and relatively quick.I've done the ol hot water, splash of vinegar, salt and dish soap trick. Just agitate em around every few minutes and thoroughly drain and rinse. It does the job, but you might overhear guys at the range talking trash behind your back about how ugly your reloads are
If I need 'em polished to a blinding-bright finish I borrow my daughter's rock tumbler with some lizard bedding in it.
There is an outstanding thread around this forum (still looking through bookmarks for it) about cleaning with a very inexpensive sonic cleaner off of amazon or epray. Took a little experimentation with easy diy "solvent" and slight modification concerning the positioning of the beaker containing the brass. Once that was done they were reporting excellent results.
I've only used the dawn, vinegar and salt with scalding hot water added. Soak aggitate, etc then a heavy rinse followed by an hour on an old throw away cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven to dry. I then resize again in case the heating caused the metal to spring back or shift in some manner.
I do have my eye on the highly recommended tumbler from Cabelas. Very nice price on that one, has features of more expensive machines and in fact, looks suspiciously just like a few more expensive models with the exception of color. Was told to buy reptile media at a pet store for tumbling. Apparently this media is crushed walnut shells, and is way cheaper that shells intended as tumbler media.
Russellc
I've only used the dawn, vinegar and salt with scalding hot water added. Soak aggitate, etc then a heavy rinse followed by an hour on an old throw away cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven to dry. I then resize again in case the heating caused the metal to spring back or shift in some manner.
I do have my eye on the highly recommended tumbler from Cabelas. Very nice price on that one, has features of more expensive machines and in fact, looks suspiciously just like a few more expensive models with the exception of color. Was told to buy reptile media at a pet store for tumbling. Apparently this media is crushed walnut shells, and is way cheaper that shells intended as tumbler media.
Russellc
Frankenstein406, Hate doing it in the summer, but I have an old cookie sheet (no longer used for food purposes obviously) plop the cases out on this, preheat the oven to 170-200 degrees, bake for an hour or so depending on how many you are drying. once oven it turned off, I crack the door open for a little while to release moisture, not sure if this is necessary though.
kerreckt
Member
Citric acid which you find with the canning supplies and hot water. About a teaspoon of citric acid and 1.5 gallons of water. You can watch them turn clean...inside and out. After about 30min. rinse them with fresh water and let them dry. I throw them on a towel in front of a fan over night. You can put them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 200f for 30 minutes or however you wish. Just get them dry. You probably don't have to leave them in the acid for 30 min. but I do and it doesn't hurt them.
orionengnr
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- Jan 3, 2005
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- 5,713
Expense? What expense?
A decent tumbler can be found for $50 or so. The media is dirt cheap.
I suppose you could build a house using nothing but a hacksaw and a hammer, but that is up to you.
Remember that all of the "cheap" methods you will see, that involve using your dishwasher or your clothes washer, or your sink...all involve putting that lead and other toxic compounds either into your dishwasher, clothes washer, or into the water system. Give that some thought.
A decent tumbler can be found for $50 or so. The media is dirt cheap.
I suppose you could build a house using nothing but a hacksaw and a hammer, but that is up to you.
Remember that all of the "cheap" methods you will see, that involve using your dishwasher or your clothes washer, or your sink...all involve putting that lead and other toxic compounds either into your dishwasher, clothes washer, or into the water system. Give that some thought.
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1SOW
Member
You didn't say "WHAT TYPE of brass--pistol? rifle?
.From an old NRA magazine for 45ACP brass:
I gallon water, 1 teaspoon salt, one table spoon liquid laundry detergent and 1/2 cup of white vinegar.
Put the solution in a container--I use a coffee container with a lid. Put in the brass and shake them up really good. Let sit 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, dump the solution into another container for reuse on quite a few more batches.
Rinse the brass thoroughly with a garden hose nozzle set to the 'stun' position. Let the brass dry.
Cases will be clean inside and out and ready to load. If the cases are deprimed, even the primer holes look good.
Limit the cleaning to 15 minutes and no harm will come to the brass. I have accidently left some in overnight and they come out pink---as the zinc has started to leach out of the copper-zinc compound due to the vinegar. I have done a lot of my pistol brass many times in this solution with no harm and excellent results.
I still use the garden hose to blast sand and tiny bits of stone out of my cases before I tumble. I like glossy brass with Nu-Finish polish to make them size smoother/easier.
.From an old NRA magazine for 45ACP brass:
I gallon water, 1 teaspoon salt, one table spoon liquid laundry detergent and 1/2 cup of white vinegar.
Put the solution in a container--I use a coffee container with a lid. Put in the brass and shake them up really good. Let sit 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, dump the solution into another container for reuse on quite a few more batches.
Rinse the brass thoroughly with a garden hose nozzle set to the 'stun' position. Let the brass dry.
Cases will be clean inside and out and ready to load. If the cases are deprimed, even the primer holes look good.
Limit the cleaning to 15 minutes and no harm will come to the brass. I have accidently left some in overnight and they come out pink---as the zinc has started to leach out of the copper-zinc compound due to the vinegar. I have done a lot of my pistol brass many times in this solution with no harm and excellent results.
I still use the garden hose to blast sand and tiny bits of stone out of my cases before I tumble. I like glossy brass with Nu-Finish polish to make them size smoother/easier.
Kuyong_Chuin
Member
I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a question. Till I get a tumbler, would grinding up a few corn cobs out of the garden and tossing it and my 40 cases in an old rock tumbler work ?
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