Cleaning brass without tumbling?

[JBrady555]

Is there something that i can soak my brass in that will clean it as good as a tumbler? Ive just finished a batch tumbled in walnut hulls and im having to put a copper bore brush in each case because so much media is stuck to the case. I use nufinish but i let it run awhile before introducing the brass. Any ideas?

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

I'm a soaker and have never tumbled but have friends who do. I have experimented with a lot of solutions and soaking and rinsing but have never got my brass to look like it was tumbled.

Hot water and dish soap soak for a couple days in a shakeable container after processing the brass (resize, decap, bell mouth) gives me very clean and serviceable brass ready to load (after it is dried with a hair dryer) but it doesn't look shiny and "new" like tumbled.

It's clean and functional but not pretty. You can live without tumbling if you don't need shiny brass to be satisfied.

VooDoo

 

[BCRider]

Try 1 part vinegar to 5 parts water and add a tablespoon of dish or laundry detergent.

I put this into a shallow bucket and use a plastic strainer for the brass. I dunk, stir, soak for 10 minutes, lift, stir to drain the brass then dunk and stir again. One more 10 minute soak and then I move on to lift, stir and rinse.

To ensure I get all the liquid out of the brass I dunk, stir, lift, stir to drain and dunk. Repeat about 3 times.

Actual handing time for each batch is roughly 3 to 4 minutes for all the work. The rest of the time is soaking time.

My strainer and bucket let's me do about 200 .38Spl at a time.

Even better is an ultrasonic cleaner. Using the same vinegar and soap mixture it cleans in about a 3 to 4 minute cycle if you have one which can warm up the water to around 80 to 90F. They come out cleaner than the 20 minutes worth of static soaking.

I do all my cleaning before processing since I load on a progressive machine. So I usually lay out the brass on old bath towels for a couple of days to ensure it's dry. I stir things around a little each time I go by so none of the ends are covered all the time.

I had a shaker and used dry media when I started out. It never did a thing for the insides and frankly I find that overall this is faster. And I KNOW there's no media stuck inside.

 

[243winxb]

citric acid

see post 31 and others http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=708100&page=2&highlight=unclenick

 

[50 Shooter]

Iosso liquid cleaner is the best that I've used, its turned WWII 50 BMG brass to almost new. If I want it shiney I just drop it in a tumbler for an hour. Lyman also makes some, its not as fast as Iosso but it does a good job and same goes if you want it really shiney.

Other then those I would use SS pins and soap that's all the rage right now, brass looks better then new when it comes out. Put your oven on warm, drop the brass on a cookie sheet and it will be dry in a few minutes. Remember, that's the warm setting and nothing higher. I doubt you could get it hot enough to anneal it but its better to play it safe.

 

[Gadawg88]

If you have that much media stuck, you either used too much polish, didn't let it run long enough before dumping the cases in or your brass or the media itself had excess moisture. I tumble in walnut and corn cob and never have any stuck in the case. I use NuFinish as well. About half a cap full and let the tumbler run for 20 - 30 minutes to make sure it is good an mixed in. I don't add polish every time I tumble either.

 

[medalguy]

If you're trying to polish brass, don't use walnut. That is harder and does a much better job in cleaning really dirty brass. To polish, use corn cob which is much softer, and polishes rather than cleaning. Continue to use NuFinish, and run the material about 10 minutes or so prior to introducing your brass. Also add a shot of mineral spirits to help loosen the crud and keep dust down. Finally, add a used dryer sheet cut into 2 x 2 pieces to pick up most of the dirt and dust. That really helps keep your media working a lot longer.

As far as media stuck in your brass, I don't know why that would happen unless you are using too much polish, or putting the brass in before the polish is distributed through the media. Wet brass will also cause any media to stick in the bottom of the cases.

Finally, I'd suggest using 20/40 grit of cob which is pretty fine and won't get stuck in the flash hole. The 12/20 will nearly always get stuck.

 

[JBrady555]

Yea i think its a polish issue too. I started a new batch with new media and no polish. The walnut seems to be falling out without sticking.

 

[gamestalker]

That's really surprising. I have never had difficulty getting the media out, walnut. I just tumbled a bunch of 22-250 brass a couple days ago, and the media just falls out with a light tap against another piece of brass.

Are you adding something to your media that could be causing it to clump up?

Do they have a bunch of lube in or on them, or wet when you put them in the tumbler?

Or maybe your media is heavily contaminated with a heavy sticky type lube?

Many years ago when I first started using Lee tooth paste lube, I learned my lesson to make sure and clean all the excess lube off the brass before tumbling. I ruined a batch of media after only 3 or 4 tumbling sessions, and my brass came out looking terrible, with caked residue on it.

Now I always clean any excess lube off the brass before tumbling to extend the life of the media, and to make sure my brass is free of anything that could cause primer or powder contamination.

GS

 

[JBrady555]

Just nufinish. No moisture on the brass. My batch with no polish is doing much better.

 

[twofifty]

dry in sun

1. I'm a hot soaker too: liquid dish soap, rinse, rinse, drain, dump on towel to absorb moisture, immediately dump to other towel and let sit in the sun for 3 hours.

2. Let cool down, cull/de-cap/re-size/2nd cull.

3. Then a quick hot soapy soak to get rid of case lube, rinse & dry as above.

4. Let cool down, prime/3rd cull.

Results: the cases feel & look very clean. I don't care about tarnish.

The sun does a great job of thoroughly drying straight-walled cases.

 

[jmorris]

You can wipe them off with spit and a paper towel and make them clean enough to not cause any damage to your dies.

"As good" as a tumbler is a different story. I can't think of anything you could soak brass in, that wouldn't damage it, that could get it as clean as tumbling with SS media.

 

[WNTFW]

Citric Acid = Amazing stuff

Vinegar can cause problems

 

[JBrady555]

I just ran overnight for 15 hours on walnut with no nu finish and they don't just look almost new, they look brand new. I'm not using polish anymore, just a overnight run on straight media. And nothing was stuck in the case as well.

 

[Onward Allusion]

I use a 1/2 gallon sonic cleaner with the heat turned on. 8 minutes will clean 'em pretty good. I don't care about how good my brass looks.

 

[ironworkerwill]

I soak too. Vinegar hot water and sometimes dish soap. I always drain and rinse with baking soda to kill the acid.

[Citric Acid = Amazing stuff

Vinegar can cause problems /QUOTE] Any acid or strong alkaline will ruin brass if left to do its thing for too long.

 

[Elkins45]

Citric acid is vastly preferred over vinegar. Citric acid will allow the formation of a passivation layer on the brass. Vinegar will leach out the zinc and weaken it.

 

[jamrock]

Back in the old days when I was single through it in a pillow case put through the washer and dryer done. Can't do that with the wife now but every weekend when I come home from the range after I drop my pants in the washer a case I picked up and forgot is left in my pocket. When I move my pants to the dryer I find nice and shiny at the bottom of the washer.

 

[ironworkerwill]

The passivation layer is the brown stuff folks are trying to remove in the first place. Besides we are not talking about leaving it in acetic acid over night. More like a few minuets.

 

[Nordeste]

I spent a whole year reloading without ever needing a tumbler. This said, I like shiny brass. I ended up buying one and I'm considering to build my own wet tumbler. You will only get that shiny brass with wet or dry tumbling, not with soaking or ultrasonic cleaning. However, if you use a big enough can (say 1/2 gallon), a tablespoon of dish soap and a teaspoon of citric acid, plus hot water, shake it up for a few minutes, let it rest until the water is cold, shake it up again, and rinse in fresh water, you'll be surprised at how clean your brass will be. Let it dry in the sun or, if you're in a hurry, just use a hair dryer or heat gun to dry them, and they will be ready to be reloaded. It's how I do it when I'm in a hurry.

 

[Otto]

Throw it in the washing machine...no chemicals, no media, no tumbler, no noise, no dust and as an added bonus it irritates the wife.

 

[ironworkerwill]

Don't irritate too much. It becomes ex-spensive.

 

[50 Shooter]

Dishwasher! There was another thread that I posted a pic of 50 BMG brass in the dishwasher, it was funny even if I only used the dry cycle. I wouldn't run brass through the family dishwasher due to lead and other stuff being on the brass. Just used it to dry, I guess if you had an old one you could set it up in the garage and run them through it that way.