dirty cases

Status
Not open for further replies.

oz_lowrider

Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
170
Location
brisbane australia
I have a new smart loader tumbler and I'm using the corn media provided but the cases don't fully clean around the cartrige neck. These are cases which have been used only twice. There is this black residue which really takes some getting off. Has anyone got an idea how to remove this marking. Is there a better media to use or is there something wrong with my reloading and this residue shouldn't be there in the first place?
 
On the inside of the cae necks or the outside??

Corncob is great for polishing, but walnut is more aggressive at scrubbing the cases. Full loads of brass in the tumbler lets the weight of the cases help to scrub the gunk off the cases too. I wouldn't be overly concerned about anything inside the cases.
 
The black residue is on the outside of the neck. I thought there might have been some sort of blow bye or the gas getting past the projectile and escaping and not giving me the correct pressure required. Maybe the bullet isn't fitting tightly enough in the case and the seal is not good enough. Hope that explains it?
 
+1 on walnut

My 45 colt cases frequently get stains near the case mouth and I have found the walnut media or a combination of 50/50 treated corncob and walnut with a longer cycle is required.
 
Full loads of brass in the tumbler lets the weight of the cases help to scrub the gunk off the cases too.

This is what I'm finding out. You can't buy a big tumbler and then put only 25-50 cases in there and expect them to come clean. You got to really put some brass in thee to get the best results.
 
It's common for the necks to have some carbon that comes off hard. Once I know which loads have a lot of that I'll wipe the necks with a rag and mineral spirits before they go in the tumbler. Drop an ounce of mineral spirits in your tumbling media and that will help a bunch too. It will clean better and you won't have dust all over the cases. Mineral spirits has an anti-static affect in the bowl and media. As already stated use walnut media to actually clean brass. Corncob for polish.
 
Yep, a full tumbler, as long as it is not overloaded, does better than a tumbler with just a few cases.

I use brass polish, and I routinely tumble all day while I'm at work, or all night while I sleep for real dirty brass. The extra time does not hurt a thing. I am not in a hurry.

Brass that was already shined up and then shot will usually shine back up in a couple hours easily.
 
Want clean cases?

Get yourself an electric deep fryer with a large capacity.

One gallon of simple green

Mix about 1/8 simple green to water

Bring to a raging boil

Add brass with primers already removed (RCBS decapping die works good for this)

Boil until you cant stand the smell anymore (it'll certainly make your house smell clean!!!)

Left to "cook" long enough it'll even scrub 90% of the funk out of the primer pockets.

Rinse in HOT water and allow to dry.

Size, polish, and then gas em up for the next trip to the range.

Works great and it keeps grit from making it to your expensive sizing dies.
 
I bet it works, but my wife would just S*** if I did that.

Sortta like putting your cases in her panty hose bag and then running them through the washer & dryer.

Does not make for a happy camper...:cuss:
 
If it's just a few I use 00 or 000 steel wool.

Deep fat fryer? My wife just bought a new one...Think I can talk her into letting me break it in for her? I'm surely afraid to ask...:uhoh:
 
This works well for my pistol brass.

If you do the below method the brass comes our fairly clean inside and out.

Punch the primers and resize first

After this method, I lay mine on an old towel and use a 6" fan to dry them.

If you want them really shiny then tumble after this method. This also saves how often you need to replace the tumble media

This will clean both inside and out. It's from an old NRA book on the 1911 Colt.

In a plastic mayo jar (or whatever) mix 1 pint water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent. When all the solids are dissolved, fill the jar half full of cases. Screw on the cap and and shake for about 10 minutes or until the cases are visibly cleaned of fouling. After cleaning, pour the solution into another jar to be reused. Wash the cases under tap water to clean off any residue, then you can air dry them in the sun or you can place them on pie tins in a mild oven for a few minutes.
I usually drain the liquid and cases through an old strainer into a plastic bin, then I just pour the liquid back into the jar. Make sense.
You can make more of the liquid to be used a one time by just doubling the recipe. I have used large plastic containers to do more cases at one time.

P.S. The one gallon tea jug from Bill Miller's BBQ works great and does a lot of 9mm at a time.
 
Last edited:
Mine is 3 parts walnut to 1 part corncob, 1tbl of liquid car polish tumbled for an hour with no brass. Then add 2 cut up used dryer sheets and add the brass. Set the Harbor Freight appliance timer for 4 hours and let 'er go. Clean and shiny like new brass comes out at the end, I re-use the tumbler media and discard the dryer sheets that have taken up a lot of the dust.
 
Want clean cases?

Get yourself an electric deep fryer with a large capacity.

One gallon of simple green

Mix about 1/8 simple green to water

Bring to a raging boil

Add brass with primers already removed (RCBS decapping die works good for this)

Boil until you cant stand the smell anymore (it'll certainly make your house smell clean!!!)

Left to "cook" long enough it'll even scrub 90% of the funk out of the primer pockets.

Rinse in HOT water and allow to dry.

Size, polish, and then gas em up for the next trip to the range.

Works great and it keeps grit from making it to your expensive sizing dies.

Damn that sounds too much like work. I clean mine in walnut with Nu Finish car polish and a cut up dryer sheet or paper towel. Let it run for two hours and they come out very shiny. I only have about 5 minutes time invested in loading and unloading the tumbler.
Rusty
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top