Washing Brass

[Thor88]

I am just getting into reloading and have yet to buy a tumbler.

From what I've read, it is acceptable to just wash the brass with some liquid cleaner, it just may not be as polished.

What I would like to know is if it is necessary to deprime the brass before cleaning it in this manner? I imagine it would save me a lot of time if I could just wash my brass and then proceed with the complete reloading process.

Thank you for your help.

 

[1SOW]

Thor88, You didn't say "what" brass. Straightwall Pistol or rifle?

For pistol brass: yes and no, it's not necessary to deprime first..

 

[rcmodel]

Deprime before washing.

If you don't, water becomes trapped in the primer pocket & primer and may cause corrosion before it all dries out.


Actually, it is not set in stone that you have to clean your brass before resizing anyway.
(Unless it is covered in stuck dirt, mud, and sand from the range.)

Some of us reloaded lots of years with steel resizing dies before case polishers were invented yet.

Now that carbide sizing dies are the most common in pistol calibers, cleaning is not that important.

Carbide is harder then woodpecker lips, and you will not scratch it or wear it out with dirty cases.

rc

 

[ROCKFISH]

I like to wash my brass before depriming and sizing to preserve my dies, and again after sizing to remove lube and clean primer pockets. I then spin cases on a drill to trim and chamfer wiping insides with a q-tip and finally tumble for an hour or two to get them shiny and dry. Its alot of prep, but I'm loading rifle cartridges for accuracy and I'm in no rush. Just trying to make the most accurate rifle ammo I can. I also sort by headstamp and weight, and individually weigh each bullet and powder charge. I know a bit anal, but thats the way I roll.

 

[Thor88]

It would be pistol brass(mostly 45ACP)

I have also read that some will dry it in the oven at low temps (<200 degrees)

What I haven't found is exactly how long to do this, and if there are any health concerns like lead in your oven?

I imagine most lead would be washed off, but would still worry.

Thanks for the replies guys.

For clarification, do you think it would be worth it to wash before sizing/depriming, or just wipe the outside of the cases.

My dies are carbide if that helps.

Thanks again

 

[1SOW]

Thor,
I process 9mm range cases a couple of times every week. South Texas ranges are dirty. Small bits of stone and "range" dirt are in any cases that aren't picked up fast. Washing them with soap and water (+ your personal magic additives) and blasting them with a garden hose will produce a decent looking case "ready to reload".
In South TX, they dry very fast outdoors. On rare occassions of bad weather, I turn on the ceiling fan on my patio to speed up the drying. My primer pockets haven't shown any corrosion from this process. I have 22 coffee containers (just counted) full of washed and tumbled very shiny 9mm cases.

 

[Curt Blunt]

I wash my brass with Dawn detergent in a rock tumbler and dry in the oven at 170 degrees or put in the sun on an aluminum cookie sheet. I do this to get the crud off before I run the brass up into my dies. This is with carbide dies. With steel dies that require case lubrication I can wash again or use Hornady One Shot (haven't fully evaluated that but they say cases are good to go). This isn't the rocket science part of reloading; just see what works for you.

 

[GT1]

Some folks go all out and wash/tumble and maybe tumble or wash again and then tumble after loading. Some folks wipe off the cases with a rag and call it good to go.

I prefer to wash to remove any grit and then a quick dry on a cookie sheet in a barely warmed oven.
I don't decap before washing, but I do let the brass sit for at least a day after that to make sure the primer pockets are thoroughly dry. Any moisture in there will foul your reloads so make sure of that.

 

[A-FIXER]

Or you could get what the ladies call a delicate laundry bag (5.00 at menards) and throw them in the washer then get a cardboard and a rack for your dryer(most come with one) and place your brass upside down and turn on your dryer you can dry about 700 cases at a time.

 

[FROGO207]

If the cases are not full of dirt, dust, or crushed rock and you don't care how they look there is no need to do anything to them before reloading. I did this for years before starting to clean my brass. If you do wash them make sure that the primer pockets are dry before depriming them. Way back when I first started reloading I didn't do that and the moisture that was left in there got onto the ram of my first press and rusted it up solid. Had to take it apart when I went to use it about a week later and sand the rust off first so it could be used. The idea of using 000 steel wool to clean the brass is a good one and works well for longer brass cartriges. There is a liquid case cleaner called IOSSO and it works well to remove corrosion and tarnish but leaves the brass surface dull with little shine. Then you have to rinse the brass several times to remove the IOSSO.

 

[tnek13]

Birchwood casey makes a case cleaner that I used years ago before I had a tumbler. It works well as I recall. I now use a solution of citric acid, dishwasher detergent and water to clean cases, after removing the primers, in an ultrasonic cleaner, before sizing, expanding, trimming, and polishing.

 

[4895]

It's easier to tumble. E.A. Brown is a company that sells a Berry's tumbler. If you can find the website, use their search feature for the tumbler. They sell it very reasonable with different combos to choose from. I washed and scrubbed and dried for the first few hundred rounds I loaded up. Not a good use of my time, IMHO.

 

[jcwit]

Like 4895 says or get the same tumbler from Cabela's, which will give you a forever warrenty.

 

[moxie]

If they've been on the ground I give them a quick wash, before sizing/depriming, with a few drops of dish detergent, using a colander and bowl. This removes any sand, mud, etc. I don't bother washing my revolver cases. Pickups get washed.
When dry, it's into the old reliable Midway vibratory cleaner with walnut shell media, followed by corn cob with a little car polish. Or some combination of these. Then I size/deprime. Never have noticed any corrosion in primer pockets using this method. There's no one single best way. As you've seen from the comments on this thread, many very experienced guys use different methods and end up with good results. Part of the fun of reloading is experimenting and finding your own way that works for you.

 

[GLOOB]

As far as I'm concerned, washing brass with soap and water is better and faster than tumbling. Gets the brass really clean, really fast, and it removes more dust than tumbling. Just don't leave your cases wet overnight, and don't let them dry too slowly, or you'll get corrosion.

But, here's the catch. The best way I've found to dry brass is to put it in a tumbler (with regular corn cob media) for 15-30 min after straining. The little extra bit of polishing (mechanical and/or actual car polish added) is a nice bonus.