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gschwertley
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Posts: 283
(2/2/05 2:50 am)
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cleaning brass
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This seems like a simple subject, doesn't it?
For years, I cleaned brass by tumbling. When I first started reloading, I didn't want to buy a tumbler so I made one. It was the turning-drum design, like a lapidary tumbler. Basically, it was a frame, a coffee can, a couple of rollers and an old photocopier motor and gear drive. A couple of years later I decided I might be doing this for a while. I sprung for a vibratory tumbler, which I still have and occasionally use.
I say occasionally because somewhere along the line, I started using this liquid case cleaner made by Birchwood-Casey. It is a solution of phosphoric acid that you mix with water. I think I started using this because on rifle cases, you often have that stubborn residue of soot on the case neck near the mouth. I found that simply tumbling them didn't always remove all of this. Also, if a case was tarnished or stained, the chemical cleaning would often clear this up. After cleaning in the liquid cleaner, I rinse the cases off very thoroughly and let them air dry. If I am in a hurry, I might dry them on a cookie sheet pan in the oven, on the lowest (warm) setting with the door slightly open. It is said that much oven heat will ruin the brass, so I don't do anything more than warm them for 15 to 20 minutes. For rifle cases, I usually punch out the primer with a universal decapping die before washing to hasten the drying process; helps with the rinsing too.
I still use the tumbler when I want really brite brass, but I usually don't have that as a goal as I am loading it for my own use and I don't need the shine.
Using liquid case cleaner may sound like more work that tumbling, but I always feel that the cases are cleaner. With tumbling media, you always have to think about checking the primer hole to see if it has cob or walnut in it. Also, sometimes a build-up of crud can collect in the rim of the case that you must get out. There is also the tendency of reloaders to over-use their media beyond the point of effectiveness, and cases tumbled in this oily mess come out just that -- oily feeling.
The liquid/chemical case cleaner is re-usable many times over. You will know when it no longer works, because the cases will not get as clean. Also, you will need to experiment with mixing the strength that will work. The directions call for a fairly weak solution; the idea is to get them clean, not to have them come out looking like they went in. Perhaps the manufacturer plays it safe for reasons of liability. So far as I know, phosphoric acid in any strength that reloaders would use it in shouldn't harm the brass as ammonia is said to do. I have been using this product for years and haven't observed damaged cases from it to my knowledge.
Be sure to wear rubber gloves when using this chemical or the smell (and who knows what else) will get into your skin for a couple of days. I heat the solution up a bit in the microwave oven before using it. In good weather, I do the washing outside so I can rinse into the gravel. In crummy weather, I do it inside but try not to let much chemical go down the drain and into the septic tank -- could kill the bacteria. If you have city sewer service, you don't have to be concerned. When the chemical cleaner is used up, "dispose of it properly" and don't pour it into the fish pond.
Another method of case cleaning that I have used I call the "bulk method". You get yourself one of those canvas bags that they use to carry money around in at the bank, fill it with dirty brass, sew or staple it shut, and put it in the washing machine. One cycle of that and you'd be surprised how clean it comes out for the small amount of effort involved. Just don't put it in with a load of "ladies delicates". You don't want to wash the brass with ladies' underdrawers. You don't want to fill your ladie's drawers with bits of mercury, lead and other nasty materials, do you? It would be a good way to get chucked out of the house. When I clean brass using the bulk method, I do it when I can put some of my dirty overalls and such in there.
With pistol cases, I don't do near as much cleaning/tumbling as I used to. This is because I gradually changed over to carbide dies for straight-walled pistol cartridges, which is most of them. So now I just wash them before sizing and that's it. For my .32-20 and .44-40 pistol cases, I still must use the procedure for rifle cases, below. I still have some steel pistol die sets; they do not change the shape of the case slightly as carbide often does. More on this some other time.
For rifle cases, I use the Birchwood-Casey chemical cleaner before sizing. I resize using a water-base case lube, then I simply wash them off with tap water and detergent and dry them. You don't need the chemical cleaner to wash them after sizing if you use a water-based lube.
Edited by: gschwertley at: 2/2/05 11:53 pm
yockey5
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Posts: 3886
(2/2/05 2:59 am)
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Re: cleaning brass
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Thanks for this useful info GS! I have used the washer machine to clean brass too.
Don
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mikmarjon
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Posts: 2890
(2/2/05 2:11 pm)
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Re: cleaning brass
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I haven't heard of of it before,and now that it's presented I'm wondering why I haven't thought of it my self. You knoe I'll have to try it now.
mike
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M14man
veteran member
Posts: 98
(2/3/05 12:11 am)
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Re: cleaning brass
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Would you believe, that in 30 years of reloading, and thats about 18 cartridge types; I don't own a tumbler, and never cleaned cases. Wipe them some, but thats it, and never had a problem. I bet I've loaded 60,000 rds. After not reloading .380,30-40 Krag,and .357 for years, I just completed 600 rds, and did another 300 in .45. I have 4,000 cases of all types just waiting.
gschwertley
veteran member
Posts: 287
(2/3/05 12:49 am)
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Re: cleaning brass
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M14man:
There's no doubt that this certainly is an option. In fact, some ammo and some loads shoot and seal a lot cleaner than others. You can get by with "hand cleaning" a lot easier on some loads than others. I too have done this, but find the wrist-twisting a bit too repetitive to endure for long periods.
On the other hand, there is more to it than just how clean it shoots. When I pick up my own or other's leavings, the brass goes into a bag or haversack that often then contains dirt and dust that the brass may have picked up from the floor or where have you. Also, there may be burned powder residue inside the cases that falls out into the sack. It all results in more dirt, which you definitely want to get rid of by whatever means before you start the sizing process. One way you can eliminate this extra dirt is to replace fired cases back into their box when finished. I do this sometimes but not as a rule since I tend to put them away rather than get started on cleaning them. Also, powder residues can get down into the small sections of the plastic box. I usually take enough clear plastic baggies to place the different batches of my own brass in. Anything fired by another shooter, I just bulk together.
One factor that favors hand cleaning and this is immediacy. You may have only a limited number of a certain caliber, such as Swiss 7.5x55 before Graf's became available. If you want to go to the range again soon, you might not have the time for the more lengthy processes I described.
mikmarjon
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Posts: 2907
(2/3/05 2:45 am)
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Re: cleaning brass
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I don't know,how long does it normally take deprimed brass to dry after washing them in a washing machine?
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yockey5
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Posts: 3895
(2/3/05 3:11 am)
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Re: cleaning brass
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Don't laugh, that is how I do it, just tie them up in an old sock.
Don
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mikmarjon
Administrator
Posts: 2912
(2/3/05 2:28 pm)
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Re: cleaning brass
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Hey I may be joking but I'm going to try it.I have a couple of old money bags that would be perfect.seems like one of thoes net bags that the ladies use for their hose would work well also.I have a tumbler but I'm not impressed with what it does for the inside of the hull.
mike
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gschwertley
veteran member
Posts: 290
(2/4/05 1:23 am)
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Cleaning brass
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Mike:
The drying time of course depends upon the weather, but in the house leave them to dry for a couple of days. You can look down inside them with a penlight to see if moisture is still present. If you don't knock the primers out first, the still-capped primer pockets will be the last to dry. Be sure to tip each one up some kind of way to drain all the water out of necked cases before you lay them out to dry. If you are going to re-size them right away after washing, it is only essential that the outside be completely dry; if the inside is still a little damp or if the primer pocket is damp, no problem. In this scenario, you are just going to wash them again after re-sizing anyway. If there is any chance of some moisture still being present inside the case during the sizing process, I take my die apart after sizing to clean and dry it so no rust will form.
Ix-nay on using the ladies garment net bag; stick to the bank bags or even the sock that Don suggests. I have one of those heavy-duty staplers that I use to seal a bank bag for washing. You could sew it shut with some big whip stitches from a big needle and thread. I'll bet Don just ties a knot in that sock; how easy can it get? I like the bigger bank bag so the brass can roll around together more.
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