Any home brew secrets for cleaning brass without a tumbler

[yblow]

I heard a good way to clean was first use soap and hot water in a glass bowl or steel pot but glass prefered and clean by hand. Then add some phosphoric acid and some the hottest water you can stand to touch and just swirl it around. It also cleans all the powder residue from the inside. Any one use this method or have another way? I also heard citric acid is also a more friendly solution.

[bedlamite]

Ice cream bucket with a good lid half full of corncob, add cases and leave it in the back of the truck for a week. Don't laugh, it works.

[nova]

Never tried it but I've heard tossing the casings in a mesh bag and then running them through the washing machine works...

[Tim_W]

* A solution of 1 quart of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry.

* A solution of 1 quart of water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup laundry or dishwashing detergent, 1/8 cup salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry. This may leave brass with a slight pinkish cast which will disappear with a short tumble in media.

* A 5 percent solution of citric acid (available from your drugstore) and warm water for about 10 minutes. If your water is very hard increase the amount of citric acid. You can add some Dawn™ or Cascade™ dishwasher liquid soap (which does not contain ammonia--be careful some do), to the solution for extra grease cutting ability. Follow with a rinse in hot soapy water (Ivory™ works well) and allow to dry.

Cases which have been fired several times and which show signs of carbon build up internally can be rinsed in straight paint & varnish makers (P&VM) naphtha available at any paint store. Decap, soak for 5 - 10 minutes, drain, allow to air dry and then tumble if you choose. Cases will be sparkling clean inside and out but not any shinier.

With all of the methods make sure to thoroughly rinse with water or they can tarnish.

[billclo]

Never tried it but I've heard tossing the casings in a mesh bag and then running them through the washing machine works...

I tried this, followed by putting the brass in the drier on LOW/Gentle. It worked fine, except for one thing: all that tumbling around peened the edges alot; I found that the rim of the casehead is now smooth and rounded and not crisp like it used to be, and forget about getting a slug in that case w/o serious problems unless you tumble first and then trim/chamfer the inside of the neck.

But the cases were purdy that's for sure.

[nova]

Good information to know. Only reason I never tried it was a tumbler was the first piece of reloading gear I bought. :D

[bullseye_10X]

What is ISSO liquid soak case cleaner made of? It smells like phosphoric acid and appears to have some form of detergent in it that cuts the grim. It claims to contain no ammonia compounds. I just bought some to clean some very badly tarnished cases (been in storage for a long time). A series of ISSO soak and tumbling (then repeat) got them looking like new.

Bullseye_10x

[Tim_W]

yeas its organic acid and soap mixture. Make sure to not leave them in there for longer than is instructed or you can thin the cases and compromise the structural integrity. I have used it many times and it does a very good job. it you dry the cases to prevent water spots they look new. Use a colander to rinse is a good way if the bag gets lost. I tend to dry in the over on a towel on a cookie sheet at the lowest settting to get things done quickly. As cheap as vibrating cleaners are it makes the best long term sense. Ultrasonic being the tops

[LKirchoff68]

I don't have a tumbler right now, but I have been cleaning my brass using a method that takes a very very long time. I have been using a suitable piece of steel wool and just cleaning them individually, but the bad thing is it does not get the inside. I have only done one set of reloads so it is oaky, but that method wont be useful for long.

When using the tumbler, what steps do ya'll take in preping the brass. Do you trim, resize, and then tumble, or do you resize, tumble, and then trim?

[gspam1]

I've tried many of the home brew cleaner formulas and found that just using Tide worked the best. Does NOT get the brass shiny but does an excellent job of cleaning the fouling out of the brass.

[loonybin]

What is ISSO liquid soak case cleaner made of? It smells like phosphoric acid and appears to have some form of detergent in it that cuts the grim. It claims to contain no ammonia compounds. I just bought some to clean some very badly tarnished cases (been in storage for a long time). A series of ISSO soak and tumbling (then repeat) got them looking like new.

Bullseye_10x


yeas its organic acid and soap mixture. Make sure to not leave them in there for longer than is instructed or you can thin the cases and compromise the structural integrity. I have used it many times and it does a very good job. it you dry the cases to prevent water spots they look new. Use a colander to rinse is a good way if the bag gets lost. I tend to dry in the over on a towel on a cookie sheet at the lowest settting to get things done quickly. As cheap as vibrating cleaners are it makes the best long term sense. Ultrasonic being the tops
+1 on the Iosso liquid cleaner. I used it on the cases that my boys received for their cartridge boards and it worked well. There were some that were heavily tarnished and we used some Brasso on those, but for plain cleaning, the Iosso works fine.

I have some instructions to build a home made tumbler, but some of the parts are not so easy to find at your regular HD/Lowe's store, so I haven't build it yet. I have a feeling that I'll have almost as much in parts as I would if I bought a tumbler.

[Tim_W]

Loonybin :

If you can post the parts and instruction for building the tumbler. I think it woudl be of interest to others on the board. I know I woudl be interested.

Thinking it over quickly is seems fairly easy and straight forward but no reason to have to find the pitfalls when others have already and have the instructions. I will probably build a few to be honest if its convenient as I could use a few for different tasks and it sounds like the type of thing I like to do. I alwasu feel better when i build things myslef and if I can make it better or do it cheaper even better.

[loonybin]

Loonybin :

If you can post the parts and instruction for building the tumbler. I think it woudl be of interest to others on the board. I know I woudl be interested.

Here is the link: Home Built Brass Tumbler (http://www.speedsoft.com/theashes/tumbler/directions.html)

I really don't know if it would be cheaper or not, but it would certainly be interesting. If your motor is big enough, you can change bowls to fit the amount of brass you plan on cleaning.

[yblow]

Any reccomendations on a good tumbler to use? Ive been looking at gettin a lyman 2200 auto flo?

[gspam1]

Any reccomendations on a good tumbler to use? Ive been looking at gettin a lyman 2200 auto flo?

I have several vibratory tumblers. I like the Lyman the best because it has a stopper you can remove and let the machine shake the media right out of the bowl. Slower than just dumping the Dillions into the media seperator but seems easier to me. I'm lazy.

[yblow]

Ya thats my point in life is to make it easier so it looks like i made a good choice on the lyman auto flo, awsome!

[MCA]

Here is the link: Home Built Brass Tumbler (http://www.speedsoft.com/theashes/tumbler/directions.html)

I really don't know if it would be cheaper or not, but it would certainly be interesting. If your motor is big enough, you can change bowls to fit the amount of brass you plan on cleaning.

Looks pretty simple. An AC motor from an old fan or dead air conditioner (cut off the blades and epoxy a counter-weight off-center on the hub) , a plastic bucket, and a rubbermaid/tupperware-like bowl (probably easier than making a bolt-down plywood cover) and some miscellaneous hardware and you are good to go.

[loonybin]

Looks pretty simple. An AC motor from an old fan or dead air conditioner (cut off the blades and epoxy a counter-weight off-center on the hub) , a plastic bucket, and a rubbermaid/tupperware-like bowl (probably easier than making a bolt-down plywood cover) and some miscellaneous hardware and you are good to go.
The problem I have discovered is finding the threaded rods and 2" springs. Home Depot and Lowes don't carry them from what I can find.

[MCA]

The problem I have discovered is finding the threaded rods and 2" springs. Home Depot and Lowes don't carry them from what I can find.

I haven't looked for these parts yet - but I used to work in a True Value Hardware store (back in college when dinosaurs roamed the earth) - a real hardware store (even Sears Hardware perhaps) might be a better source. Though you ought to be able to find threaded rod (AKA "allthread" depending on what part of the country you are in) even at HD or Lowe's.

[Equalizer_2]

The problem I have discovered is finding the threaded rods and 2" springs. Home Depot and Lowes don't carry them from what I can find.

They don't carry a lot of the needed items and that is why the Ace, Coast to Coast, and True Value are so good to have around.

[Tim_W]

YEp my ACE and True Value have every unusual spring and part you can imagine and so does Farm and tractor supply stores. I now spend my money at them instead of Lowes or HD even if I pay a bit more. IF its really big I give them the choice to price match which they alwasy do but I do not nickle and dime them as they are all owner operated here in my town and I want small guys to say in buisness. Teh thing about the big houses is they only have good prices on the things they carry. If they have to speical order which is jsut about all things that are not very very commion they cost way more than anyone esle.

[Equalizer_2]

YEp my ACE and True Value have every unusual spring and part you can imagine and so does Farm and tractor supply stores. I now spend my money at them instead of Lowes or HD even if I pay a bit more. IF its really big I give them the choice to price match which they alwasy do but I do not nickle and dime them as they are all owner operated here in my town and I want small guys to say in buisness. Teh thing about the big houses is they only have good prices on the things they carry. If they have to speical order which is jsut about all things that are not very very commion they cost way more than anyone esle.

Yeah, our local Coast to Coast just closed their doors due to everyone running over to the new Lowes. Now I have to go to the next town up to try and find what I need. There is a very well stocked store in the next town so I will find out how well stocked.