Dark siders Cartridge Cleaning

[Rolinda Renegade]

Hey Darksiders,

What is the correct procedure for cleaning up your Brass?  I have about 150 rounds of brass soaking in soapy waters.   What next?/



Thanks

[Dick Dastardly]

I like to rinse mine a couple of times and tumble it with DD Ceramic Porcelain Tumbling Media.  It works wet, fast and does a great job on even the worse case brass.

DD-DLoS

[Rolinda Renegade]

Thanks DD     But I have dry walnut media in an RCBS tumbler.   Were can I go from here for now till I can pick up some ceramic media?      And In order to use that wet5 media do I have to buy a speacial tumbler or can I just use the Rcbs I have?   
Thanks

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[Arcey]

RR!  How ya been, dude?  Good ta see ya!

Just rinse the stuff ‘til the water runs clear. Let it dry then tumble it with the walnut in yer vibratory.  It’ll be good as new.

[Adirondack Jack]

Remember, while it is very nice to have hospital clean brass, GRIT FREE is the main thing.

I soak, rinse, DRY (oven in winter, 200 degrees, sun dry on the deck in summer) then tumble an hour to all day (If I forget em) and I'm good to go.  They're dark and ugly, and actually seem to "season" if they are oven dried then tumbled, but grit free so the dies and guns are happy.

[hellgate]

Pour off the soapy water then rinse 2-3 times til the water comes clean. Strain. Then I put my brass in a coffee can and shove a goose neck (or other adjustable) desk lamp down into the can to dry the brass. I once heated my brass in a toaster oven and ended up annealing it all and had to throw it away as it got too hot and too soft to safely use. I can't count on sun in the winter (this is Orygun) and I'm no good with an oven hence the desk lamp as my heat source for drying brass. THEN tumble in the walnut.

[Rolinda Renegade]

Thanks Guys,    Mr Arcey... Always a Pleasure.  I really love Your signature.  I will keep that in mind.  Hah      

I have finally finished my 51 navy conversions.   And the only way to shoot those is with Charcole.   So I am trying to learn the ins and outs.   The Guns loved American Pioneer Powder but my Dillon absolutley hated it.   I fought it all afternoon.   So Back to FFG Goex I went and the Guns shoot pretty well.  

Anything you Gents can give me in the Way of Advise I would gladely except.      

Adirondack Jack,     Thanks for that piece of knowledge.   That helps me, I would have drove myself and Wife Crazy trying to make that work out.

Thanks  for the info as well Hellgate, Thats a good Idea. 
 
I need a bullet supplier for black powder as well.    .45LC 250Gr for the Rifle so I want lots of lube and .38SP 158 Gr for the 7.5" barrelled pistols.   I tried casting but so far my technique hasnt gotten me anywere.  So I need to buy them.  Thanks Guys.

Arcey I be See'n Ya

[Goatlips]

Hay Rolinda,

Good stuff above, let me add a couple things.  A splash of vinegar in the rinse water will brighten up your brass, or for real viewing pleasure add a little KABOOM from the purple spray bottle and jump back. 

For BP .38 158 ain't nothing finer than the Snakebite Greasewagon, good in pistols but they really shine in a rifle geared for .357 length using .38 brass.  Lotsa lube.

Goatlips

[yul b. nekst]

First, I don't use soap anymore. Plain ol' water is all you'll ever need. In fact, it's all I use for gun cleaning. I don't use soap in my cast iron skillets either for that matter. It's all about seasoning, residue, etc. Anyway,  I put all my brass in a large coffee can filled with water. I'll swish it around for a few minutes, then pour off the water. Repeat till the water runs out clear, or clearish-it's very hard to completely run clear water with BP. When your done with this, pour your brass in a kitchen collander. TIP- Buy your own for this purpose only, and don't use your cook ware. You'll not only keep the ol' girl happy, but you'll reduce lead consumption! Swish the collander around for a bit to get excess water out of the brass. Now for the next part, you'll have to either make or buy some screen that will allow for you to put your shells through. I shoot 45 Colt, so I buy some plastic screening that's used to protect flourescent lighting. The little squares allow my 45s to fit through, but not all the way as the rim stops it from going through fully. I then have this screen out in the sun on top of something on each end where it keeps the case mouth off the ground, or however, and let  the brass drip dry. Tumbling in media is something that in my opinion is not necessary unless you want purdy shells. The proof I need is that half of all my brass shells carry a Midway headstamp that I purchased in the early 90's. Some of these shells have seen in excess of two hundred loadings, and never have I had a case failure! Honest!

[Dick Dastardly]

After tumbling Three hours in CP tumbling media I dump the load thru a french fry basket and shake it to separate the brass from the media.  Then, I rinse the brass, now sparkling clean and prettier than new, and dump it in my Lyman shaker for a few minutes with old corn cob media to dry it.

I've got the best lookin' ammo at the match.  Frequently I get asked why I'm always shootn' new ammo. . . .

The CP media gets rinsed and used over and over.  It never wears out.  Click my banner below to learn more.

DD-DLoS

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Howdy!

Rolinda R., I'm like DD in that I LUV shiney brass.  Even with BP, the cases are easier to spot on the ground in the weeds and gravel.  Adirondack Jack is right, 'tho - CLEAN is what is most important.

I found that soaking in a soapy solution (I have been using Simple Green) gets the brass cleaned, but if left in the solution for more than a couple days, the brass starts to get brown and won't easily polish off, so now I use mostly plain water rinsed numerous times - and only for a couple hours or so.  I go the whole way - corncob and solvent (mineral spirits, brush cleaner, alcohol, etc.) to clean off any grit left after the bath solution, then walnut media with some polish (I've used Dillon's, Midway's & Brasso; Midway's polish is the most economical I've found so far) for sometimes overnight.  My brass usually looks factory fresh. 

My dream is to get the ceramic media from DD (http://www.biglube.com/BulletMolds.aspx?ProductID=15) and really do the job right - like I HAVE been doing, but much faster using the ceramic media: which will, if deprimed, clean out the flash holes pretty well - I've heard. 

Remember - cleanliness is ... well, OK in MY book! 

[Noz]

I throw my brass into a bottle filled with water and de-greaser at the shoot.
Why? I don't know, just feels good to me.
Bring it home, deprime wet and throw it in the vibrator with corncob media.
Couple of hours and its clean and dry. Only when I forget to turn the vibrator off and it runs all night do I get shiny brass.

[Rolinda Renegade]

Thanks Alot Ya'll for the Great info.  I will get to work.

[The Elderly Kid]

This is how you do it:
Fill a bucket with a good quality champagne. Drop your brass in. Then drop in a high-quality vibrator; yes, your standard "marital aid" from your local porn shop. Make sure and get one that says "water safe." Leave going for one hour. Okay, the brass doesn't really get very clean, but it comes out of that bucket looking happy.

[Adirondack Jack]

In the pic below you'll see some nice CLEAN, but certainly not shiny brass.

[sundance44`s]

I always put a shot of JD in my cleaning water so my brass doesn`t come out grumpy .

[Steel Horse Bailey]

This is how you do it:
Fill a bucket with a good quality champagne. Drop your brass in. Then drop in a high-quality vibrator; yes, your standard "marital aid" from your local porn shop. Make sure and get one that says "water safe." Leave going for one hour. Okay, the brass doesn't really get very clean, but it comes out of that bucket looking happy.

I always put a shot of JD in my cleaning water so my brass doesn`t come out grumpy .

NOW we're gettin' some good ideas!!   

Grumpy, unhappy brass is NO joke! 

[Rolinda Renegade]

Insert Quote
This is how you do it:
Fill a bucket with a good quality champagne. Drop your brass in. Then drop in a high-quality vibrator; yes, your standard "marital aid" from your local porn shop. Make sure and get one that says "water safe." Leave going for one hour. Okay, the brass doesn't really get very clean, but it comes out of that bucket looking happy.

Now Thats an Idea I havent thought of Yet!!!!   Ha!