Brass clean up ?

[Judge Roy Bean]

Hi, iam a newbie,having shot cap & ball hand guns for some time(since they ban cartridge handguns) .I have started useing the holy black in my longguns i.e 44.40 50/70 &44.russian as well as 12ga.brass.What i would like to know is hows the best way to clean then after use?

[Cuts Crooked]

Put em in a jug of water with a squirt of detergant in it at the match. When ya get em home run hot water over em till it runs clean. Then tumble per usual.

[Dick Dastardly]

Cuts is rite on, as usual.

I like to tumble mine wet in Ceramic Porcelain tumbling media.  Even the worse case brass comes sparkling clean after only Three hours.  I then rinse, shake as much water out as I can and tumble in corn cob media to dry.

The idea of dropping the brass into a jug of soapy water is great and it keeps corrosion from getting a start.

DD-DLoS

[Adirondack Jack]

Lets be clear on some stuff here.  Initially after firing, your goal is to stop the process of fouling corroding the brass (seen as green fur growing on it pretty soon after firing).  The green meanies are basic in PH, so a weak acid helps neutralize the PH.  A squirt of Windex with vinegar or a teaspoonful of vinegar in a pint of water is plenty enough to stop the green meanies.

Now, "pickled" brass can be soaked almost indefinately until you are ready to process it further.

I often leave mine a week or more.  Once I am ready to finish the process, I rinse in HOT water, getting as much of the settled solids out as possible, shake out the excess water, and either air dry overnight, or oven dry at 250 for 20 minutes (or all day if I forget).  Once dried, all that remains to be done is to tumble em long enough to remove surface dirt and the chalky film that clings to the outside.

Brass does NOT have to be tumbled until shiny, AAMOF, I find it takes a good while to tumble well-pickled brass to a "brand new" appearance, and besides. i LIKE the appearance of "old brass".

Twenty minutes in the tumbler is all that is needed (I use corn media and a little citrus additive, same as for smokeless).

Here's some processed brass ready for reloading.  It was shot on Friday, pickled until Monday, dried overnight and tumbled on Tuesday.



Now to my twisted mind, these look way better in the belt than NEW brass

[Noz]

If you forget your water jug for the brass, a plastic water bottle will do. Just drop them in. You may have to cut the bottle to get them out but water bottles are cheap.  Add a little soap when you get home shake, drain til dry, and tumble. I use corn cob media for all my tumbling.

[Sunwapta Haze]

I also place the fired cases in a container of water with a splash of Murphy's Oil Soap at the range.  I carry the container on my gun cart.  When I get home I rinse them a couple of times and then place them in an old food dehydrater to dry.  When dry they go into the vibratory cleaner with walnut media.   They normally come out looking like new.

[Dick Dastardly]

Now AJ, I'd never treat your new 45 Cowboy Special brass like that.  I'm like the Lone Ranger in the fact that I like purty boolits. . .

DD-DLoS

[Judge Roy Bean]

Thank's guy's for all the info.I have a tumbler and i will invest in some ceramic meader as i have the corn & walnut already.Ive heard that COLA is also good for soaking brass over night an will take residew off cases.

[Adirondack Jack]

Now AJ, I'd never treat your new 45 Cowboy Special brass like that.  I'm like the Lone Ranger in the fact that I like purty boolits. . .

DD-DLoS

LOL

DD, I had pards coming up to me at HR-06 askin' if I was shooting BP outta the curious little cartridges.  Though I was shooting the heathen fad powder, ( I had to work much of the weekend during the shoot, so I didn't wanna clean guns), the brass was previously "processed" as above, and had that "old timey" look about it

[Wills Point Pete]

 Perhaps it is the reletively low humidity or that my finances do not allow anything but local matches but I simply put my cases in a fabric bag and carry them home. Then I drop them in soapy water, rinse them in hot water and then tumble them in corncob media. Because electricity is fairly cheap I leave the tumbler on until the cases are nice and shiney. I leave the cases damp when I toss them in the tumbler, it stretches the polish out.
I do not know if y'all are going through a lot of unneccessary work or I am just lucky livin' in Texas.

Actually I know I am lucky livin' in Texas, I just don't know that it has anything to do with cartridge cases.

[Dick Dastardly]

Worst brass I ever had came from EOT.  They have a bunch of kids pickin' up brass and sellin' it as a fund raiser.  Don't know if they still do it that way, but that's the way it was done a few years back.  Anyway, I  got a peck of what was supposed to be 44 Magnum brass that Silas bought from whoever was sellin' it.  What a mix.  Some 45 Colt, some 44-40, some 44 Spl and mostly 44 magnum.  Most of it looked like it had laid out in the weather for a couple of years.  The stuff that had been shot with BP or Subs was green inside and down the outsides.  A lot of it looked like Tex had stomped on it at a barn dance.

I put it in my tumbler with some Ceramic Porcelain Tumbling Media, water mixed with tumbling concentrate and turned it on.  Three hours later it was sparkling clean outside and in.  Most of it loaded up into good ammo in my LEE Pro 1000 cept for the stuff that Tex stomped on.  That I had to take to a single stage press and straighten out.

Now, if I can do that with worst case brass, imagine how good my regular main match brass looks.

I like feeding brass thru my press that looks factory new or better.  I like purty ammo.  Now, I just wish I cud shoot as good as I kin load. . . .

DD-DLoS

[Arcey]

Ain't the finances, I'm flat cheap.  Empty mouthwash bottle, scraps of soap from the shower too small ta use on me no more.  Get it home, pour out the dirty water, poke a couple holes in the bottom, rinse 'til the water runs clean then air dry.  Cuttin' the top off the bottle is optional.

Throw 'em in a vibratory filled with uncooked rice.  Like a couple others, I don't care fer shiny brass for The One True Powder.  Jist want 'em clean.

For the 9mm stuff I shoot indoors with the other propellant, I want 'em shiny.  No bath.  Just toss 'em in the vibratory, same rice, 'n add a l'il Brasso.

[Doctor Bill]

I put my empty brass into a canvas bag (old lead shot bag) at the matches.  Once I get home it goes into an old laundry detergent jug with a squirt of Murphy's Oil Soap, some laundry detergent, dishwashing soap or whatever sort of liquid soap that is handy.  I add some very hot water (as hot as will come out of the tap) and shake the plastic jug until it is full of suds.  After that I repeatedly rinse the brass with very hot water until the rinse comes out clean.  After that I let the brass dry on old newspaper and then tumble with walnut media.  I keep meaning to get a new tumbler and some ceramic media but right now I need to pay for a safe and make a new order for black powder.

[Dick Dastardly]

So, when yer pride tells ya, or when ye boolits are too ugly, here's a simple fix.

At the match, dump yer brass into a jug with some soap and water.  Shake the pi$$ out of it now and then.

When ya get home, do five quick changes of water and dump 'em into yer tumbler.

Add about that amount of Ceramic Porcelain tumbling media and near that amount of soap and water.  Ivory flakes seem to work well.

I was talkin about equal amounts of brass, media, and solution.

Now, run yer rotary tumbler for three hours, dry yer brass and enjoy factory new shiny boolits.

There's more, but ya get the idea.

DD-DLoS

[Judge Roy Bean]

Thank's guys i think i get you drift,as i said befor i will have to get some of that ceramic meader.

[Sod Buster]

I'm like the Lone Ranger in the fact that I like purty boolits. . .

Me too!

[Dick Dastardly]

Gentlemen and Pards,  Yer the same.

I happen to live in the town that has the factory that makes the stuff.  Wisconsin Porcelain makes fine grade Ceramic Porcelain Tumbling media for a variety of industries that need it.  Luckily, the smallest and best they make is just right for our needs.  I kin walk over to the plant and pick it up in person.  Saves shipping.  So, I kin sell it for way less than large retailers whose name rhymes with Cabelas.  It's the same stuff and I'm never out of stock cuz I kin walk over to the factory and get some more when I need it.  It's known as "just in time" ordering. . . .

Anybody that wants to take advantage of this loophole has only to order from my web site and I'll ship the same day.

Oh, and did I mention, this stuff cleans up even the worse case bad nasty brass and does it quick.

DD-DLoS

[Noz]

Dick, for those of us without a liquid proof tumbler would the ceramic media, run dry,  be better than walnut ?

[Hell-Er High Water]

Dick,

Does the ceramic media have to be used in a rotating type tumbler or will it also work in a vibratory type tumbler?

Thanks.

HHW

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Three baths;
1.  Soap & water.  Repeat.  This is makes the smell that housekeepers detest, so do this outside. Rinse.
2.  Squirt KABOOM all over them in the same container as the soap bath.  Leave for a bit, shake ocassionally.
3.  CLR.  This one I can add all my smokeless brass as well in one lot.  Shake it all up until it loses all the blackness.  Save the CLR to use over several times.  Rinse & dry. 

I just did a few .38-55s from yesterdays outing.  At this point, tumbling becomes optional