cleaning brass

[damienelliott]

I am reloading for a 300 wsm and need to clean some brass how do you guys do it without a tumbler or if someone in the red deer area has a tumbler that would clean them for me there would be your favorite brew or cash as a thank you

[Hogie135]

Originally Posted by damienelliott

I am reloading for a 300 wsm and need to clean some brass how do you guys do it without a tumbler or if someone in the red deer area has a tumbler that would clean them for me there would be your favorite brew or cash as a thank you

I used to soak them in warm soapy water. Use your bore brush to clean out the necks. Rinse and wipe and they are good to go. Wont be shiny brassy clean, but clean enough.

[rottie]

Bring it out to Lacombe,I have a tumbler. We can clean brass and bs hunting stories while its cleaning

Ian

[silver]

One of the rounds I load for is a 6br, a neck size only deal. I put a bit of Hoppes #9 on a rag and wipe the outside of the case. Then I clean the inside of the neck with a Lyman cleaning kit.

[DanOO]

If you are not cleaning hundreds of case, get a can of Never Dull.
Tear off a piece of wadding and wipe the neck and case, let sit for a minute and then wipe clean with a lint free paper towel or rag.
Does a great job and can lasts years.

[303carbine]

I don't have a tumbler, I use concentrated Realemon, it's concentrated lemon juice. Add about 4 oz and top of a small container (clear plastic peanut butter jar) with hot water and tumble them by hand. Citric acid, (lemon juice) cleans brass very good.
After a bit of tumbling I rinse them off with hot water, I stack the brass on an old pair of jeans and use a hair dryer and it takes care of the excess water. This method also cleans the primer pocket and any residue comes out easy with a Q-Tip.

[Hawkeye]

A mild vinegar solution (they say half vinegar, half water, but I use 1 part vinegar to 4 to 6 parts of hot water, and then I add some dish soap). I like to deprime first (Lee or RCBS decapping die, that does not resize the brass, hence you don't need to lube cases). Put them in a container or bucket with the water/vinegar/soap for about an hour. Stir occassionally. A tumbler would be even better. Pour off water and do lots of flushes (hot water) until water runs clear. In theory, you are supposed to use some baking soda in water to neutralize the acid, but I think that for a weak vinegar solution, several flushes is fine. I put them on old cookie sheets covered with newspaper and put on heat register (winter) or on cardboard boxes (outside) in summer and let them dry thoroughly. They are really clean, but not very shiney. A fairly brief tumble in walnut shell, with some NuFinish car wax and they look like new factory brass. Most people would likely not bother with all these steps, but.....it gets all the crud out of the case and cleans primer pockets very nicely. From what I gather, you can get similar results with the stainless steel pins.
Depriming before cleaning is an extra step, but you toss the spent primer (supposedly they have some nasty chemicals??) and you clean the primer pocket very nice. In my experience, if you wash them first, you can get them shiney with much less tumbling, PLUS I think you get the insides a lot cleaner, and you do a great job on the primer pocket, compared to tumbling brass with primers intact.
Is it worth the time, effort and hassle....only YOU can answer that. I don't know if they shoot any better, but they really do look like new!

Cheers
Hawkeye

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by DanOO

If you are not cleaning hundreds of case, get a can of Never Dull.
Tear off a piece of wadding and wipe the neck and case, let sit for a minute and then wipe clean with a lint free paper towel or rag.
Does a great job and can lasts years.

Great suggestion. That never dull mixed into your walnut media works very well too. The brass stays shiny a very long time.

[Tactical Lever]

A bathroom sink full of hot water, oxy booster and some Princess Auto degreaser works well. Then rinse well. And on a cookie sheet in the oven dries them fast.

[260 Rem]

I typically do no more than clean the "black" off the necks with some kleenex and a bit of RCBS Case Lube. If I do it the same day the brass is fired, most of the black comes clean but, of course, over several firings, necks get progressively darker. After about 10 firings, I wipe the entire outside of the case with Brasso, and clean that off with dry kleenex. This process leaves them pretty shiny. Sometimes I will do the final "wipe" by puting the case in a Lee case holder and spin it in a drill. I am carefull to remove any "grit" residue from the Brasso.
For inside necks, I give a couple of turns with a nylon brush before every reload for about 10 times - and then use a phospor brush spun in a drill to remove any carbon that could build up and affect neck tension. This technique seems to work for the level of accuracy I am capable of...