Brass Cleaning Methods – Tumbling, Ultrasonic and Chemical

April 7, 2022Brass Cleaning Methods – Tumbling, Ultrasonic and Chemical – Shiny brass can make your hand-loaded ammunition shoot better. Although it’s not necessary for brass to be “bright and shiny” after each firing, it’s a good idea. There are many ways you can clean cartridge cases. For cases that have been shot recently, a quick wipe with solvent on a small patch may be sufficient. Older brass with baked on carbon may need to be tumbled for a long time. Another popular option for brass cleaning is ultrasonic cleaning. Sinclair International has a series that explains how to clean brass. These “how-to” videos are hosted by Bill Gravatt (Sinclair’s former President and current Creedmoor Sports President). TIP: Brass that has been recently shot will clean better than brass that has been sitting for many days or even weeks. Tumbling media that is fresh should be completed in less than an hour. You can choose to tumble with the primers removed or with the primers in the cases. If you decide to tumble with primers removed, we recommend that you use a depriming tool instead of putting dirty brass in your sizing die. Some people add a teaspoon liquid polish to their media. This reduces the time it takes to tumble and makes your brass shiner. To make sure the polish is fully mixed into the media, add the liquid polish to the tumbler before you add the brass. Let the tumbler run for 15 minutes. You could end up with gooey gunk in your cases. Some people can use soapy water, especially if they add some Lemi-Shine. Both the Lyman Turbo Sonic and Hornady One Shot Sonic Clean work well and can be used multiple time. Many ultrasonic cleaning devices have timers. You can experiment with dwell time to determine how long it takes to immerse your brass. Ballistol can be added to the solution to help lubricate the necks from the inside. This will allow bullet seating to go more smoothly and with a more consistent neck tension. Video THREE — Chemical Cleaners (Soaking Without Ultrasound) TIP: After using chemical cleansers, such as Iosso solution you need water to rinse your brass thoroughly. This can be done with a kitchen strainer (see video at 0;20). Don’t forget to include your brass in the chemical solution. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and don’t exceed the recommended dwell times. Chemical cleaners are surprisingly effective in removing grease and grime. The solution can also be reused multiple times. To make your cases shine and brighten (like new brass), tumble is the best option. [Editor] The Brass Monkey chemical cleaner from Carb-Out and Wipe-Out is a very effective one. You can add a teaspoon to a gallon water and soak your brass for between 20-30 minutes. This really works. The cases clean up beautifully. Video FOUR — Manual Cleaning (By hand) TIP: Keep some extra-large patches in your range kit. After shooting, clean your fired brass with a dampened, mild, non-corrosive solvent (Ballistol again works well). It is easy to get rid of carbon before it builds up on brass. You can use 0000 steel wool (as Bill suggests in the video). You might find that you can avoid tumbling by keeping your hands clean. Or, you may decide to tumble (or ultrasound) your brass after only a few firings.
Similar Posts