The old-fashioned walnut/corncob media and tumblers are no longer used. Many shooters today prefer to process brass quickly with an ultrasonic cleaner. A good ultrasonic cleaner can quickly remove dust, carbon and oil residue from cartridge brass when used with the right solution. The ultrasonic cleaning process can clean the primer pockets and the inside of the cartridge cases. Ultrasonic cleaning is a good option for brass that’s really dirty. Tumbling also works, but it may be better to use ultrasonic cleaning if the brass is extremely dirty. READ THE FULL UltimateReloader.com article on Ultrasonic Case cleaning >> Our friend Gavin Gear evaluated an RCBS Ultrasonic case cleaning machine using RCBS Ultrasonic Case Cleaner Solution (RCBS #87058). Gavin Gear used some dull and greasy milsurp Brass to provide a real test: “I purchased a large amount of military once-fired 75.2x51mm brass that was fired in a machinegun. I’ve slowly been prepping it for my DPMS LR-308B AR-10 type rifle. Some of the brass was already prepped (sized/deprimed, trimmed case mouths, primer pockets reamed, etc.) but was greasy and dingy. Gavin describes the cleaning exercise step-by-step on UltimateReloader.com. Gavin’s Cartridge Cleaning Article will show you how to mix the solution, activate the heater and cycle the machine for 30 min. The results are impressive, as you can see from the video. Gavin’s video is a must-watch if you have never cleaned brass before. It provides many tips and shows how the cleaning process is carried out. Ultra Dry Necks after Ultrasonic Cleaning – Some Suggestions
If you use the Ultrasonic cleaning method, your cartridge brass will be so “squeaky-clean” that it may require more force to seat bullets or they may “grab”. You can reduce the amount of effort required to seat bullets by adding a small amount of dry case lube into the case neck before loading. (Use a nylon brush). Add a teaspoon of Ballistol to the cleaning solution. This provides a small amount of lubricant in the necks but does not interfere in any way with powder ignition. The Gen2 RCBS Ultrasonic Cleaning Machine has a large 6.3 quart capacity. This is nearly 100% bigger than the first-generation machine in Gavin’s video. The Gen2 machine is $399.99 and features a second ceramic heating element and transducer that will better clean brass cases and gun parts. The LED can be programmed easily, and the timer is set to clean for up to 30 mins. Midsouth Shooters still has the original RCBS ultrasonic cleaning machine with a 3.2 quart capacity, as seen in Gavin’s videos. It is available for $189.99.
