Brass Cleaning....teach me the process...pro’s and can’s

[nksmfamjp]

I've been messing with sonic this week. A buddy shared his with me. I will continue to study that method. Sonic seems pretty good, but requires a lot of hands on support...and I hear it ruins nickel plated brass.

I looked at SS pins. I cannot be sure that all pins will be out, so I won't use that method.

So, I ordered a dry tumbler again. Not sure about that choice, but it worked before.

 

[338 dude]

I've been messing with sonic this week. A buddy shared his with me. I will continue to study that method. Sonic seems pretty good, but requires a lot of hands on support...and I hear it ruins nickel plated brass.

I looked at SS pins. I cannot be sure that all pins will be out, so I won't use that method.

So, I ordered a dry tumbler again. Not sure about that choice, but it worked before.

With a little compressed air and your eyes you can make sure all the pins are out everybody keep saying about the pins I've never had a problem

 

[JTB]

I abandoned sonic cleaning as is I could find no difference vs vibratory with walnut. As mentioned walnut may not polish as well but it does clean better than corn in my opinion. I place in walnut as described above for a couple of hours prior to resizing and the brass seems to slide into the die easier. Once sized I clean the primer pocket and place the in the walnut for another hour to remove the lubricant. This system works for me and leaves a really brass for loading. If I need to trim or turn necks I do this prior to final cleaning

 

[marchboom]

This is my method so far. I reserve the right to change this method as I learn more.

I start by depriming the brass. This allows the primer pocket to be cleaned and prevents air from being trapped in some cases thus preventing the liquid solution from cleaning the inside of the case.

Put the cases in an ultra sonic cleaner for 1 hr. Solution is 1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine to 1 pt of water. Add 2-3 drops of Armor All Wash & Wax.

NOTE: Don't keep brass in solution more than 1 hr or increase the amount of Lemishine. Your brass will turn pink. The solution will contain the primer and carbon residue that would have contaminated your tumbler dry media. Therefore, your dry media will last a long time as it is only used for polishing and not cleaning. This method also keeps primer & carbon residue in a solution and not in a tumbler where it can become airborne.

Dry in a Lyman Cyclone brass dryer for 1.5 hrs.

Tumble for 60-90 minutes in walnut shell media (Zilla Ground English Walnut Shells Desert Blend from Amazon) with some Nu-Finish car polish. This media will not get stuck in flash holes. Throw in a used dryer sheet to keep down the dust.

I don't use the pin method for several reasons. I have seen evidence of damage to case necks and I don't like the idea of brass being work hardened, even slightly. I have several shooter friends who have had pins stick in the cases. Just for that reason I won't use this method. Just watching a demo on YouTube of the process looks way too complicated, not hard, just more work than what I want to do.

I know I'll get replies countering this last paragraph but that's my view.